BOOK OF LIVING MEMORIES 1956-1996 (Script taken from a presentation given on the occasion ofmsgr. Bryan J. Karvelis 40' Anniversary of Ordination - June 2, 1996) Beginnings: Our "Memory Book" opens in the year 1956. The day is June 2 nd the place is The Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington Long Island. A young man named Bryan J. Karvelis has just been Ordained to the Priesthood - a goal which has long been his desire. Shortly after his Ordination, Father Karvelis received his first (and only) Priestly assignment - to serve in the Parish of the Transfiguration on Marcy Avenue in Brooklyn, NY. So - "young and handsome" Father Karvelis came to the Church which was to be his home for the next 40 Years. (As of 1996). Shortly after arriving at the Parish, the young Father Karvelis began even then forming groups whose center, of course, was Jesus. One of the first groups he formed was the Liturgy Group whose purpose was to create an understanding of and to begin implementing the then recent Renewal in the Liturgical Life of the Church. The group consisted of men and women - laity and seminarians. They met weekly in the Rectory and discussed the Readings for the following Sunday. Welcome to Hispanic Newcomers: Even as a Seminarian, Father Karvelis had begun to work with the newly arrived Hispanics in the area of Williamsburg. The population of the Southside all during the 1950's had gradually become almost 100% Puerto Rican. Now as a Priest, Father Karvelis had a great desire to welcome these new arrivals into the Church of the Transfiguration. Little by little, step by step, and risk by risk he succeeded. By 1957 The Church on Marcy Avenue had a vibrant 10:OOA.M. Sunday Mass in Spanish -with a choir which he personally directed {and still directs}. Other groups such as the Legion of Mary, The Sacred Heart Society, The Holy Name and The Cursillo began to grow and flourish in the Hispanic Community. Struggle for Justice - "The Good Gangs": Father Karvelis, early in his priestly work had a great sense of the need for his people to struggle for Social Justice. The poor working in local factories, the inadequate housing and low level of education in the Southside was the occasion of forming the YCM - the Young Christian Movement based on the Jocist Movement in France founded by Father Cardijn. This group has borne much fruit in Social Action even until today. Many - if not all of the former YCMers are even today in one way or other involved in a continued struggle for Social Justice. Their slogan was "Let it shine". During the late 1950's and well into the 1960's youth gangs and gang wars were rampnt among the young people of the Southside of Williamsburg. If one did not "belong" to one or other of the gangs, one seemed to have no identity. Father Karvelis - or Father "K" - as he became known -found his own solution to the problem. He founded social clubs - they were groups of young people who
met weekly in the Parish Center. They became know as the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Athenians and Marianettes; many a young person - who would otherwise not have a safe haven in which to socialize found a warm, welcoming environment in the Parish Center. They were exposed to basic Gospel values which were the underlying principles of the Social Clubs. Thus, for the most part, the Social Club members survived a very violent and stormy period in the history of Williamsburg thanks to "Father K" - whom they also referred to affectionately as "Killer Karvelis ". Father Karvelis was indeed concerned not only with the youth but with the fact that the Church did not have any physical presence on the Southside. The South Side Community Mission 1964: The Church on Marcy Ave. seemed very remote since most of the newly arrived Puerto Ricans were living in crowded tenements South of Broadway. So in the early 1960's Father Karvelis took another step to change that situation. He obtained permission to rent a store front on South 3 r St. between Hooper St. and Keap St. At first it was called the Mission of Our Lady ofguadalupe. The Legion of Mary met there on different nights. Then in 1964, Father Karvelis obtained funding from Catholic Charities to have a full time worker there to deal with Social Service problems particularly of Welfare, and Housing. This was the beginning of the Southside Mission which still services our Community in various ways. The Federal Credit Union: Father Bryan Karvelis identified another Social Problem which the newly arrived people of the area faced. This was lack of easy access to saving their money and taking out low interest loans. The idea of a Credit Union which would belongs to the people themselves where they would be the real share holders was then realized. Transfiguration Credit Union was first situated in the once Altar boys Sacristy of the Church and then in the once "Parish Library " on Marcy Avenue and later on South 4 St. The Transfiguration Credit Union still serves the needs of our community from its present location on Broadway between Hooper and Hewes Streets. The Fraternities And Spirituality Of Charles De Foucauld: All of Father Bryan's attempts to serve and better the lives of the people of the area - especially the poorest and most needy had their source in his own spiritual life and relationship with Jesus and His Gospel. He had been strongly influenced by the spirituality of Charles De Foucauld who was a French priest who was killed in the Sahara Desert in 1916. The ideal of Brother Charles was to live a truly contemplative life - but in the midst of the poor and abandoned. Father Bryan wanted to share this "treasure" which he had discovered with as many persons in the Parish who were interested. Thus began the "Fraternities of Jesus of Nazareth ". In 1965 there were 4 of these Fraternities which met weekly in the homes of the members. Today there are 17 Fraternities in the parish. The people of each Fraternity come together for one particular purpose - to seek Jesus in community. They try to live out this spiritual treasure shared
