This past weekend, I gave a Cross Mission at St. Helena parish in the Bronx, one of New York’s five, sprawling boroughs. The parish of St. Helena is dedicated to the Empress Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, who was canonized by the Church and is reputed to have discovered the remnants of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. The parish is run by the Piarist Order( also known as Scolopi ) and is the oldest order of priests dedicated to the education of youth in the world. There is an elementary and middle school in the parish.

On Friday, I flew into La Guardia Airport, and was met by my sister, Hannah, and her Son, Seamus. We had a family reunion planned later at Bucco’s restaurant in Manhattan. But first, the three of us visited the New York Metropolitan Museum to view the highly publicized, exhibition of Medieval art. It was like watching a Medici movie with the cast of characters decked out in lavish and dazzling robes, headdresses, and crowns. There was even a papal tiara on display, showing the three powers or triregnum claimed by Popes back then. The tiara was abandoned by Pope Paul V1 in 1963 as a testimony to the renewal of the Church after the second Vatican Council.

Dinner with my family at Bucco’s was something else. We had a great get-together, and it was the highlight of my visit. My nieces and nephews still go back to Ireland to retrace their roots and re-connect with their cousins and relatives over there. For me, it was interesting to get their take on things and I was surprised to discover how much they knew, and to hear the stories ( exaggerated, of course ) that have been handed down over the years and retold by them. It is all in good fun. I try to make a point, in my travels throughout the U. S; to reconnect with family members wherever I go.

After dinner in Manhattan, I left for St. Helena in the Bronx. Fr. Richard had a meal ready, and he was sharing it with Fr. Jack, my co- speaker at the weekend masses. I joined them for a cup of tea, and a long conversation about the state of the Church ( what else are three priests going to talk about? ). We were well introduced to each other by the time we retired to bed.Jack took the Saturday Vigil mass and three early masses on Sunday. I took Saturday confessions on Saturday evening, and the three afternoon masses on Sunday.

Sleeping in the Bronx was a unique experience. The people who live there seem to have no problem with sleeping, but I couldn’t adjust to the loud, rumbling sound of an overhead train every few minutes outside my window. It shook the bed where I lay, and entered my dreams during the night. On Sunday morning, the ever-jovial Richard said:

“Did you sleep well?”

I answered: “Perfect.”

He laughed.

The parish of St. Helena is a busy parish. In addition to its many masses, it has schools to run, outreach programs to help the poor, and several active youth groups. The parish office is open every day, including weekends, until 9:00pm. It is manned by volunteers from the parish. They were all very personable, and helpful. There were two young seminarians working in the parish when I was there, and they were very good to me during masses, particularly. The noon mass, which I celebrated, was in Spanish and it was packed. There were more in attendance at this mass than the following two masses in English, combined.

This is a parish that is doing the Lord’s work among the poor and needy. For me, it was a privilege to have been part of this wonderful ministry for ever so short a time. It was indeed worth the sacrifice of losing a few hours of sleep.

—Fr. Hugh Duffy