The Catholic Church, founded by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, has been one, holy, catholic (universal) and apostolic from the beginning. Spreading Christianity throughout the world, The Church has flourished over many centuries and continues to care for those in need while supporting more than a billion members in Catholicism's global community. Its elaborate infrastructure has created a number of local churches to help nurture the spiritual growth of Catholics everywhere.
The Parish of St. Frances of Rome was established by Archbishop Michael A. Corrigan in 1898. The first church was actually just a tent with a cross on top of it, but today, several parishes now embrace a large territory of the northern Bronx in New York City.
On July 15, 2014, Fr. Georginus Ejiofor Ugwu, a member of the Missionary Society of St. Paul, became the first MSP priest to be appointed pastor of the parish after Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan assigned the church to the Missionaries of St. Paul. His arrival coincided with the archdiocesan parish-planning program (Making All Things New) that consolidated existing parishes in the archdiocese. Father E, as he is popularly known, has worked tirelessly with both the Archdiocese of New York and the parishioners of the merged Catholic churches of Wakefield to create a strong and close-knit faith community.
For more information, please read our detailed parish booklet.