On a grey, rainy January day, the Fordham Road section of New York’s Bronx district isn’t exactly inviting, but the smile on Father Fredy Patino’s face is warm as he welcomes me to Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish.
Since a diocesan reorganisation, the parish is now combined with the nearby St Martin of Tours one. The fact is, the process of combining parishes is something of a necessity that Father Fredy knows well, having managed to merge three on Staten Island in his previous assignment.
At a time when there are only 265 diocesan priests for 270 parishes in the Archdiocese of New York, learning to do more with less becomes second nature to this generation of priests.
Unlike the generations of Irish and Italian Americans that preceded them, many of today’s newly ordained clergy are Hispanic. Fr Fredy hails from Columbia, while the new rector of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Fr Enrique Salvo, was born in Nicaragua.
Fr Fredy came from a devout family and originally tried his vocation with a religious order, but discerned that his true vocation was parish work. He entered St Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, and was ordained in 2013. He describes his priesthood in almost blissful terms, whatever the challenges of working in a poor, inner-city neighbourhood. He loves the people, whose affection for him is obvious.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been in the community since the early 20th century, and was erected as an Italian-speaking parish to serve the growing immigrant population. Even today there is a weekly Mass in Italian, as well as Masses in English and Spanish. The Romanesque church has beautiful columns, statuary and Stations of the Cross.
Fr Fredy celebrates Mass reverently and elevates the host and chalice for over 30 seconds. “I bring to the Consecration all my intentions, my prayers and thoughts,” he says. The noontime congregation is not large but is deeply involved and includes parishioners of many ages and nationalities.
Fr Fredy has instituted many programmes to serve his parishoners and works closely with Mgr Kevin Sullivan, who chairs Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, to create customised programmes that work for the local neighbourhood.
The parish also serves local hospitals and operates a large school, part of which is now, in a time of declining enrolment, leased to the Board of Education. This is one of the regrettable realities of an era when parish membership has declined. The Pew Research Center reports that “Nones” (citizens who subscribe to no organised religion) have reached their highest level ever at 28 per cent.
After Mass we visit St Martin of Tours, several blocks away, which has reopened after a fallow period and is undergoing renovation. Fr Fredy has constructed a grotto in its courtyard where many in the neighbourhood come to pray at a new statue of Our Lady. He sees this as a burgeoning new centre of the community, and the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, intends to come and dedicate it.
Afterwards, as we walk to an Italian restaurant on Arthur Avenue for a lunchtime lasagna, Fr Fredy exudes serenity, benevolence and hope, which is clearly returned in the eyes of the locals who recognise him as he passes.
Later, returning to Manhattan on the Metro North line that runs adjacent to Fordham University’s 187-acre Bronx campus, I cannot help but wonder how the Church, saddled though it is with so many seemingly intractable challenges of urban life, still manages to serve so many so well in multiple ministries.
If Fr Fredy Patino has his way, and there are more like him, the Church will continue to do so joyously, and for years to come.
This article first appeared in the March 2024 issue of the Catholic Herald. To subscribe to our multiple-award-winning magazine and have it delivered to your door anywhere in the world, go here.
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