with us by Father Bryan by making frequent "Presence to God" in prolonged contemplative prayer and "Presence to Others " especially the poorest and most needy. The "Apartment Experience": Father Bryan 's own desire to live out this Spirituality prompted him in 1965 to obtain permission to live in an apartment in the Southside. There he felt he could truly be a brother among his other brothers and sisters sharing the struggles which tenement life involves the lack of privacy - lack of heat (or too much heat) - the noise - the roaches etc. etc. Father Bryan lived there in Fraternity at first with Seminarians and other priest and lay men and finally from 1971 until 1983 with "Pedrito" - Brother Peter Kelly CFX and occasionally others who wee in need of hospitality. This experience not only helped Father Bryan to live out his special way of following Jesus but helped the Community to see him truly as our brother - "Bryan ". Tabor: In order to deepen the spiritual life of the Fraternities so that they might grow in depth as well as in numbers, Father Bryan saw the need for a place to have periodic weekend retreats - where a Fraternity might go and share life together for 2 days - where in an atmosphere of natural beauty and peace each person might grow in their potential to follow Jesus. And thus was born TABOR. In 1968 - Father Bryan together with the other curate of the Parish convinced the then Pastor to sell some of the houses on Hewes Street which the Church owned and to purchase property near Terrytown, NY, very close to the Hudson River. Our Retreat House - Tabor, has been a spiritual refuge, for all the Fraternities and for individuals who go there to seek the Lord. We are grateful for Father Bryan 's vision in procuring Tabor and for continuing to encourage us to spend time there in prayer and reflection. In 1971 Father Bryan became Pastor of Transfiguration Parish. He truly had been for many years the Good Shepherd of an ever growing flock of the faithful. Now "officially" he was able to tend to the spiritual growth of the community. "Presence to God": And so it is that the depth of the spirituality which we enjoy in Transfiguration today is due, without doubt, to his tireless concern in helping us to follow Jesus more faithfully. Through his homilies, retreats, Bible Classes and The Parish Chapel and Tabor, the Fraternities and have grown in number and in depth. We all have been invited to find our way in the struggle to be present to God and to be present to and to serve our poorest brothers and sisters. We have heard over and over again these words: We must "give our lives " - We must make of our lives a "total gift to the Father with Jesus and to those who surround us in need. Father Bryan came to be involved in a spiritual role with the children of the school. He has found different ways to be present to them in small numbers and to support their school activities and functions. As Father of the "Large Family of Transfiguration " his interest in the youngest members of the family, whether in our Parish School or in the religious Education Programs is evidenced by his presence and concern.
Hospitality and "Presence to Others": Bryan's Memory Book By 1983 Father Bryan had found it necessary to leave the apartment on South 3 r Street and return to the Rectory. The reason for the "return " is significant. Since He had become Pastor, He had begun welcoming at first one or two - then three or four young men who needed a place to live. He welcomed them by allowing them to live in the rectory. By 1983 there was only one other priest besides himself in the parish and it was evident that there probably would never be more. So three or four has grown to over 30 young men, immigrants mostly all newly arrived who occupy the rooms in the Rectory that used to be occupied by four priests. The spirit of Hospitality also occasioned the opening of the Winter Shelter in the Mission Building during the months of November to March. However, what needs to be noted here is that what had been developing was not just a temporary housing service - as good and as necessary as that would have been. But it was a further extension of the family of Transfiguration. Those who come to live in the Parish Buildings begin to understand that they are truly loved and cared about. Most of them affectionately refer to themselves as "Father Bryan 's Sons". From the 1980's on more and more people have come from Mexico, and Central America; together with the Puerto Ricans and Dominican who had previously arrived, these young adults were made in many ways to feel welcome as part of the Family of Transfiguration. As He had done in the 1960's with the Social Clubs and the YCM Father Bryan has now taken special interest in these young people - many of whom are here alone in the "big city". He has tried to provide for them a family through the Fraternities and youth groups of the parish. His fatherly concern has helped to assuage the loneliness and strangeness of the immigrant experience for many a young adult. Casa Betsaida: For many years, since the AIDS epidemic had begun to take so many lives - especially in the minority population, Father Bryan had envisioned having a residence in the Parish for people in the advanced stages of this deadly disease - but especially people who are homeless and without resources. After many obstacles and struggles, on April 1, 1995 Casa Betsaida, Father Bryan 's dream, began to be realized. Throughout this year the experience of hospitality of this nature, of befriending and serving those who reside in Betsaida and accompanying them on their journey to life eternal has already proven to be a blessing experienced by many in the Parish. And in this - we have only just begun. And thus we come to the final page of our Memory Book, June 1996. We know the book is not yet complete. We pray there will be many pages more on which God's Blessing will be extended to us and to many others through the instrumentality of this man, Bryan, whom have come tonight to honor and especially to thank.
