The subway was just a few blocks away to take fathers and mothers to jobs anywhere in the city. Nearby were a public swimming pool, the Boys and Girls Club and the YWCA. Family-run businesses sprung up and remained opened for decades such as Pietro LaBarbara Bakery, Ariola Bakery, Zollo’s Luncheonette, Latuga Lumber, Molinari’s Funeral Home and Rossi Pharmacy.

Italians first attended Mass at the church closest to them, Our Lady of Presentation on St. Mark’s Avenue. But they were not welcomed there by the majority German and Irish parishioners.

They needed a place to worship of their own in their own language and with their own traditions. Donations were collected from working families to build Our Lady of Loreto while the parish functioned from a building that was once owned by the Salvation Army.

Armezzani, Federici and Sons of Paterson, New Jersey designed the church modeled after those found in small villages throughout Southern Italy. Labor was provided by Italian men from the neighborhood at no charge. Relatives from Italy donated statues and other decorative elements.

The diocese designated Our Lady of Loreto a National Italian Catholic church. Any Italian Catholic sodality in New York could claim Our Lady of Loreto as its parish. Residents did not want Italians from other communities, near and far, to experience the same levels of prejudice and ostracism they did earlier.

History has a way of repeating itself. In closing Our Lady of Loreto the Brooklyn Diocese has merged the parish with Our Lady of Presentation. Parishioners have been directed by the diocese to attend Mass at the church that once shunned them.

The subway’s L line takes me from Union Square to East New York Atlantic Avenue is the stop; but I am the only one who leaves the train. I descend an iron staircase to be greeted only by a somber gray wall under what is the Atlantic Avenue Viaduct. Nearby are the entrance and exit ramps to and from the Eastern Parkway.

The hum of unseen automobiles surrounds me under the trestle. Fences topped with concertina wire line the walkway. Several unused truck cabs are caged inside. Behind them is an abandoned industrial building shadowing a gravel floor of empty candy wrappers, aluminum soda cans, cigarette packs, and a parade of plastic containers that held everything from water to bleach.

On the corner ahead I approach city workers wearing baseball hats with the MTA logo. They are taking a cigarette break in front of a garage for city buses. They shrug in ambivalence when I ask them for directions to Our Lady of Loreto. One says he never heard of the place.

I walk a few feet away and look up to see the church standing proudly some blocks away. I rush pass row houses made of wood, stucco, brick and aluminum siding.

Once the homes of Italian families from theregions Campania, Calabria, Basilicata and Sicily they are now devoid of any embellishments; their windows are either covered with iron bars or plywood. I see the group who wants to save Our Lady of Loreto in front of the church. They welcome me enthusiastically in typical Italian spirit. Casual yet well-dressed, we are out of place here.

We come with established careers, functional families, and lives. We are in stark contrast to the neighborhood’s current residents, gathered across the street at the mission center. These are younger men and women struggling with the ill effects of society. Some of them stare at us aimlessly, some malevolently. Although the purpose of the gathering is to erect a foundation for the neighborhood’s future, the past is the immediate topic of conversation.

This is where I was baptized, where I had my First Communion, where I was confirmed, says Barbara Anne Pascucci, now Lepak. With her husband Andrew at her side, she explains that her family moved out of the parish after the crime rate climbed beginning in the late 1960s but before then this was a wonderful neighborhood to grow up in. I never felt threatened. I could walk anywhere here day and night.

Barbara Florio, a former resident and executive member of the Italian Genealogical Group is accompanied by her husband Mike. He nods as she recounts how Our Lady of Loreto was an intrinsic part of her family’s Italian American experience.

This is the church where my father Vincenzo Tardugno-Cardino was baptized. He was the first of his family to be born here in the United States. His brother Michele and two sisters, Angela Maria and Maria Antonia were baptized here.

The parish priest and sexton arrive to open the padlocked doors of the church’s central entrance under the papal coat of arms. Another set of doors to the left are under a bas relief of Saint Charles Borromeo in honor of Bishop Charles E. McDonnell who provided assistance to the Italians in starting the church. Over the right entrance is a bas-relief of Saint Vincent Ferrer in honor of Vincenzo Sarnelli of Castellamare di Stabia, Father Sorrentino bishop in Italy.

