May 21, 2008
St. Brigid's Church Saved by Anonymous Donor
Photograph by wallyg on Flickr
It's a $20 million miracle for an East Village church slated for demolition! An anonymous donor has given a multi-million donation to the struggling parish and its school: There's $10 million for the restoration of the the church, $2 million for a parish endowment and $8 million to support St. Brigid's school and other Catholic schools.
With a cornerstone laid in 1848, St. Brigid's is one of the oldest houses of worship in Manhattan, but the archdiocese closed it in 2001 (the parish was closed in 2004). The fight to save it has been going on for 2 years (see the Save St. Brigid's Now website).
While the donor is anonymous, Archbishop of NY Edward Cardinal Egan did tip off it was a man who met with him in a private meeting, "This magnificent gift will make it possible for Saint Brigid’s Church to be fittingly restored with its significant structural problems properly addressed. The two additional gifts, to create an endowment for the parish and to support the parish school, are a powerful testament to the donor’s goodness and understanding."
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This reminds me of the CYE episode when Larry David 's charitable contribution is overshadowed by the "Anonymous" contribution...
This is just silly since even the diocese didn't want to save this church. They should have everyone that protested its destruction be required to work there pro-bono and be responsible for its upkeep.
[2] agreed, most of them (like Pete Hamill) were just grandstanding anyway, as this item fell under the purview of their own navelgazing narcissism ("oh- look, my Irish roots")
Sounds like someone got the band back together...
$20 million for the donor to buy their soul out of hell.
No,#5, that was the first $8 million, the remainder is just in case an attractive young altarboy slips the grasp of the monsignior and delivers that pouty,"all come hither look". Given the sums involved, this contributor must anticipate many such episodes.
#4: that comment made my day. I'm picturing a Bluesmobile tearing around NYC, then crashing into the Municipal Building, where two guys in suits and sunglasses hand over 20 million bucks in cash.
#2, 3, I too am wondering how the Archdiocese will handle this since they will have to keep the church operational after they'd effectively signed its death notice.
The anonymous donor is the pope.
>>>the remainder is just in case an attractive young altarboy slips the grasp of the monsignior and delivers that pouty,"all come hither look".
Ah, the automatic buggery reflex whenever the Catholics are brought up.
Great news about the church. And, St. Saviour's in Maspeth has been dismantled and awaits funding for reconstruction in All-Faiths Cemetery.
www.forgotten-ny.com
1848 church was bound for demolition, but 1881 Windermere dump must be refurbished. Something odd, when abandoned place reeking of death & mildew gets precedence over a house of worship people actually care about.