Greetings My Emerald Brothers and Sisters,Many months ago Brother Emerald Joe Flood (thank you Joe!) brought to our attention the plight of St Brigid's Church, known as the Famine Church of the Lower East Side, in New York City.
St. Brigid's was built by Irish immigrant labor in 1848 and is a church that has great significance for its history, architecture and service to the surrounding community for so many years. The Catholic Archdiocese, sighting structural weaknesses of the Church, designated St. Brigid's for demolition with the eventual sale of the property to follow.
As a response to the announcement of the impending demolition of St. Brigid's Church, the "Committee to Save St. Brigid's" was formed with the intent of preserving St. Brigid's Church. During a Christmas visit back to New York City I went to visit the shuttered church and met with Committee member Carolyn Ratcliffe. She told me of the situation and the struggle that was taking place as we stood just across the street from the majestic church. The distinctively beautiful church overlooks Thompson Square Park and seems to stand as a beacon of faith over the park and the entire neighborhood. The prospect of the historic church no longer being there was distressing. Thoughts of the Irish laborers who built the Church, the multitude of the faithful who had worshiped, prayed and celebrated meaningful spiritual events in their lives over so many years filled my head. The loss of St. Brigid's would be a tragedy that could not be reversed once the Church was demolished as it was scheduled to be. We had to try to help save St Brigid's! In our own way, whatever we could do, we had to try and preserve our heritage wherever it might be and in whatever form.
Our Emerald Society, after a vigorous discussion at a general meeting, unanimously voted to send a donation to the "Committee to Save St. Brigid's"! At that meeting I cannot tell you how proud I was to see our members, Catholic, Protestant and Jewish all come together to draw a line in the sand and stand together! We would not let a House of Worship, an Irish historical Church, be demolished without a fight! And we joined that fight from 3000 miles away! We demonstrated that we were good partners and kept the faith with our Irish heritage no matter what the distance, difficulties, or odds. And make no mistake about it we knew that the odds of winning this fight were overwhelmingly against us. But sometimes, you just have to make the effort because it is the right thing to do, and we did! The "Committee to Save St. Brigid's"raised financial and political support in a demonstration of tremendous effort on behalf of all who participated! The "Committee to Save St. Brigid's" delayed the demolition through the courts for about three years until finally.....an answer to the prayers of many... a miracle occurred!
An anonymous donor donated 20 million dollars to St Brigid's which will save St. Brigid's Church!!! Ten million will be allocated for restoration of the Church building, with an additional eight million for St. Brigid's School and two million as an endowment for the spiritual needs of the parishioners. This is truly a miracle and we are deeply grateful to the benefactor who has made the preservation of St. Brigid's Church a reality! His generosity will preserve our heritage and St. Brigid's Church for years to come! We also express deep gratitude for the tireless efforts of the "Committee to Save St. Brigid's" and all those who struggled together!
It is my sincerest hope that one day you will be able to visit St. Brigid's Church, the Famine Church, and sit in the park in the shadow of the Church. Know that you were part of a historic effort to save a historic Church and preserve our Irish heritage!
Together as One,
Steve Saletros
President
Los Angeles Police Emerald Society
