St. Michael the Archangel Church Farmingville, Long Island, N.Y.

On November 5, 1983, St. Michael the Archangel R.C. Church opened her doors to her Archbishop and her first Mass. How it all began and how St. Michael's continues to thrive is what this story is all about.

St. Michael's began with only 30-35 people who remained faithful to Archbishop Lefebvre and through him, Holy Mother Church, despite all the attacks upon him and the Society of St. Pius X which he founded. Yet the faith and loyalty of those few must have been very pleasing in God's sight, for He rewarded them and consequently others like myself, (11th hour Christians) one hundredfold. It happened like this.

Mrs. Betty Ann Dixon, one of the 35, knew of a building, (an old dress factory) in Farmingville that was for sale and would make an excellent chapel. Other options such as store fronts, rented buildings, etc. were also being investigated at the same time. Our Coordinator, Mr. Peter Sardegna, knew of the building that Mrs. Dixon was referring to, and in passing one day, he took down the phone number from the sale sign, and proceeded to make inquiries. The building was being sold for $240,000, the Bank Account of the faithful was $320. That this story doesn't end here is a miracle in itself. Only those with absolute confidence in Divine Providence and the Will of God would have thought to continue. But they were true pioneers of the Catholic spirit. On the day of contract a sum of $10,000 was given by an anonymous donor. As of contract, it was agreed that the parishioners could now move in and do whatever was needed in the way of repairs and remodeling, but the previous owner would no longer be responsible for damages, repairs, etc.

I do believe that Murphy's Law of real estate must be in effect everywhere for no sooner did the faithful step in, than everything that could break, broke. In particular, the well and the air conditioners. But they were not to be discouraged, they had six weeks before the Archbishop arrived, the men and especially the women working beside them, worked with great fervor to have everything ready. The Seminary was kind enough to send Fr. Rizzo, then a seminarian and a number of other seminarians down to help. They were handsomely rewarded by being sent back to the Seminary aglow with poison ivy. I can only imagine that this was the salt God used to flavor the works of the faithful. It would seem that many graces are needed to form the foundation of a church. Soon it was closing day and through God's grace a generous loan of $35,000 was given in order to finalize the sale. All legal counsel and fees were donated and on Thursday, November 2, St. Michael the Archangel Chapel was a reality.

Before I continue, I must tell you a little about our heavenly patron. You see Traditionalists rarely agree, but when the name of St. Michael was proposed, no one objected, no other name was mentioned. For St. Michael is our leader in battle, it is behind his shield that we fight in defense of the Church. St. Michael's was founded in defense of the Church and of her teaching, so it would seem fitting that we should bear his name, carry his sword, and thrust his shield for that which is the truth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

But we have another powerful patron in heaven and he is St. Joseph the earthly spouse of Our Lady. While on earth St. Joseph was the provider of all material comforts for Our Lord in His hidden life as the Holy Child. Jesus is hidden also in the Eucharist, in our tabernacles, and St. Joseph provides for all the material aspects that will give glory and honor to the Divine Child hidden in the Eucharist. His intercession was so obvious, that when you asked about getting a certain statue or a new stove, etc. the most common reply was, "Don't ask me, go pray to St. Joseph."

Finally, thankfully, we have the gentle hand of Our Lady always upon us. As we get bogged down in temporal cares, bicker amongst each other and generally make a mess of things, She is always there through the guidance of the priests, calming things down and conforming everything to the Will of her Son.

Now to go back to our first Mass with our Archbishop. We had closed on Thursday, the Archbishop was arriving on Sunday. The road between Farmingville and Ridgefield really got a work-out at this point as carpets, statues, communion rails, etc. were being transported down for the occasion. The timing was so close that the men of the parish were just finishing putting the cross and the bell on the roof when the Archbishop arrived. But all went well, the ceremonies, the Mass were timeless in beauty and reverence, and a permanent chapel of the Society of St. Pius X was established, a touching tribute to both God and the Archbishop.

To show you our progress in the past three years let me describe to you St. Michael's as it was in the beginning. First of all it is perfectly rectangular in shape. The sacristy lies at the north end followed by the altar and sanctuary and then the main body of the church, behind this was the parish hall, a large room with kitchen facilities on the west side. The bathrooms were also located on the western side in the main body. There were no pews, just dozens upon dozens of folding chairs with strips of carpet in front of them for kneeling.

