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 In 1947 the firm of Levitt and Sons began a massive building campaign to provide housing for the legion of World War II veterans and their young families. Almost magically the trackless acres of Nassau County agricultural fields sprouted an ever-multiplying crop of tidy, cleverly-designed homes. The veterans had found their deliverance. They came by the thousands, and they set about to create the community of Levittown.
The Diocese of Brooklyn and its Bishop Thomas Molloy recognized early the spiritual needs of this growing community. It was apparent that a new parish had to be created and located in the heart of the concentration of young families. And so the parish of Saint Bernard was formed, its founding pastor was Fr. Thomas O’Brien, its first church building was a converted airplane hanger evolved from a military mess hall and garage. In this humble setting, Fr. O’Brien first met his new parishioners on November 3, 1948, and offered the first two parish Masses on Sunday, November 7. An overflow crowd of more than 1,200 persons filled the aisles of the make-shift church. Saint Bernard Parish had begun its spiritual journey.
Fr. O’Brien moved rapidly to involve his eager young adults in the spiritual work of the parish. He formed the Holy Name Society, whose monthly meetings were attended by several hundred men, and then the Rosary Society, beginning on November 30, 1948 with 174 women, organized to represent every section of the parish.
In addition, the Ushers Society was formed, and adult Altar Servers regularly volunteered to assist at Masses. In the beginning there were no young boys old enough to serve at Mass.
At this time Bishop Molloy provided Fr. O’Brien with two able assistants, Fr. Robert Barnwell, and Fr. Gerard Minogue. Different in style and talents, these priests brought dedicated and imaginative service to the mission of the fledgling parish. They were the harbingers of many zealous priests to come.
Saint Bernard, from the outset, was a markedly different parish, “made up of young families, hardly an oldster in the lot, hardly a teenager.” Hundreds of babies and toddlers crowded the pews and, often, the “Crying Room.” Fr. O’Brien, aware of the spiritual needs of these youngsters, asked the Dominican Sisters, based in Columbus, Ohio,and serving at his former parish of Saint Andrew Avellino, to volunteer to teach catechism. Sister Mary Mark Isnardo and Sister Madeline gladly accepted, and came from Flushing every Saturday to teach 100 children the fundamentals of their religion. Their labors bore immediate fruit as 45 children made their First Communion in the spring of 1949. In September of 1949 the Dominicans once again came to instruct the children, and their good work prepared 76 youngsters for First Communion.
The Catholic population in Levittown increased rapidly and Fr. O’Brien responded by receiving permission from the public school district for a released time program, enabling children to attend religious instruction during school hours. And so Saint Bernard School of Religion was born in September, 1950. The new full-time religion program required a full-time faculty, and five Dominican Sisters instructed in the first year 742 pupils from the elementary grades and 45 from high school. The first Holy Communion class numbered 27 children.
As a charming complement to the religion program, the nuns sponsored a flourishing music class taught by Sister Seraphina, highlighted by a music recital on June 24, 1971, the first of what has become an annual celebration.
Saint Bernard’s success as a parish soon required major adjustments in its physical plant. In 1950 the original one-acre occupied by the church building was exchanged for a four-acre plot. The church and rectory were moved eastward to their present location, and a barn and farmhouse were acquired, soon transformed into the first Center of Religious Education and a convent for the Dominican Sisters.
The parish buildings may have been in place but nothing else was finished. An army of young volunteers, many employing their military expertise, laid flooring in the church and sawed and hammered tremendous folding doors, which served to separate the sanctuary into a chapel for weekday Mass. As a special gift, a handsome wrought- iron pulpit, altar-rail and Baptistery grill were fabricated by a veteran skilled in iron-work.
The year 1955 brought a new wave of expansion. An addition was constructed at the front of the Church to accommodate an enlarged sanctuary; a new larger glassed-in Crying Room was built as were an organ alcove and two classrooms in the basement. Literally topping off these additions was a handsome church steeple, provided with electronic chimes by a gift of the Holy Name Society. A later set of chimes rang out the Angelus and sounded before Funeral Masses, but was discontinued after some complaints from local residents.