Emotional attachments are reignited in those who enter the church for the first time in decades. The interior is the embodiment of the Italian Baroque style. Roman archways line opposite sides with two rows of pews between them. Sunlight enters through brightly detailed stained glass windows. The massive marbled altar and frescoed ceiling murals showcase the artistic spirit of Italian immigrants who built the church.

Florio explains the source of statues inside the church. After it was designated a National Italian Catholic Church, towns in Italy sent statues of their patron saints here to be venerated. The cost was paid for by the immigrants. The statue of Mary Queen of Angels is from my grandparent’s hometown of Pignola.

Some in the group mill about with digital cameras photographing the interior for posterity. Some sit in the pews and share with each other recollections of the church and neighborhood. Some walk alone, stop and stare at the various elements of a place that was so important to them.

The visit lasts only an hour. Outside, an air of optimism pervades the group. This is very positive exclaims Anthony Corozzo, a former parishioner. We gather for lunch at a diner in Howard Beach for further discussion.

Mario Toglia sits next to me. He was never a parishioner of Our Lady of Loreto but is committed to saving the church. His involvement stems from a deep interest in preserving the physical remnants of Italian Americans who descended from where his parents came from in Calitri, a village in the province of Avellino in the Campania region. His organization the Calitri American Cultural Group has special links to Our Lady of Loreto.

He explains, .At one time the Società Immacolata Concezione di Calitri had many of its religious functions there. They erected a statue of their patroness inside the church from 1930 until the late 1970s, at which time La Società Immacolata Concezione, with others was asked to leave because of a change in demographics and because .an Italian presence was no longer needed.

Toglia provides the cultural context for saving Our Lady of Loreto. We are not here for a trip down memory lane. We have valid reasons for saving the church. This is part of the national identity of Italian Americans. The church is a powerhouse of Italian culture.

This was a pitch to the state’s historic preservation program analyst to have the building determined eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Our Lady of Loreto is one of the oldest last remaining National Italian Catholic churches in the state. The church’s exterior design and interior aesthetics make it a wonder of New York architecture. But most of all, we have a physical reminder of our heritage added Toglia.

Aspects of our history disappear in the way of people and businesses. That is to be expected. But this church, representing Italian culture, is a structure that can remain forever if you maintain it. This is what we want to do.

Reasons of aesthetics and culture alone may not be enough to preserve Our Lady of Loreto. The group understands that a plan is needed to persuade the diocese not to demolish the church. Conceived by Charles Piazza, theirs is a strategy to connect the Church’s restoration with revitalization of the entire neighborhood.

The grandson of Southern Italian immigrants who settled in Ocean Hill, Piazza lived with his family a few blocks from the church until they moved to the Coney Island area of Brooklyn when he was 10. He now resides in Manhattan where he works with his son Eric in commercial real estate.

Piazza knows that sometimes the best approach is to use a carrot instead of a stick.You can't take a confrontational approach with the Roman Catholic Church he says.

The Church has been around for over 2,000 years while Our Lady of Loreto has been around for only 100. You have to reason with them, present a win-win plan that restores the church and satisfies the need of the diocese to improve the conditions of the entire area.

Piazza brought in Jeff Dunston who heads the Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corporation, an organization specializing in low cost housing, neighborhood and landmark restoration. Dunston and others in his firm had joined the group earlier taking photographs of the church. At the diner he shows blueprints and summarizes a redevelopment strategy.

Complete restoration of Our Lady of Loreto and the abutting rectory construction of several apartments about four stories tall with 80 or more units in the open lot behind the church where the school once stood, the creation of a park with trees and flower beds adjoining the properties open to the public and apartments to be constructed across the street from the church. This would be a pocket community says Piazza. Building designs would be consistent with the overall structure of the church. From here you could then restore the entire neighborhood.

Everyone in the group has seen New York come back from the brink of bankruptcy and urban desolation. They have seen neighborhoods such as Tribeca, SoHo, Williamsburg, and Harlem make inspiring comebacks. They feel the same can happen with Ocean Hill.

As lunch ends, Dunston reminds the group that nothing is for certain when it comes to redevelopment efforts in New York.

