Incarnation

Rev. John J. O’Connor

Pastor

                Born the last of five children in Flatbush, Brooklyn, Father O’Connor attended Cathedral Preparatory Seminary, Brooklyn, and Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston before entering the major seminary at the Pontifical North American College, Rome.

                He was ordained a deacon in 1992 at St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome, and a priest in 1993 at St. James’ Cathedral, downtown Brooklyn.  He has a bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology and a license degree in Sacred Liturgy.

                After post ordination studies, Father O’Connor served in Brooklyn parishes before being assigned to St. Clare’s parish, Rosedale where he was stationed for the past eight years.

Bishop DiMarzio appointed him the eighth pastor of Incarnation Parish on May 20, 2009.  He was installed as pastor on October 4, 2009.

Mrs. Sati Marchan

Principal

                Mrs. Marchan has diversified experiences as Principal of two Catholic Elementary Schools, Classroom Teacher, Commonwealth Exchange Teacher Participant, and Chairperson of Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges Accreditation Team.

                She attended the College of Preceptors in England where she obtained a BA in Education.  She then migrated from Trinidad and attended Fordham University where she received two graduate degrees, one in Curriculum and Teaching and the other in Administration and Supervision.  Mrs. Marchan also recently received her third graduate degree from St. John’s University in School Building Leader.

                Before being appointed principal here in 2008, she served as principal of St. Jerome’s school for eleven years.

                She is married to a Catholic school principal and they have three daughters.

Mrs. Amalia Vais

Faith Formation Administrator

                Mrs. Amalia Vais has been employed by Incarnation Parish for thirteen years.  She enjoys teaching students of all ages; however she feels blessed to be teaching Junior High students Social Studies, Spanish and Religion.

                In 2003 she became Faith Formation Administrator of the parish.  She feels honored to work with children from the entire parish community as well as the catechists of the Sunday School program.

                Marrying her high school sweetheart in 1998, Amalia is the proud mother of two beautiful girls. Hard work, family and friends are what keep her motivated in service to her students, parents and fellow teachers and catechists.  Being a positive role model to her children and the children she teaches is very important to her.

Deacon Francois Innocent

Deacon Francois Innocent is the eldest of nine children.  He attended the Institution St Louis of Gonzague, before enrolling in the Faculty of Agronomy in Port-au-Prince Haiti from which he graduated in 1951 with a BS in Agronomy.  He continued his post graduate studies in Credit Administration and Information processing in United States and Economics in Brazil.

He was admitted into the Diaconate Program in the Diocese of Brooklyn and ordained a permanent deacon in 1990.  Deacon Francois and his wife, Bernadette, are the parents of three grown children and six grand-children; they will be celebrating their Golden Wedding Anniversary in 2010.  Deacon Francois has been serving in the Parish of Incarnation Queens Village since his Ordination.   He is the senior cleric of the parish staff. 

Deacon Franklin Munoz

Born in Cuenca, Ecuador, first of 4 Children, Dcn Franklin went to school with the Salesian Brothers and graduated from Colegio Tecnico Salesiano in Ecuador.  Dcn. Franklin arrived in NY on Jan 5, 1985.  He continued his studies at Queens Community College.

He is married to Ana Maria and they have 3 children:  Kevin 14, Gracemary 10 and John Paul a special little boy born on July 2009.

In 1997, he received a special call and with his family’s support, he entered the Diaconate Program and was Ordained as a Permanent Deacon for the Diocese of Brooklyn by Bishop Daily on April 21, 2001 and assigned to Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria.

In 2004 Dcn Franklin was transferred to Incarnation Church.  In 2006 he was assigned by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio to work for the Catholic Migration Office as the Special Assistant for Hispanic Concerns.

Deacon Clemenceau Pierre -Antoine

                Deacon Clemenceau was born in Cap-Haitien, Haiti and is the seventh of ten children.  He obtained a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Faculté des Sciences, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  Continuing his engineering studies at Rheinisch-Westfaelische Technische Hochschule (RWTN), Aachen, Germany he was awarded a master’s  in Foundation Engineering, Hydraulic Engineering and Water Economics.

                With the support of the parish staff, he attended the diocesan diaconate preparation program at Cathedral Prep and was ordained a permanent deacon of the Diocese by Bishop DiMarzio on May 19, 2007 at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Brooklyn.

                Before ordination Deacon Clemenceau was married to Gerarde B. Canal who is currently an administrative/medical assistant.  They have one daughter, Christina, who recently graduated from St. John’s University. 

Deacon Robinson Despeignes

                Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti before immigrating to the United States, Deacon Robinson graduated from York College with a degree in accounting.  He is currently in the field of higher education as Associate Director of International Education, Principal Designated School Official and International Students Advisor.

                He is married to his wife Marie and they have two teenage daughters.  They reside in Elmont, New York.

                After being accepted into the Permanent Diaconate Program for the Diocese of Brooklyn, Deacon Robinson was prepared for his ministry and Ordained a Permanent Deacon on May 23, 2009 by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.  He was appointed to serve the People of Incarnation Parish that same day.