Saint Bernard’s physical plant was now adequate for the time. Within its walls a dynamic spiritual reality pulsed with the vitality of growth and development. The sacrament of Baptism, first administered on November 7, 1948, welcomed 5,110 children into the Church by 1955. The School of Religion enrolled 2,009 children in the year 1955 and the sacrament of Confirmation was administered yearly to hundreds of children. The Saint Vincent de Paul Society, dedicated to serving people in need, was founded in 1955 and the Men’s Choir was formed in the same year.
The depth of parish spirituality was manifested and enhanced by the formation of the Nocturnal Adoration Society, dedicated to homage of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
Growth is accompanied by change. The enormous growth of the Long Island Catholic population necessitated a major change. The Diocese of Brooklyn was split in two, the Diocese of Rockville Centre was formed to serve the counties of Nassau and Suffolk and on May 27th 1957 Bishop Walter Kellenberg was installed as its first bishop. A major transition occurred a year later, when Pope Pius XII died on October 9th and Pope John XXIII succeeded him in the Chair of Peter. In June 1957, Fr. O’Brien was transferred to Huntington Station, and Fr. Daniel Martin became pastor on July 6, 1957.
Saint Bernard parish, always innovative and open to change, confronted the pressures of the student population with a bold new initiative: a parish school. Fr. Daniel Martin, after careful consultation with informed parish leaders, announced the plan, and within days a School Building Fund Drive was underway. Its inaugural date was September 28, 1959. The response of Saint Bernard’s parishioners was remarkable. By April 1960, the Drive had achieved the sum of $670,587 and ground-breaking ceremonies were held on October 22, 1960. As construction proceeded, a Booster Club, designed to ease the financial burden of operating a new school, was formed, and, to the delight of everyone, the school building was completed in November 1961 and officially opened in September 1962. At the same time a new convent was seen to be necessary. Its construction began in May 1962 and was completed in May 1963. The Sisters of Saint Joseph were invited to staff the school, and to the delight of the parish, readily accepted.
Saint Bernard parish, now sixteen years old, received its first profound shock when Fr. O’Brien, now Msgr. O’Brien as of January 27, 1963, died in Hicksville on February 7, 1963. Msgr. O’Brien’s funeral was an extraordinary event, attended by more than one hundred and thirty priests. His remarkably diverse service to many constituencies, done always with quiet love, was memorialized in the funeral eulogy by Msgr. Thomas Feeney. Fr. O’Brien’s monumental achievement in founding Saint Bernard’s parish was recalled in detail, a high point in a life of service and commitment. A week after his funeral, Saint Bernard’s offered a Memorial Mass in sad, proud gratitude.
The vibrant life of Saint Bernard parish provided perhaps the most fitting tribute to Fr. O’Brien. The School of Religion was bursting at the seams with some 3,800 students, establishing it as the largest C.C.D. program in the United States, the Rosary and Holy Name Societies flourished, Saint Vincent de Paul Society reached out to persons in need, the Nocturnal Adoration Society numbered 200 active men devoted to the Eucharistic Lord. And the young people were not neglected. The parish sponsored a full array of C.Y.O. programs, including track, bowling, basketball, drama and teen clubs.
The deeply spiritual life of the parish owed much to the dedicated, imaginative pastoral leadership of Fr. Daniel Martin. Sadly, the parish had to reluctantly say goodbye to Fr. Martin when he was assigned, in 1966, to Sacred Heart parish in North Merrick as its new pastor. He left Saint Bernard with a remarkable record of achievement, not least its magnificent school. But perhaps his greatest legacy was his quiet, helpful, pastoral presence in the countless functions and activities that constitute Saint Bernard’s reality.
A major change now confronted Saint Bernard and the entire Church. The directives of Vatican Council II, especially those touching on liturgy, had to be implemented throughout the universal Church. The details of such implementation required a competent, knowledgeable leader. Saint Bernard was blessed with such a person, Fr. Lawrence Ballweg.
