Holy Family-St. Thomas Aquinas Parish: A Bilingual Catholic Home in Park Slope, Brooklyn
On a tree-lined block in Park Slope, Holy Family-St. Thomas Aquinas Parish gathers a Catholic community that prays in two languages, serves its neighbors, and keeps a steady eye on a primary school half a world away. The parish sits at 249 9th Street, where weekend Masses are offered in Spanish and English, daily Mass is celebrated at lunchtime, and a food pantry opens its doors to anyone who needs a hand. Sister Doryne Bermoy, F.L.P., the parish's Director of Faith Formation, helps children prepare for First Communion and Confirmation, while Deacon Marcial Cordon assists at the altar and the Rev. Alexandre Morard serves as pastor. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Brooklyn, and its rhythms - Sunday Mass, weekday liturgy, Saturday confession, First Friday adoration, and a long list of devotional committees - give the neighborhood a daily place to pray, gather, and serve.
Mass Through the Week
The parish's Mass schedule is built around the working week. The Saturday Vigil is celebrated at 5:30 p.m. in English, and on Sunday morning the 10 a.m. Mass is offered in Spanish while noon is in English. On every weekday from Monday through Saturday, Mass is celebrated at 12:15 p.m., and the Friday Mass is bilingual, drawing both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking worshippers together for a single liturgy. The result is a parish where Catholics who commute to jobs in Manhattan or shift work in the city can find a Mass before the day begins, after it ends, or in the middle of it.
Parishioners who cannot be present in person can follow along through the livestream, which carries the parish's liturgies online for those at home, traveling, or in the hospital. Recordings of homilies and parish announcements are also made available so that anyone who missed a particular Mass can keep up with the parish's liturgical life.
The Seven Sacraments
Holy Family-St. Thomas Aquinas celebrates the seven sacraments instituted by Christ and recognized by the Catholic Church: Baptism, Confirmation, the Holy Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage, and Holy Orders. The parish describes a sacrament as a summoning instituted by Christ that brings the faithful into a deeper relationship with Him, and the seven rites are divided into the Sacraments of Initiation, the Sacraments of Healing, and the Sacraments of Service.
Baptism is celebrated in Spanish after the 12:15 p.m. Mass on the second Saturday of each month and in English on the fourth Saturday. The sacrament incorporates the baptized into the body of Christ, washes away original sin, and is received only once in a lifetime. Parents who wish to have a child baptized at the parish contact the rectory at 718-768-9471 to make arrangements.
Confirmation is described as a mature Christian commitment and a deepening of baptismal gifts, a rite in which the confirmed are strengthened for service and sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Eucharist, or Communion, is both a sacrifice and a meal. The parish teaches the real presence of Jesus in the consecrated bread and wine and welcomes Catholics in a state of grace to receive.
Couples who wish to marry at the parish are asked to call the rectory and to take part in the Pre-Cana program offered through the diocese; information and registration are available at bqfaith.org. The parish also prepares the faithful for Anointing of the Sick, a sacrament for anyone in a moment of distress, sickness, or old age who is in need of God's grace and mercy. For those discerning a vocation to the priesthood or diaconate, the parish directs men to the diocesan vocations office in Brooklyn.
Confession and Eucharistic Adoration
Confessions are heard twice a week. On Saturday afternoons from 4 to 5 p.m., priests sit in the confessional before the Vigil Mass. On Tuesday evenings from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., the sacrament of Reconciliation is offered together with an adult faith formation session earlier in the evening. The parish encourages frequent reception of the sacrament, describing it as a way to return to the state of baptism and to receive God's unconditional forgiveness.
Friday is the parish's day of Eucharistic devotion. A weekly Holy Hour is held from 1 to 2 p.m. in the church, a quiet pause after the midday Mass. On First Fridays, Eucharistic adoration extends from 1 p.m. until midnight, giving the faithful the better part of a day to sit with the Blessed Sacrament. The parish also gathers adults for a Holy Hour and confessions following the Tuesday-evening religious education program.
Faith Formation for Children
The parish's religious education program meets on two afternoons a week. First- and second-level Communion classes and first- and second-level Confirmation classes gather on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Children in the third through sixth grades who have already made their First Communion continue their formation on Fridays from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Classes are coordinated through the parish office, and families are encouraged to register through Sister Doryne Bermoy and the faith formation team.
Children and youth between the ages of 8 and 18 who have received their First Communion are also invited to serve at the altar as altar servers. The altar server ministry meets on the third Saturday of each month at 11 a.m. in the church, and new members are welcomed along with a parent at scheduled orientation sessions. For adults who want to keep learning, the parish offers a Tuesday-evening religious education gathering at 6:30 p.m., followed by a Holy Hour and the opportunity for confession, a pattern that has become a regular Tuesday rhythm for many parishioners.
The Hispanic Devotional Life
Much of the parish's distinctive character comes from its Hispanic devotional committees, groups of parishioners who organize novenas, Masses, processions, and prayers in Spanish throughout the year. The Comité Guadalupano keeps the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, while the Comité Virgen de El Cisne keeps the Ecuadoran Marian devotion to El Cisne alive in the parish. The Comité San Judas Tadeo is devoted to St. Jude Thaddeus, and the Devoción al Divino Niño Jesús celebrates the Divine Infant Jesus with a Solemn Mass on the first Sunday of September at the Spanish Mass, preceded by a novena prayed in the nine days leading up to the feast.
