RI DE IN TO TH E
_______________ ________________ LONG BEACH________________ _________________ WANTAGH
HERALD Also serving Point Lookout & East Atlantic Beach
1223592
$1.00
BETWEEN 12/1-12/31 NEW MEMBERSH IPS SOLD ONLY VALID FOR NEW MEMBERS
What’s INSIDE
Annual Snowflake race attracted 303 runners. Page 7
Volleyball for Casey Skudin, in his memory. Page 12
Riding waves to never forget those we lost. Page 17
DECEMBER 28, 2023 - JANUARY 3, 2024
Vol. 35 No. 1
HERALD PERSON oF THE YEAR The Rev. BRian BaRR
Strengthening Long Beach’s community faith By Angelina Zingariello
The Rev. Brian Barr’s early foundation in faith was nurtured by his father, a New York City firefighter turned federal investigator, and a stay-at-home mother who emphasized living in the world as it was while upholding Catholic values. “Church was important to my parents,” Bar said. “Priests, the priesthood, was very much seen as an honorable option for a person in life. So I was lucky — nobody forced me to become a priest. But I knew just from the values of my parents that priests were important, and that they mattered, and they could potentially make a difference.” In honor of the difference he has made in Long Beach, the Herald is e seems to proud to name Barr, the spiritual leader of three Catholic churches on the barbe a very rier island collectively known as Beach good listener, Catholic, its 2023 Person of the Year. which I think Barr, 58, a native of Floral Park, Queens, and one of four siblings, earned lacks in a lot of a degree in industrial and labor relations people. from Cornell University in 1987, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1993 by Bishop John McGann, of the Diocese Alice Jones Nurse, of Rockville Centre. Mount Sinai Barr’s diverse experiences shaped the South Nassau man he is today. Before he came to St. Mary of the Isle Catholic Church in Long Beach, he served as a parish priest at St. Thomas the Apostle in West Hempstead, as a chaplain at St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington, and as the director of campus ministry at both Adelphi and Hofstra universities. Arriving in Long Beach 11 years ago, Barr faced the challenges of Hurricane Sandy just 10 days later. “It was kind of a wild entry,” he recalls. “I became a pastor at St. Mary’s, and still am. And then about seven years later, I also became pastor at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, in Point Lookout. And then a year after that, which is about three and a half years ago, St. Ignatius,” he added, referring to St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church. “So now I’m a pastor of all three.” His transition to Long Beach was influenced by the departure of the spiritual leader at St. Mary’s, Bishop Robert Brennan. Eventually, Beach Catholic, an amalgamation of St. Mary’s, Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, and St. Ignatius, emerged as a collaborative effort to navigate the challenges of coordinating
H
For BrEAKING NEWS go to liherald.com
schedules and services across three parishes. Barr emphasizes the team-driven nature of the collective’s success, acknowledging the dedicated staff and their commitment to service. “We have a great relationship. He’s the best boss I’ve ever had,” Gerri Maquet, the parishes’ director of religious education, said of Barr. “The reason why he’s a great leader is because he elevates his team. He gives us enough room to do what we need to do — he trusts us. He puts a lot of trust into the Beach Catholic team, and a lot of faith in us, and because of that we’re able to get things done.” A highlight of Barr’s accomplishments at Beach Catholic is the creation of Beach Mass toward the end of the coronavirus lockdown, an initiative born from the desire to bring the Eucharist to the people in a unique setting — the beach. “Could we find a way to bring what’s most important to us — mainly, the Eucharist, and community — bringing that to where the people are, as opposed to having the people just come to us?” Barr said of his thinking at the time. The initiative started small, on the Monroe Boulevard beach,
Continued on page 2
The Rev. Brian Barr, the Herald’s 2023 Person of the Year.
Courtesy Beach Catholic