Fr. Ballweg, veteran associate pastor in Hicksville, brought to his new assignment a deep sense of the value of communication within the parish. Happily co-incidental with directives of the Vatican Council, Fr. Ballweg established a Parish Council, carefully composed of informed, representative members of the parish, both lay and religious. Henceforth, no major parish activities would be undertaken without the advice of the Parish Council. To emphasize its importance, a parish-wide election was held, fifteen persons – men, women, teenagers – were elected, and on Easter Sunday, 1968, the first Parish Council was presented to the parish.
The years after Vatican Council II were exciting and challenging, happily tense with the work of reconciling continuity and change. The rhythm of parish ceremonies pulsed on, here and there enlivened with the vitality of the vernacular, the English language, reverent and very natural in prayer. In addition, a new emphasis on Right to Life saw the defense of the unborn strengthened by illustrated lectures at Catholic high schools, and by bus travel to Albany to lobby for this most basic human right.
And then the young parish confronted catastrophe. In the afternoon of May 31, 1970 the cry rang out: “The church is on fire!” Black smoke billowed through the sanctuary and flames threatened the Blessed Sacrament, which was rescued by Fr. Angel Dopazo. Firemen from three volunteer companies responded to the 6:03 pm alarm and the fire was under control about 7 pm. Fr. Vincent Hagan, an Assistant Pastor, described the church interior as a total loss: “What was not burned,” he said, “was damaged by water.”
The parish, now five thousand strong, had to find a home immediately. Fr. Ballweg made the pastoral decision to convert the school auditorium into a place of worship. A bit awkward and clearly provisional, the auditorium-church now welcomed the parish, which was grateful for its roomy accommodations, however homely.
As the parish continued in the auditorium-church, Fr. Ballweg and the Parish Council discussed the fate of the church. Expert consultation indicated the church building could be salvaged.
The decision to rebuild was made and the work of restoration began. The massive repairs proceeded smoothly and in surprisingly quick order the job was declared done and Bishop Walter Kellenberg re-dedicated the church on January 23, 1971.
Shortly thereafter, Fr. Ballweg’s pastorate ended, and he was transferred to Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Manorhaven, leaving behind a debt-free parish and the gratitude of his people. The Bishop assigned Fr. James B. Richter to be the fourth pastor of Saint Bernard’s.
Fr. Richter had just completed six years at the Diocesan Seminary helping to organize a program of pastoral training, featuring a year of diaconal service by seminarians in the parishes of the diocese. The pastor’s blend of deep spirituality and practical activism helped to bring Saint Bernard’s to a new level of religious maturity. As if to illustrate this happy blend, Fr. Richter organized a Triduum in anticipation of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and a Twenty-fifth Anniversary Maintenance Drive which raised $180,000 and completed payment for the church restoration.
Fr. Richter’s years were varied and productive. To the many ministries developed in the parish’s first thirty years, several innovations called for by Vatican II were added. Extraordinary ministers, empowered to distribute Holy Communion, assisted priests at Masses, and men and women proclaimed the Scriptures in the office of Lector. Leaders of Song helped to revitalize the sacred music at Mass, and an expanded Choir, open to men and women, provided a new dimension to worship. The Catholic Daughters of America worked to strengthen family life and to witness a spirituality rich in Marian devotion. An Innovative Apostolate to the Elderly and Infirm brought the Church’s spiritual and human concern to the often neglected. A Home Visitation Program witnessed the Church’s love and service to some 4,700 families, and the spiritual vitality of Vatican II was felt by more than 700 couples from Saint Bernard’s who made Marriage Encounter and helped to transform the life of the parish. Not least, The Legion of Mary, re-structured in 1987, visited every home in Levittown as its volunteers sought to witness the love of God to all people.
Our reenergized high school C.C.D. program, with an enrollment of more than 500 high school students, met in groups of 8-12 in parishioners’ homes each week to discuss faith and development. Sunrise services, Thanksgiving Masses, Christian Awakenings, Antioch experiences, dances, and Sunday night gatherings were all part of our young adults’ expression and practice of their faith.