They may fail. They acknowledge the warning in silence. Their optimism remains unmoved. They have an omen: The name of the church refers to a miracle.

Part of the group that seeks to save Our Lady of Loreto:

Clockwise: Charles Piazza, Mario Toglia, Barbara Florio
Part of the group that seeks to save Our Lady of Loreto:
Clockwise: Charles Piazza, Mario Toglia, Barbara Florio
and Barbara Ann Pascucci Lepak.

Editor's note: If you want to help save Our Lady of Loreto, please contact
Barbara Florio at Tardugno131@aol.com

Meet The Team

After the appearance of The New York Times article, a group of Italian Americans, both former parishioners and non-parishioners, met on Long Island to discuss the significance of Our Lady of Loreto Church to Italian American history and why and how it should be saved. Pictured here: Mario Toglia of the Calitri American Cultural Group; Barbara Florio of the Italian Genealogical Group, Charles Piazza, member of the Sons of Italy Lodge, NYC chapter, Barbara Ann Lepak, and Dolores Genovese of the Italian Cultural Society at Farmingdale.

Fr. James Sweeney, Lucille Whitty, Barbara Florio, Mario Toglia, Mike Florio and Barbara Ann Lepak.

In order to know how much it would cost to restore the church, Marko Golubovic is brought in to examine the building. Marko is a principal of Milan Church Restoration.

On August 11, 2009 Robert Dadona, Director of Buildings and Property for the Diocese, graciously give a tour of the church building.

After the visit, Marko shows Jeff Dunston photos of churches that have been successfully restored by his company.

Part of the group working together with the Brooklyn Diocese on a plan seeking to save Our Lady of Loreto Church met at New York Landmarks Conservancy headquarters in Manhattan on August 5, 2009. Pictured are Marilyn Verna of the Italian Genealogical Group, Megan Rispoli, an architectural preservation consultant, , Mario Toglia, Jeff Dunston of Northeast Brooklyn Housing Development Corporation and Charles Piazza

Pictured here is Donny Mondelli who started the ball rolling to save Our Lady of Loreto from being demolished with

his letter-writing campaign to stop the project. His web site caught the attention of freelance reporter Peter Duffy

who wrote the article in The New York Times. Over 250 former parishioners attended the Friends of East New York

reunion in March of 2009. Donny Mondelli, who helped organized the reunion with others, stands in front of a display

on the history of this cherished church.

The campaign to save OLL has been in contact with Friends of St. Alphonsus in New Orleans, LA.

St. Alphonsus Church, which closed in 1979, was saved from neglect and deterioration by F.O.S.A.

and turned into an arts and cultural center. It is our hope to do the same with OLL so that it will successfully

serve the Brooklyn community in the future as well as preserve its historic Italian and Catholic cultures.

The campaign’s vision for the re-use of Our Lady of Loreto Church will be similar to the that of St. Alphonsus in

New Orleans, where concerts, lectures and exhibits are offered.

The Loreto Cultural Arts Center will serve not only the local community but also the entire area.

Anthony Corozzo of our campaign recently visited Patricia Deans, curator of the Brownsville Heritage Center,

at the Stone Avenue Library to view artwork created by her students.

Charles PIazza and Mario Toglia had the pleasure of meeting Blanche Comiskey of New Orleans during

her visit in Novewmber 2009 to her daughter's home in Cranford, NJ.

Blanche is one of the founders of Friends of St. Alphonsus and is very supportive of our campaign here to save OLL.

You can read about their group at

http://www.stalphonsusneworleans.org/

Architect Michael McCaw (center) stands with fellow architect Augustin Chae and developer Jeff Dunston outside Brooklyn Diocesan Headquarters after a meeting on August 27, 2009. Mr. McCaw was brought into the campaign by Mr. Dunston to design the low income housing around the church. The new buildings will reflect and blend in with the Italianate architecture of OLL and are being discussed to be named after OLL pastors Gesualdi, Sorrentino and Barretta. Mr. Dunston has been involved with neighborhood preservation and is committed to saving Ocean Hill's history in its architecture.