    The Mystery of the Incarnation can be summed up in one word:  Jesus.  It is the history altering event of the conception and birth of God’s only Son.  The word incarnation means taking flesh:  the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity took flesh in human history by the power of the Holy Spirit and the cooperation of the Virgin Mary.  It is a mystery of God’s Presence among us in time and space.

     Below the Mystery of the Incarnation is explained by a creedal statement and an early council of the Church and then followed by a more extensive web link to the New Catholic Encyclopedia.

And we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born from the Father before all the ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one substance with the Father, through Whom all things were made. For us men, and for our salvation, He came down from heaven, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, He took on flesh from the Virgin Mary, and became man. (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed A.D. 325, 381).

So, following the saintly fathers, we all with one voice teach the confession of one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, of a rational soul and a body; consubstantial with the Father as regards his divinity, and the same consubstantial with us as regards his humanity; like us in all respects except for sin; begotten before the ages from the Father as regards his divinity, and in the last days begotten for us and for our salvation from Mary, the virgin God-bearer as regards his humanity; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, acknowledged in two natures which undergo no confusion, no change, no division, no separation; at no point was the difference between the natures taken away through the union, but rather the property of both natures is preserved and comes together into a single person and a single subsistent being; he is not parted or divided into two persons, but is one and the same only-begotten Son, God, Word, Lord Jesus Christ, just as the prophets taught from the beginning about him, and as the Lord Jesus Christ himself instructed us, and as the creed of the fathers handed it down to us (Council of Chalcedon, 451).
Web link created for:

http://www.catholic.org/encyclopedia/view.php?id=6078

A

Short History

of

Incarnation Parish

Queens Village, New York

Founded

In the Year of Our Lord

Nineteen Hundred and twenty-Seven

As the Catholic population grew in southeast Queens in the early Twentieth century after the First World War, Bishop Thomas Molloy founded Incarnation Parish to better serve the people of Bellaire.

In April 1927 the parish was established with Rev. John Dockery as its first pastor.  Father Dockery celebrates the first parish Mass at the nearby Bellaire Theatre.  The community will worship there until Midnight Mass, 1928 when the new building welcomes its parishioners for Christmas.  The Church is later formally dedicated on December 22, 1929 by Bishop Molloy.

After the purchase of an adjoining house to serve as the rectory, the Great Depression and later World War II put on hold the dreams of building a parish school.

Those dreams became a reality when in June 1950 ground is broken for the school building and on June 22, 1952 Bishop Molloy returns to dedicate the long awaited school which is staffed by the Sisters of St. Dominic.  Sister Mary Winifred, the first Principal is accompanied by eight Sisters who take residence in classrooms on the third floor.

The school receives its first pupils in September 1952 with grades 1-5.  The following year grades 6-8 complete a full school enrollment.  In September 1954 construction of the convent begins.  It is completed the following year.  Today the Sisters of St. Dominic are assisted by dedicated lay women and men in the education of our young people.

In June 1976, the rectory is transferred to the south side of the school building.  The former rectory would later be renamed St. Joseph’s House and now has meeting rooms on the first floor.

1997 saw church renovations and the addition of much needed space to serve as an enlarged sacristy.  The enhancements not only allowed for better worship in accordance with the Liturgical Reforms of the Council but also addressed needs to the church infrastructure.   The church was also made accessible for the disabled.  More refurbishments would be added over ten years later as the church building began its seventh decade.

Besides institutional changes, there was also a cultural and ethnic transition that the parish underwent in the 1970’s when many of the original settlers of the area left and new settlers particularly from Central America and the Caribbean arrived.  Mass is first celebrated in Spanish at the parish in 1977.  This transition brought some great tensions with it and the parish staff was quick to preach and facilitate harmony.  Presently Mass is celebrated in Tagalog, Creole and Spanish, in addition to English each month.  The people of Incarnation Parish today also number from the Philippines, Central Asia and West Africa.  Incarnation has blossomed into a community of many cultural heritages from many nations baptized and living one common Faith in Christ Jesus.

The present challenges faced by the parish community are those of evangelization, as the words of the Gospel are needed to lead and to guide more than ever as Christ’s People at Incarnation “seek to make the Lord's presence and love known through service and education, through evangelization and through continual conversion and renewal in Him.” This outreach helps sustain our natural families as well as our common Family of Faith.

At the dawn of the Twenty-first Century, Incarnation continues to meet the spiritual needs of the people of Queens Village.  Much has changed in our community and in the world during the last century but the message of Christ and His Gospel is always the same.

PASTORS OF INCARNATION

REV. JOHN B. DOCKERY
1927-1931

REV. JOSEPH I. O’BRIEN
1932-1946

REV. MSGR. JAMES GRIFFIN
1946-1971

REV. WILLIAM EDGAR
1971-1975

REV. MSGR. EDWARD J. NOLAN
1975-1995

REV. MSGR. JOHN F. CASEY
1995-2003

REV. JOSEPH A. CERIELLO
2003-2009

REV. JOHN J. O’CONNOR
OUR PRESENT PASTOR