St. Thomas

Worship on Westminster Road

For those going between Garden City and West Hempstead, they’ll likely travel along grassy, tree-lined Westminster Road. Branching off of Hempstead Avenue and extending north, the road is flanked by blocks of tall-gabled houses forming the southern edge of Cathedral Gardens, a neighborhood which continues into Garden City. At the heart of West Hempstead’s slice of Cathedral Gardens is St. Thomas the Apostle Church, a Roman Catholic parish. St. Thomas recently welcomed a new priest, as the church’s previous pastor, Monsignor Francis Maniscalso, stepped down after over a decade of service. The new pastor, Anthony Stanganelli, likely took the same drive down Westminster Road to get to his new parish, previously serving at St. Brigid’s Church in Westbury. Stanganelli brings an extensive background in theological education to his new post, having studied at Cathedral College in Huntington and Gregorian Pontifical University in Rome, among other bona fides. Stanganelli delivered his first Sunday service on July 3, expounding on his well-defined views on faith and pastoral care. To West Hempstead’s Catholic community — which stands at just over 50 percent of the town’s residents, according to BestPlaces.net — Stanganelli warned against allowing the everyday fracas to muddy up one’s faith. Instead, he shared his personal maxim, “Keep it simple.”

— Kyle Chin

Kyle Chin/Herald Top photo: St. Thomas the Apostle Church has been serving West Hempstead's Roman Catholic population and neighboring communities since the 1930s.

Courtesy St. Thomas the Apostle Parish