Current and former parishioners joined Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Espaillat, and the current and former pastors to celebrate the 125th anniversary of St. Philip Neri parish in the Bronx.

Cardinal Dolan called St. Philip Neri “a grand parish on the Grand Concourse,” referring to the church’s location on one of the Bronx’s most important thoroughfares.

As the Mass was also a vigil Mass for Trinity Sunday, the cardinal, speaking in both English and Spanish drew a parallel between the Holy Trinity and a trio of elements of what makes a successful parish: “a community of love, a community of outpouring, and a community of life-giving.” He also recalled the parish’s founding by Italian immigrants building the nearby Jerome Park Reservoir, “It’s almost as if the Most Blessed Trinity — God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit — is this infinite, everlasting reservoir of life and grace and light and mercy.”

“It’s a celebration not just of 125 years, it’s a celebration of our first 125 years,” Father Daniel O’Reilly, St. Philip Neri’s pastor, said in bilingual remarks at the close of Mass.

Attending the celebration was outgoing Superintendent of Schools Michael Deegan, a former parishioner of St. Philip Neri, who served there as an altar boy and also participated in its 100th anniversary festivities. 

“It was as spectacular as it was today,” Deegan recalled. “As I sat in the pew and I remembered the thousands and thousands of times I served Mass here, this was such a vibrant, wonderful parish, and it is today, so I’m just so excited to be here and come back home.” Deegan noted that his mother had also been a parishioner at the church for 64 years. 

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.