An imaginative youth program called the Emmaus Retreat experience combined a weekend of prayer and discussion at our parish school with sleep-overs at the homes of parishioners. In addition, Christian Awakening and a Summer Bible School involved young people as discussion leaders and counselors.
Another unique aspect of Saint Bernard’s religious education system was the Saturday morning Special Education Program. The teachers, counselors and the exceptional children all worked together to discover God at a pace and level appropriate for the children.
In an after school program, Saint Bernard’s School reached out to children who were in emotional distress after losing a parent either through death or divorce. Through participation in the Rainbow Club, the children could express their feelings and felt welcomed and enfolded by a loving group of friends.
For those about to make a life commitment, a program of In-Home Pre-Cana conferences led by experienced married couples offered practical and religious marital guidance. And for all interested persons, the parish introduced the recitation of the Official Morning and Evening Prayer of the Church, taken from the Liturgy of the Hours. Members of our vibrant Charismatic Prayer Group, who met every Wednesday evening, also arranged for our church’s very well-attended Healing Masses.
The Community Life Committee sought to witness Christian values. They coordinated activities like FISH, assistance to the blind, elderly, shut-ins, and help for foreign speaking parishioners.
On a wider scale they advocated resolutions and policies touching such critical areas as Right to Life, racial justice, and social and economic issues.
In 1975 the parish adopted a Vietnamese family. That project involved many people and a host of chores such as renting and furnishing a house. The family of seven lacked everything, and parish volunteers worked hard to meet their needs.
The Diocese underwent a major change when Bishop Kellenberg retired at age seventy-five after nineteen years in office. Bishop John McGann was consecrated the second bishop of Rockville Centre in June, 1976. Within two years the Church universal was challenged by unprecedented change when Pope Paul VI died on August 6, 1978, and was succeeded by Pope John Paul I who died suddenly on September 28, 1978. He in turn was followed by Pope John Paul II on October 16, 1978. The Seat of Peter would not be vacant for many years to come.
Continuing the theme of change, Bishop McGann appointed Msgr. George P. Graham as Saint Bernard’s fifth pastor in 1981. With a doctorate in Church Law, a Chairmanship of the Marriage Tribunal, and pastoral experience in several parishes, Msgr. Graham brought a rich diversity of talents and experience to his new assignment.
A deep emphasis on spiritual education characterized Msgr. Graham’s pastorate from its inception. The children in the parish school and Religious Education Center were enrolled in a Parish Prayer Crusade and promised to pray for every segment of parish life. The High School Faith and Development Program reached out to teenagers in grades 9-12. Combining detailed study and discussion of religious topics with Liturgies and Penance Services, the program sought to aid young people in making informed and responsible choices. Not least, a diverse recreational program provided outlets for youthful enthusiasm. 
Alas, this idyllic scene of spiritual achievement was not to remain unchallenged. The somber realization set in: The ageing church, never fully healed from the ravages of the fire of 1970, was markedly deteriorating. Other parish structures were likewise showing their age.
The Parish Maintenance Committee once more stepped into the breach and the loyal parish managed $200,000 in new pledges. Sadly, in the case of the church, heroic surgery was of little avail. In June, 1982, the church was officially declared unsafe and by year’s end was completely dismantled. And so, for the second time, the parish confronted the challenge of building a new church.
While plans for the new church were being drawn up the parish exhibited its by now legendary ability to adapt. Morning Masses and funerals were held in the Convent Chapel. Some funerals and weddings were welcomed by the hospitality of our local parishes, which also opened their arms to any of our parishioners who preferred to assist at Masses with them.
And then, on October 27, 1983, the end of the beginning finally arrived. Bishop McGann, Msgr. Graham, former pastors Fr. Ballweg and Fr. Richter, a number of fellow priests and several hundred parishioners gathered to break ground for the new church. A Prayer Service solemnized the occasion, and a reception provided a St. Bernard’s family touch.