By the way, the original 35 parishioners increased to 120 the first week and never dropped below it. We now average a little over 200 people every week, and the ranks appear to be swelling.

But at the beginning the weekly costs of maintaining the chapel was $1000, the average collection was $400.

The financial solution was a Pew Memorial. The Parishioners were asked to donate $250 per pew, and their names would be engraved on plaques affixed to the pews. It was a great success, and the incoming funds kept the chapel on its feet for the first few months.

Not long afterwards our Coordinator was contacted by a housewrecking firm that a church in Amsterdam, N.Y. was being emptied out. Thus began the first of many trips to Amsterdam, N.Y. The church by no coincidence was named St. Joseph's. From this church we purchased at a minimal fee, church doors, beautiful wood-carved sacristy cabinets, 70 pews, and two years later three marble altars and tabernacles. We send our heartfelt gratitude to the Bishop of Albany.

We also got our Votive Light stands from St. Joseph's in Lake Ronkonkoma, they were in their dumpster. It would seem that God does not have to remove His lamp stand from novus ordo churches, they're more than willing to toss it away themselves.

Now the funds for the doors, pews, and cabinets came from the Pew Memorial, and when it came time for the altars, we received a generous donation and had a fund raising dinner. All of this showing that God can make a lot of labor and a little money go a very long way.

By September 1984, our doors, sacristy cabinets and pews were in place. But as I fondly look back I have to admit when it comes to penance, nothing could beat St. Michael's at an All Night Vigil. Being in a freezing cold church, in the middle of the night, kneeling on carpet strips, fighting to stay awake.

Now came a year and half of renovations. Badly needed classrooms (we now have catechism classes for all elementary grades, plus high school and adult classes as well) were built between the Parish Hall and the main body of the church. A vestibule was centered between the classrooms and acted as a buffer zone between the chapel and parish hall. One classroom was partitioned so it could be divided in half if necessary and a large glass viewing window was put in on the chapel side, so that the room could double as a Cry Room.

On the other side of the vestibule was a classroom and the bathrooms, and into the wall on the chapel side were built the confessionals.

At the other end of the church, the sanctuary steps were carpeted a deep red, and all the fluorescent lighting was replaced by ceiling fan lamps, which would be able to cool us off in the warm weather as well as provide light. This brings us up to the Spring of 1986.

The Archbishop was coming to the chapel for Confirmations at the end of April. As God would have it, a month or so prior to his arrival, our Coordinator had seen what he said were the perfect communion rails for the chapel, but they would be expensive. When we asked the seminary for permission to buy them, they said they would have to think about it, after all it was a lot of money. Novenas to Saint Joseph started immediately, and I tend to think that his Feast Day being right at that time, didn't hurt any either. The following Sunday Father agreed that if we could raise the money we could buy them. That afternoon, after our Coordinator got home from the chapel, he received a call, one of our parishioners having heard about the communion rails wanted to donate the money for them. Well, the communion rails were bought and installed and the rest of the sanctuary was carpeted that deep vivid red. But before one could step back and admire the beauty of it the Archbishop had arrived. It seemed as if God, Himself, was rolling out the red carpet for the arrival of his servant.

It was soon after this that the men of the parish were hot on the trail again to Amsterdam, N.Y. to pester, prod and cajole until they had gotten the marble altars they had seen two years before. But that's another article altogether.

As for the people at St. Michael's, if I said everything I would be accused of bragging. They were wonderful, and I feel it a privilege to be counted among them. Someone once said at the chapel everyone gives: one group gives their time and their labor, the second group gives their financial support, and the third group gives headaches, problems and upset stomachs. Then he added, unfortunately, we are all in the third category. I have to admit this is true. We all have been a problem to someone at one time or another, consequently we all have to bear up when someone is causing us aggravation and heartburn. But this is the category that gives grace. For in bearing one another's burdens (Gal. VI. 2), in graciously accepting humiliations and misunderstandings, differences of opinion, etc. we can gain grace for the chapel.

And so we continue to persevere so that our souls will grow in beauty, just as our chapel does.