Eighty years ago there was no Catholic community in the immediate area and the land was tenanted principally by industrious Quaker farmers. However, after the building boom at the end of the 1920’s, the number of Catholic families in the area made it mandatory that a parish be established.

In 1930, the parish of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament was officially formed, with Reverend James Dolan as pastor. Mass was held in the clubroom of the Matowac Democrat Club and later in the Victory Movie Theatre on 32nd Avenue.

On October 19, 1931, one year from the day of the first Mass, the consummation of a year’s strenuous work was commemorated by the solemn blessing and dedication of the beautiful new Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Church.

The parish grew rapidly and two curates aided Father Dolan with parish work. In May 1941 Bishop Molloy dedicated the new rectory and, one month later, Reverend Charles Reilly was assigned as the new pastor. After the end of World War II, Father Reilly dedicated himself to building a parish school.

Under the leadership of Father Thomas Masterson, who had a gift for fund-raising, the parish ran bazaars and raffles to help fund the school. In October of 1949, ground was broken and the school was officially opened in February of 1951, with and enrollment of 428 children for the first 5 grades.

The parish continued to flourish under the pastorate of Reverend Martin F. Tully who succeeded Msgr. Reilly in 1967. Father Tully devoted himself to carrying out the work of parish renewal outlined by the Second Vatican Council. This work was continued by Msgr. Francis B. Donnelly, who succeeded Father Tully as pastor in 1976.

Upon Msgr. Donnelly’s retirement, Msgr. George T. Deas took charge. For eighteen years Msgr. Deas concentrated on parish outreach. Many programs designed to serve the needs of our parishioners were started under his auspices. Msgr. Vincent A. Keane became pastor in January 1997. He won the hearts of the parishioners with his humble spirituality. Msgr. Keane retired from active parish work in the Spring of 2001. Msgr. John E. Mahoney became pastor in June 2001, and worked tirelessly to keep the parish of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament an exciting, vibrant community in faith.

Father Bob Whelan was appointed pastor in July 2008 and is working diligently with parishioners to build upon the solid foundation which previous pastors and generations have established. Together, OLBS Parish will continue to thrive and build up the kingdom of God here in Bayside.

Please share your photos. We would like to create a photo essay, “Special Events in Our Parish Through the Years” in the 80th Anniversary Journal, so we are asking you to share your treasured family photos of parish events throughout the decades. We are looking for photos of weddings, baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, other parish events and celebrations. Blessing of the animals, and May Crowning, are just two of our annual events, but the possibilities are endless. We prefer photos which include the Church or other parish properties in the background.

We can not guarantee that your photo will be included in the journal, because there is a space limitation, but we promise to use a wide variety of photos from as many families as possible. For this journal, your journal advertisements may include a photo for quarter, half and full page ads, so if you have a photo that “must” be part of the journal, please submit it as part of your journal ad.

Your photos will be scanned and returned to you promptly. Please place your photos in an envelope. Include the approximate date, your family name, the event, your phone number and address. These can be dropped at the Rectory, “80th Anniversary Journal Photos”

If you have digital images, please send them to Cathy and Anne at OLBS80@gmail.com

The Rev. Robert J. Whelan,Pastor and the parish community invite you to join us at the Gala Dinner Dance

Thank you for your help!