Other groups add to the rhythm of Spanish-language prayer. The Grupo Arar, Sembrar y Cosechar (Plow, Sow, and Harvest) meets for shared prayer and formation. The Liturgia de la Palabra Niños offers a Liturgy of the Word for children in Spanish, allowing young parishioners to hear the Sunday readings at their own level. The Rosary Society gathers to pray the rosary together, and the Legion de Maria brings its members into the wider world of Marian service associated with the international Legion of Mary movement.
Two charismatic prayer groups round out the devotional life. The Grupo de Oración Carismático for young adults and the parallel group for adults meet for praise, prayer, and fellowship in the Spanish-speaking community. Together, the parish's devotional committees give the Hispanic faithful a dense calendar of feasts, novenas, and gatherings that weave through the year.
Prayer Groups and the Adult Spiritual Life
Beyond the Hispanic committees, the parish offers its adult faithful several avenues for spiritual growth. The Tuesday-evening Rel. Ed. for Adults combines a formation talk with a Holy Hour and confessions, giving parishioners a way to learn and to pray in a single evening. The Rosary Society gathers parishioners around the praying of the rosary, and the Legion de Maria organizes members for works of prayer and apostolic service. Those drawn to charismatic spirituality find a home in the two prayer groups for adults and young adults.
The parish's online resources complement these in-person gatherings. Articles and podcasts are available through the parish's online platform, covering prayer, the sacraments, theology and culture, healing, grief and suffering, and the liturgical seasons. Topics range from how to pray when you do not have time, to the therapeutic power of art, to the feminine genius, to making sense of a fallen world. Parishioners are also pointed to the diocesan newspaper, The Tablet, the Spanish-language Nuestra Voz, Currents News, and the diocese's Big City Catholics podcast.
Reaching Out: The Food Pantry and We Can Social Service
Outreach to neighbors in need is part of the parish's identity. The parish food pantry distributes groceries to households in the surrounding community, and volunteers are organized to keep the ministry running week to week. The We Can Social Service ministry, known in Spanish as Usted Puede, helps parishioners and neighbors navigate the complicated world of public benefits. Volunteers in the program provide information and assistance on federal resources, taxes, and immigration matters, and they are reachable through the parish office.
These programs are open to anyone who walks through the parish's doors. The food pantry in particular is described as a community resource for the surrounding blocks, and the social-service ministry fills a real need in a city where access to benefits, language help, and immigration guidance is not always straightforward.
A Mission in Uganda
Through a partnership with St. Mary's Primary School in Uganda, the parish keeps a long-distance relationship with a school that serves children in one of the poorest regions of East Africa. The parish lists the school as part of its mission work, and parishioners are invited to support the school through their prayers and their giving. The partnership gives the Park Slope community a tangible connection to the wider Church and a reminder that the parish's care extends well beyond 9th Street.
Music and the Liturgical Year
Cesar Reyes serves as the parish's Music Minister, coordinating the sung prayer of the Mass and the devotions that fill the church during the year. Music at Holy Family-St. Thomas Aquinas supports both the English and the Spanish celebrations, and the parish follows the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church through the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time. The Mass times, the Friday Holy Hour, and the seasonal observances of the parish are all part of this shared rhythm of the year.
Online Resources and Livestream
The parish's website carries an extensive library of faith resources, including podcasts and articles on the sacraments, prayer, virtue, identity, theology and culture, healing, grief and suffering, and worship. Visitors can find reflections on the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Reconciliation, sacramentals, the veneration of relics, adoration, baptism, fasting, the feminine genius, and the devil, as well as book reviews, book recommendations, and guides for small groups. Downloadable discipleship resources include a Rule of Life guide and a guide to the six daily habits. The parish also points users to the diocese's broader media outlets, including The Tablet, Nuestra Voz, Currents News, the Big City Catholics podcast, and the NET Catholic YouTube channel.
Online giving is available through GiveCentral, the diocesan giving platform, and the parish lists planned giving options through the Diocese of Brooklyn's gift planning site. Bulletins and announcements are also published online so that parishioners who are away or homebound can keep up with the parish's life.
Clergy and Staff
Holy Family-St. Thomas Aquinas is led by the Rev. Alexandre Morard, Pastor. The Rev. Jesús Cuadros and Msgr. Francis Fayez serve as priests in residence, and Deacon Marcial Cordon assists at the altar and in the life of the parish. Sister Doryne Bermoy, F.L.P., directs the faith formation program and serves as pastoral assistant, coordinating religious education for children and adults. Cesar Reyes leads the parish's music ministry. The parish office is staffed by an administrative assistant, a bookkeeper, and two receptionists who handle the day-to-day operations of the rectory.
Finding the Parish
Holy Family-St. Thomas Aquinas Parish is located at 249 9th Street, Brooklyn, New York 11215, in the heart of Park Slope. The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., closing for the lunch hour from 1 to 2 p.m. The phone number is 718-768-9471, and the email address is office@hfstabrooklyn.org. The parish can also be reached through its Facebook page, Holy Family-St. Thomas Aquinas Parish, and through its livestream and online giving portals. Newcomers are warmly welcomed, and the parish makes a point of being a place where English-speaking and Spanish-speaking Catholics can pray side by side, prepare their children for the sacraments, find help in a hard season, and serve their neighbors together.