Parish of Annunciation-Our Lady of Fatima

The original Parish of Annunciation was established by the Archdiocese of New York on the 10 of May 1931. Fr. Timothy Dugan was appointed by Patrick Joseph Cardinal Hayes to be the first pastor of the newly created parish. The parish began in a building ordered from Sears Roebuck that was located on the grounds of what is today, St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. In 1936 a permanent church was built on the intersection of Westchester Ave. and St. Eleanora's Lane. In 1957 a larger upper church was built on top of the lower church built in 1936. The upper church was dedicated in 1958 by Francis Cardinal Spellman.[1] The rectory of the parish was built directly across the street from the church in the 1960s. After the Second Vatican Council, the upper church was slightly renovated, and a new versus populum altar was installed. The lower church has largely remained unchanged. The lower church's high altar is a wood altar and above the altar is a wall piece displaying the Annunciation and the events of the life of Jesus Christ. The high altar in the upper church is a marble altar, with a gothic style marble façade backdrop, which contains a niche that displays a crucifix. The altar backdrop was the last in New York State to be built in this style in a Roman Catholic Church, most churches built after this time were built in a modernist style. Most of the statues in both churches are wood and were custom made for the parish, including a replica of the Pieta. Every Christmas, a handmade paper mâché Nativity scene, which was done by Italian artist, Angelo Capoccia, imported from Lecce,Italy, and presented to the parish by the Holy See, is displayed at the altar of St. Joseph.[2] It includes a marble stable that was commissioned by the parish, which is designed to match the marble on the altar backdrop and on the communion rails. A cross that was recovered from the World Trade Center site after September 11th is also displayed in the church. The upper church also holds two stained-glass rose windows, with one at the back of the church and one at the front, above the high altar. A side chapel, which was once the baptistry, is now a space dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Therese of Lisieux. The upper church's choir loft is located adjacent to the altar, in a room behind the altar of Saint Joseph. The original organ of the church is also located in this room. In 2012, a 42 rank Roosevelt Organ, originally from Fordham University Church was installed in the rear gallery of the church. A new III manual organ console was also installed in the choir loft where both the gallery organ and the sanctuary organ are controlled from.[3] The newly installed organ was first played in the church at Christmas in 2012. The upper church also holds a bell tower with a single bell. The original plans included the bell tower having a steeple, but the plans were eventually scrapped.

The Parish of Our Lady of Fatima was originally established on the 3 of November 1948 by Cardinal Spellman. The parish was established 31 years after the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal. The church was built in 1950 on Strathmore Road, at the border of Scarsdale and Yonkers.[1] The church underwent a renovation after the Second Vatican Council. A pipe organ is located in the rear gallery of the church.

Annunciation

1. Timothy Dugan, 1937–1957
2. Vincent Brosnan, 1957–1969
3. John McNamara, 1969–1975
4. John Byrne, 1975–1980
5. Eugene Clark, 1980–1986
6. James Conte, 1986–1989
7. James Moore, 1989–2003
8. Dennis Keane, 2003–2014
9. Robert Grippo, 2014–2015

Our Lady of Fatima

1. Leo Madden, 1948–1972
2. Joseph Goodwine, 1972–1976
3. John Breheney, 1976–1994
4. Hugh McManus, 1994–2015

Annunciation-Our Lady of Fatima

1. Robert Grippo, 2015–present

On November 2, 2014, the Archdiocese of New York announced that as part of its "Making All Things New" Program, 112 parishes across the archdiocese would merge into 55 parishes, with some merged parishes closing one of the church buildings and other merged parishes keeping both church buildings active. It was announced that the Parish of Annunciation in Crestwood, New York would merge with the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Scarsdale, New York, with the Annunciation site serving as the main campus of the parish. The parish would consist of two church buildings, one rectory at Annunciation, one convent at Annunciation and the Annunciation parish school. The original rectory at Our Lady of Fatima, was repurposed to meet the needs of the parish. The ministries of both parishes were integrated into the new merged parish. The parishes were merged civilly as of August 2016.[1]

Annunciation School was established in 1943 and the current school building was built in 1951 and dedicated in 1952 by Cardinal Spellman. The school was expanded in 1960 to accommodate the growing population of families in the parish. The school was originally staffed by the Dominican Sisters of Newburgh and then was later staffed by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who continue to serve alongside the mostly lay faculty in the school. The school serves pre-K thru 8.

Our Lady of Fatima School was established in 1950 and the current building was built in 1953, it was staffed by Dominican Sisters for many years and then became entirely staffed by lay faculty. It served as a pre-K thru 8 school. The school was closed by the Archdiocese of New York in June of 2013. The former school building is leased out by the parish to a secular educational institution.