Research is being done on the history of Our Lady of Loreto Church as part of the campaign to have it declared a

Brooklyn landmark. Marilyn Verna of the Italian Genealogical Group has been seeking information to this effect at

the Brooklyn Municipal Building at 210 Joralemon Avenue. Joined by Mario Toglia and Jillian Mulvihill in her research

on October 5th, Marilyn shares an interesting fact from a conveyance book listing former owners.

One such owner was Pietro Cesare Alberti of Venice known during the Dutch colonial days as Pieter Cesar Alburtus.

Alberti has been documented by the American Italian Historical Society as being the first Italian to settle in New Netherlands.

Our Lady of Loreto parish, as it turned out, sits on land owned 200 years earlier by this Venetian merchant. In the second photo, Jillian and Marilyn are looking at microfilms of various deeds pertaining to the parish.

Our campaign has drawn the attention and support of many Italian American organizations. John Pinto of the Societa Pescopaganese di East Orange, NJ views a portrait of Antonio Federici at the Passaic County Historical Society museum in Paterson, NJ.

Antonio Federici of Paterson is responsible for the remarkable reinforced concrete construction of Our Lady of Loreto Church due to his patented “recipe” for concrete block, called “cast stone.”

While cast stone trim was commonly used at the turn of the 20th century, the application of cast stone construction for a high style religious building was considered rare and innovative in that decade, a usage considered noteworthy by various building journals at the time.

Research in libraries, archives and museums have revealed much information not only on the artistic beauty and historical importance of Our Lady of Loreto Church, but also on the professional accomplishments of those men involved in creating it.

Since November 2009, our campaign is sharing this information in Power Point presentations with the general public.

Louis Gallo, President of the P. Vincent Landi Lodge in Rocky Point, Long Island introduces Mario Toglia to the audience. Mr. Toglia made a case for landmark status for OLL in an hour long lecture from it's pre-construction years to its current status.

Looking at the Catholic Church from a historical point of view, Our Lady of Loreto represents that part of the Diocese’s past which earned it the title of “Diocese of Immigrants”. The Catholic Church in America was shaped by the early waves of Irish immigrants. The East Europeans and Italians who came in the late 19th century felt alienated in these “Irish churches” and requested neighborhood parishes of their own.

Also created alongside these ethnic territorial parishes was the establishment of the so-called National Catholic churches, which did not have borders . Only four such National Italian Catholic Churches were created in the Diocese of Brooklyn. Three have been demolished. Today, Our Lady of Loreto is the last remaining one in its original foundation. This is one of the key points mentioned by our campaign in its presentation at St. Adalbert’s Church on Staten Island.

January 17, 2010: Marilyn Verna and Mario Toglia with Fr. Eugene Carrella, pastor of St. Adalbert’s. Incidentally, Father Carrella’s mother and family came from OLL Parish.

Another key point brought up about the historical significance of Our Lady of Loreto is that it is the only reminder of a once vibrant, thickly populated Italian neighborhood. Immigrants from Italy began to move into Ocean Hill in large masses in the 1880s. After many generations, their descendents moved out into the surrounding suburban areas, while recent newcomers arrived from the Caribbean and the South.

Our Lady of Loreto Church stands as a monument to Ocean Hill’s former Italian presence.

January 18, 2010: Visitors who came to listen to our presentation at the Brownsville Heritage Center in the Brownsville Public Library on Stone Avenue got to see posters about the Italian religious societies at Our Lady of Loreto.

Getting the word out to the Italian American and Ocean Hill-Brownsville communities about the history, beauty and

significance of Our Lady of Loreto Church is an important aspect of our campaign to save this landmark building.

February 24, 2010 Dr. Joseph Scelsa hosted the hour long presentation at the Italian American Museum in Manhattan.

March 5, 2010 The presentation was once again hosted by the Brownsville Heritage Center. Assemblyman William Boyland has given this campaign his utmost support. He liked the idea of affordable housing complemented with a cultural arts center based in the church.

