Oct 30, 2013 / 23:07 pm
A parish in the Diocese of Brooklyn marked the first anniversary of Hurricane Sandy with a Mass said in thanksgiving for healing and support received in the year since the storm hit.
"During the first two weeks after the storm, we were isolated," reflected Fr. Fulgencio Gutierrez, pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea, located in Queens' Far Rockaway neighborhood, about half a mile from Long Island's Atlantic coast.
"There was no electricity and no transportation, but people came anyway to help clean, and distribute food and clothing to our brothers and sisters."
The Rockaway Peninsula was the hardest-hit portion of the Diocese of Brooklyn. Two other parishes in the Rockaways, St. Camillus and St. Virgilius, were also heavily damaged by Hurricane Sandy.