“It’s 100 years of serving the people of Norwood,” the current pastor, Fr. George Stewart, stated. “And it’s not simply serving the Catholics, but serving the community as a whole.”
The parish’s long history began in 1908 when Archbishop John M. Farley selected the Norwood section of the Bronx as the location for a new parish because of its heavy influx of immigrants from Ireland, Italy and Germany, among other European countries.
Farley rightfully named the parish after the famed sixth Century Irish navigator, St. Brendon, who is believed to be the first European to travel to the New World, centuries before Christopher Columbus.
“St. Brendan has always been the spiritual home and beacon of hope to each new wave of immigrants who have come to the American shores seeking freedom and opportunity for themselves and their families,” parishioner Rose Moran said.
Upon taking a census of the area’s Catholics, Father Denis O’Donovan, the parish’s first pastor, gathered the names of 652 parishioners. Through their generous contributions, he was able to collect $18,500, which allowed him to acquire seven lots on the southwest corner of 207th Street.
In the midst of plans for their new church, the congregants converted a small building on Webster Avenue near 205th Street into a chapel and celebrated their first Mass on December 6, 1908.
The following spring, St. Brendan Church began to rise up along with its devoted congregants. A few short years later, the church and rectory were completed and a thriving parish celebrated on Brendan Hill.
Father William Courtney became the church’s second pastor, and on September 9, 1912, opened the first parish school. The Dominican Sisters of Sparkhill ran the 96-student facility.
In following years, the Norwood neighborhood began to urbanize with the addition of new apartment houses and extended subway lines. Progress, however, stunted when war broke out in 1917 and many of the parish men left to serve.
As 1924 arrived, the new school opened and St. Brendan continued to flourish. The Second Vatican Council then dramatically changed the traditional liturgy, as well as many joining aspects of parish life.
“During this time Msgr. Costello [the acting pastor] and the parishioners decided it was necessary to replace the original church, which no longer met the needs of the growing parish,” Moran explained.
St. Brendan’s, as seen today, was dedicated in 1967 and continued serving the Norwood neighborhood.
“The parish has always been community based and we have changed as the population has changed over the years,” St. Brendan secretary Mercedes Yordan added.
The church’s parishioners will celebrate St. Brendan’s rich history with a 100th Anniversary Celebration Dinner Dance at Maestro’s on Friday, October 24. Tickets are $80 per person and can be purchased by calling the rectory at (718) 547-6655.
“This is the culmination of different events we did all year and is a launching pad for future projects,” Yordan said.
An anniversary Mass, celebrated by Cardinal Edward Egan, will conclude the yearlong festivities on Sunday, October 26.
“I think the parish has brought a lot of benefits to the community over the past 100 years,” Stewart commented, “and we hope to continue to do so in the future.”