March 7, 2010 Dr. Marilyn Verna and Mario Toglia at the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum on Staten Island

This article was published in the ItalPlanet News on December 22, 2009

Salviamo la Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Loreto a Brooklyn

22 dicembre 2009

Qui di seguito pubblichiamo il messaggio di un nostro lettore, tra i sostenitori della campagna avviata per salvare la Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Loreto a Brooklyn. Un monumento di alto valore storico e architettonico, ma soprattutto un simbolo per tutti gli Italo-Americani che qui hanno vissuto, e che a questa chiesa son stati in qualche modo legati. Sul sito http://www.loretochurch.com/ è possibile avere maggiori informazioni sulla storia della chiesa e della comunità, e aderire alla petizione per salvare Nostra Signora di Loreto

Fin da quando è stato annunciato che una chiesa di Brooklyn, fondata da immigrati italiani, stava per essere demolita dalla Diocesi di Brooklyn, un gruppo di Italo-Americani si è messo in azione per salvarla.
La chiesa in questione, dedicata a Nostra Signora di Loreto, si trova nella zona di Ocean Hill, a nord-est di Brooklyn, in quella che è anche nota come East New York. Nel 1880, gli immigrati italiani si trasferirono nel quartiere in quantità così massiccia che venne fondata una parrocchia di una missione italiana nel 1894. Alla fine, si decise di costruire un luogo permanente di culto. Oltre un secolo dopo, nel 2008, a causa di cambiamenti demografici, della scarsa partecipazione e di problemi finanziari, la chiesa è stata chiusa ed è stata proposta per essere demolita; tuttavia è stato avanzato un piano per riportarla in vita e rimodernare anche il quartiere in cui sorge.

Un piano originario è stato presentato dal Progress of Peoples Development (una Catholic Charities controllata dalla Diocesi di Brooklyn) che ha chiesto la demolizione dell’intera struttura della chiesa e la costruzione di 88 unità di alloggi destinati alle fasce a basso reddito. Quando questa notizia è giunta ai giornali, gli ex parrocchiani hanno avviato una campagna, una petizione on line e un sito web per raccogliere sostegno. Per costoro, infatti, la chiesa e la parrocchia hanno un valore nostalgico, in quanto rappresentano le loro radici familiari: è qui che sono stati battezzati, sposati, dove molti di loro sono andati a scuola. Alla fine, parrocchiani e non, molti dei quali italo-americani, sono stati coinvolti, e, dopo approfondite ricerchi in archivi, librerie e musei, la chiesa ha assunto un nuovo significato. Nostra Signora di Loreto è diventata un monumento dell’esperienza italo-americana.

