Two Sisters of Life and about a dozen volunteers spent a long morning on March 12 preparing the Sisters’ “Mommy Storeroom,” a new facet of community engagement by the Catholic Education and Family Center at St. Philip Neri in the Bronx.  

The multi-year initiative to transform the Catholic Education and Family Center at St. Philip Neri is intended as a blueprint for schools throughout the Archdiocese of New York. The project places the church and its adjoining school at the center of the community, and provides space and opportunity for related organizations, such as Catholic Charities and the Sisters of Life, to offer services on a localized basis.

St. Philip Neri has made a supply area in the church basement available to the Sisters of Life, who will use the space to support their “Walking with Moms in Need” program with the Mommy Storeroom, a central site  according to Sister Maria Frassati, S.V.

The Mommy Storeroom is “a way to meet the great need in the Bronx,” what Sister Maria described as a “great thirst” for assistance, and helping to create “a culture of life everywhere.”

The Storeroom will kick off officially at a St. Philip Neri community event set for April 13, which will also include the return of the parish’s farmer’s market.

The Sisters were assisted by local volunteers, students from St. Philip Neri School, and also students from Steubenville visiting on their spring break. More volunteers willing to help distribute goods, especially those with Spanish language skills, would be welcome, Sister Maria said. 

She specifically cited Resurrection Parish in Rye, St. Paul and St. Ann parishes and their pastor, Father Steven Neier, in Congers, and Holy Rosary Church in the Bronx for their support. 

Unlike some maternal support organizations, which offer clothing and supplies for mothers, babies, and toddlers, the Sisters intend to provide items for children as old as 14. Items including girls’ shoes, toddler to youth, boys’ shoes, toddler to youth, and baby carriers currently top the Sisters’ request list, along with gift cards from major retailers that allow mothers to purchase items not held in the Storeroom or regularly donated, according to Sister Maria.

Cardinal John J. O’Connor, then the Archbishop of New York, founded the Sisters of Life in 1991, after publishing an article in Catholic New York entitled “Help Wanted: Sisters of Life.” Eight sisters founded the new order on June 1, 1991, which has now grown to more than 100 sisters serving in 10 cities in the United States and Canada.

“Listening” to the community

Among those helping to fold baby clothes on the day was Roenice González-Caraballo, who was named St. Philip Neri’s executive director of community outreach and engagement at the end of 2023.

She is hoping for better weather for the return of St. Philip Neri’s farmer’s market on April 13, an opportunity to provide access to fresh produce for members of the community. “It rained all eight weekends” that the market was held last year, she said. 

González-Caraballo also pointed to green shoots throughout St. Philip Neri’s community efforts so far, such as increased attendance at Mass, including 500 people who attended on Ash Wednesday, and an increase in registrations and renewals at St. Philip Neri School.

Initial renovation work on the school prior to the 2023-24 academic year was a success and will continue this summer, with eight classroom and a science laboratory set to be upgraded.

St. Philip Neri was founded in 1898 by Italian immigrants and Father Daniel Burke, D.D. Although the parish has remained in its original location throughout its history, the parish has been damaged twice by fire, in 1912 and again in 1997. The current structure was dedicated by Cardinal Edward Egan on January 6, 2002. Cardinal Timothy Dolan called it “a grand parish on the Grand Concourse” during a June 2023 visit to celebrate St. Philip Neri’s 125th anniversary.