If ground has been broken a fund-raising drive can’t be far behind. Msgr. Graham enlisted the help of a professional fundraiser, sought the advice of the Parish Council, enlisted some 600 volunteers, set a goal of $800,000 and speedily achieved a pledge of 1.6 million dollars. Soon, all was ready for the dedication of the new church, and on June 30th 1985, Bishop McGann consecrated the new edifice and presided at a Concelebrated Mass.
Typically, St. Bernard’s priests and parishioners wasted no time in putting this new home to maximal use. All of the time-tested ministries enjoyed their new environment and a generous group of parishioners volunteered to maintain every aspect of the operation: all cleaning functions, including waxing, sweeping, and snow shoveling. Msgr. Graham couldn’t resist calling the volunteers by the descriptive name “Domus Dei”, “The House of God”. 
In accordance with the dictates of Vatican II, which became mandatory in 1988, Msgr. Graham instituted an R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) program, which includes both those preparing for Baptism and those being received into Full Communion with the Church. After a joyous preparation, 94 adults, to date, have been welcomed into the community.
To the astonishment of many the year 1998 saw the 50th Anniversary of Saint Bernard’s parish. In a retrospective essay Msgr. Graham recalled his apprehension at being appointed pastor of so huge a parish and his pleasant surprise at learning how welcoming and congenial the parish was. “A Rare Parish” he called it, urged all to maximize their relation to the parish and reflected movingly on its spiritual potential.
The Diocese of Rockville Centre was also nearly 50 years old in the year 2000. In that year Bishop McGann retired at age seventy-five and was succeeded by Bishop McHugh on January 4. Sadly, Bishop McHugh was stricken with cancer, struggled with rare heroism for a year, and died on December 10, 2000. Bishop William F. Murphy was installed as the 4th Bishop of Rockville Centre on September 5, 2001.
Msgr. Graham retired at age 75. He was succeeded on June 27, 2001 by Fr. Gerard “Jerry” Ringenback, pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Islip Terrace. He was a member of the Priests’ Senate and the Priests’ Personnel Assignment Board. A deeply spiritual man, Fr. Jerry saw the parish as “that place where we can experience God’s presence, find meaning for our lives, and bring God’s message of hope to others.”
Fr. Jerry has been seeking to implement this spiritual vision with a rich variety of programs and ministries. To the time-tested activities he added a parish Social Ministry, which complements the St. Vincent de Paul Society with a very busy Outreach Program, featuring multiple services to those in need. 
Directors of Liturgical Music and Youth Ministry serve major parish constituencies, and an enterprising ministry of Adult Faith Formation provides multiple opportunities for mature religious growth. And, always eager to communicate, Fr. Jerry makes frequent use of an expanded parish Bulletin and interactive surveys and questionnaires to assess the spiritual temper of the parish.
One development has muted the joy of our parish life. As a consequence of a substantial decrease in enrollment, it was decided that it was no longer financially viable to keep our school open. With great regret, an era of quality Catholic education ended in our parish in 2005. Fr. Jerry and the present staff members have wisely rented the school property to BOCES (Board of Cooperative Education Services) which offers a variety of adult education classes. The revenue from BOCES and the Pre-K Tender-Garden program helps defray the expenses of our parish.
Now in his seventh year as Pastor, Fr. Jerry has complemented his religious dynamism with a very practical Restoration Campaign aimed at repair and refurbishment of the physical plant, including major improvement to the illumination and electronics, and not least a brand new Parish Center whose beginnings are owed to Msgr. Graham’s foresight.
Thus renewed and fortified, St. Bernard’s parish, mindful with gratitude of its storied past, and surprisingly youthful at its 60th Anniversary, looks to its future with confidence and prayerful joy in the Lord to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.
Sacraments Received at St. Bernard’s
Baptisms
24,067
as of 4/26/08
First Holy Communions
22,664
as of 5/08
Confirmations
19,256
as of 5/08
Marriages
3,909
as of 6/28/08
RCIA
57 Full Communion
38 Catechumens
Since 1992
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