Questo è ciò che si è appreso:
1. Originariamente, la Diocesi di Brooklyn è stata principalmente irlandese e di lingua inglese, ma le masse di immigrati provenienti dall'Europa orientale e meridionale hanno convinto la gerarchia della diocesi ad avviare parrocchie in cui questi nuovi arrivati potessero partecipare ai culti nella loro lingua e con le loro tradizioni. La diocesi di Brooklyn divenne così nota come la “Diocesi degli immigrati”. Nostra Signora di Loreto è una parte importante di questa storia di immigrazione..
2. Delle quattro Chiese Cattoliche Nazionali Italiana create a Long Island, Nostra Signora di Loreto resta l'ultima esistente nella sua forma originaria. Le altre tre (San Michele Arcangelo, Sacro Cuore di Gesù e Maria, e Nostra Signora del Monte Carmelo) sono state demolite per fare spazio alla Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
3. Nostra Signora di Loreto continua a far parte del “paesaggio culturale” del passato del quartiere in cui sorge. Questa parte di Ocean Hill era situata in una zona densamente popolata di Italiani dal 1880 fino alla fine degli anni Sessanta, dopo che molti degli abitanti si trasferirono altrove a causa delle rivolte razziali del 1970. Sono così scomparsi tutti quei negozi e quelle aziende con nomi italiani. L'unica cosa che è rimasta che avrebbe fatto capire ad un visitatore della zona che qui in passato vivevano e lavoravano gli Italiani, è proprio la Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Loreto.
4. Nostra Signora di Loreto rimane un simbolo del lavoro degli immigrati italiani. Quando il pastore, il Reverendo Vincenzo Sorrentino, decise di costruire una chiesa permanente per la sua comunità scelse solo noti artigiani italiani per creare questa chiesa tutta italiana. Ha coinvolto nell’impresa gli Armezzani, i Federici & Figli da Paterson, New Jersey. Bisogna ringraziare per la costruzione di questo edificio Antonio Federici, un immigrato di Castelgrande, di cui è stata usata la “ricetta” per il calcestruzzo utilizzato per la costruzione.
5. Gaetano Federici, lo scultore, ha creato diverse magnifiche sculture sulla facciata del palazzo. Il frontone (32 piedi per 10 piedi), che racconta la Leggenda della Casa di Loreto, è stato creato nello studio Federici a Paterson, New Jersey, e trasportato, intatto, a Brooklyn. Inoltre, scolpiti in rilievo sono le statue di San Pietro e San Paolo, in stile Bernini, oltre ai due bassorilievi che sono al di sopra delle due porte laterali anteriori.
6. Adriano Armezzani, l'architetto, ha progettato Nostra Signora di Loreto in stile rinascimentale romano per riflettere le tradizioni italiane della sua congregazione, invece di accontentarsi della costruzione in mattoni tipica degli edifici in stile americano di quel tempo.
7. Gaetano Capone Jr., un noto pittore originario di Maiori, Salerno, è stato l'artista che ha dipinto i tre affreschi sul soffitto. I suoi tre dipinti sono le repliche della Trasfigurazione di Raffaello e dell'Immacolata Concezione di Murillo; il terzo, forse una sua opera originale, è la raffigurazione della Traslazione della Casa di Loreto.
8. Serafino Biancardi, il decoratore della chiese, era un altro immigrato, e decorò le case di importanti famiglie americane dell’epoca. A conferma del suo successo imprenditoriale, il fatto che Biancardi ha avuto il la sua officina-studio di decorazione a Manhattan per circa quarant’anni.
9. Casualmente, la ricerca negli archivi comunali ha anche rivelato che Pietro Cesare Alberti, di Venezia, era proprietario dell’area di terreno su cui sorge la chiesa. Alberti è stato il primo immigrato italiano di cui si abbia traccia nei registri che è venuto a New Amsterdam (ora New York) nel 1635. Un monumento per commemorare questo fatto è stata eretto dalla Italian Historical Society of America nel 2008
10. La New York Landmarks Conservancy, una organizzazione privata filantropica che contribuisce alla conservazione degli edifici storicamente significativi, ha fatto un censimento dei siti sacri a New York City e ha segnalato la potenziale perdita di magnifici edifici artistici che hanno contribuito a formare il “paesaggio” di New York City. E in questo elenco di edifici è compresa anche Nostra Signora di Loreto.
11. Il New York State Historic Preservation Office ha ricevuto una copia del censimento della New York Landmarks Conservancy e sono state fornite le foto e la storia di quest’area da parte dei promotori della campagna per salvare la chiesa. È poi emerso, da parte del NYS Historic Preservation Office, che la chiesa e la canonica, completata nel 1908, possono essere proposti per essere designati Sito Storico Nazionale.

Come parte della missione per salvare la chiesa, la Diocesi è stato contattato dai promotori della campagna e ha offerto un approccio diverso da quello proposto dal Progress of Peoples Development. La campagna ha portato alla costituzione della North East Brooklyn Housing Development Corporation (NEBHDCo), che ha condiviso le preoccupazioni dei promotori della campagna e ha riconosciuto il valore architettonico del quartiere in cui sorge la Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Loreto. In collaborazione con il gruppo di conservazione, la NEBHDCo avrebbe acquistato l'intero sito della diocesi, comprensivo dell'edificio della chiesa e della canonica restaurata, e avrebbe costruito unità abitative a prezzi accessibili per la restante proprietà.
Il nuovo complesso di appartamenti si dovrà “fondere” stilisticamente con l’architettura della chiesa, e avere marciapiedi e giardini, nonché dei garage sotterranei. L’edificio della chiesa potrebbe essere riutilizzato come un centro culturale e per le arti.

La chiesa che è stata sconsacrata nell’ottobre 2009 da Mons. Nicholas DiMarzio, è attualmente vuota e necessita di riparazioni strutturali.
La speranza dei promotori della campagna a sostegno di Nostra Signora di Loreto è che questa chiesa “risusciti” e possa servire per un altro secolo alla comunità del quartiere. (ItalPlanet News)

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Save Our Lady Of Loreto

Can A Group of Italian Americans Stop