A Grateful Family: As we look at the church - The Family of Transfiguration - in 1996 - we can only be filled with a deep sense of gratitude to our loving God who has cared for us so faithfully and also to His Priest, our father, our brother, our friend, Bryan who in his fidelity to his priestly call has shared his life with us - has shared his faith with us - and most of all has shared, by his example, what it means to try to live the Good New of Jesus Christ. For this, Bryan, We thank you. The Years 1996-2005 The preceding "Memory Book", indeed on June 2, 1996at Father Bryan 's 40* Anniversary of Ordination. All that was begun by Bryan during those 40 years through the grace of God continued to flourish after that event. Then came October 1999. Serious medical opinions advised that Bryan undergo a kidney transplant. He was most fortunate in receiving from one of his very own parishioners this gift of life. The transplant was successful however it occasioned an ever escalating series of medical conditions related to his circulatory system that caused him to be hospitalized between 2000 and 2005 over twenty times. During those hospitalizations he continued to shepherd and led the Parish with the help of the many generous and will formed Parish Leaders who carried on his work. We must "keep moving forward" (sigue adelante) and keep in the struggle (Sigue en la lucha) were Father Bryan continued prompting to those who were ensuring the on going "life" of the Parish. Many generous Priest friends of Bryan 's enable us to have daily Eucharist as frequently as possible. In 2003 Father Bryan was diagnosed with Lymphoma which involved chemotherapy, radiation and all their side effects. However, when in 2003 Bryan was diagnosed with Lymphoma we realized, as certainly did he, that we were now in a different "event". However he kept on through chemotherapy and radiation and all their side effects. When not inhibited by hospital stays, Bryan continued his sacred routine of celebrating two Masses each day - being present at the Hour of Adoration daily - giving Retreats in Tabor for the Fraternities -presenting scripture classes in Advent, Lent and Pentecost - directing the choir and the thousand of other things that made "Trans " "Trans ". Then came his final illness - On June 19, 2005 Bryan had a serious fall in Tabor - undoubtedly the result of a "black out" due to very serious anemia compounded by the lymphoma, neurophia and all the side effects of his kidney transplant of 1999. Bryan spent the next 4 months in hospitals and Nursing Homes in the hope of Rehabilitation. On September 12 as was his desire he returned to the Rectory with the earnest wish of dying in his own home - among his Parish Family. He spent two weeks and two days in "Trans " accompanied around the clock by the Parishioners who loved him so very much. But his remaining at Rectory was not in God's
plan. When he kept his appointment at Sloan Kettering Clinic regarding his cancerous leg ulcer on September 29 he was subsequently admitted to the Hospital itself. It was to be his final hospitalization. His legendary "iron will" was not able to command his body so weak and bruised by severe illness. Father Bryan could well echo St. Paul's sentiments when he wrote to the Philippians. "Life to me of course is Christ, but then death would bring me something more; and then again if living in this body means doing the work of spreading the Good News, I do not know what I should choose. To live is Christ but to die is gain. Yet for me to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need for the sake of the Church ". Thus for almost two weeks he was silently "present" to his people who visited his hospital bed day and night. As his physical strength ebbed away they drew strength from his fidelity and abandonment to the Father. It was his final retreat; his best homily, and ultimate Eucharist. His people were fed until the end by their pastor. And on October 18, 2005 he breathed his last in this world and entered into the eternal joy of living in the "Reality" of Jesus, His Father and His Spirit. We will always miss you Bryan but we rejoice that you are now totally present to Him who has been the "Center and Absolute" of your life. Amen