Whatever we do in word or in work, let us do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Therefore, in the name of the Lord, and with the advice and consent of the Right Reverend Bishop, let the Catholics of Brooklyn, having common interests to pursue, and wants to relieve, establish an association, the better to attain these desirable objects. In the first place, we want our children instructed in the principles of our Holy Religion; we want more convenience in hearing the Word of God ourselves. In fact, we want a Church, a Pastor, and a place for Interment: all of which, with the assistance of Divine Providence, we have every reason to expect by forming ourselves into a well-regulated Society:

and as we have not only cheerfully assisted in building the churches in this diocese, from time to time, but nearly all the churches in the United States lately erected, we have every reason to expect the cheerful assistance of the laity, as well as the Right Reverend Bishop and all his clergy.

Daniel Dempsey’s house on Fulton Street served Catholics as a place for business meetings as well as Mass, which was celebrated by priests traveling from Manhattan. Mass was advertised in the Long Island Star, a local newspaper. On April 25, 1822, Bishop John Connolly, OP, the second bishop of New York, blessed the ground along Chapel and Jay Streets, where the new church would be built. One reporter described the scene ...