Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Mercy Family,
Greetings and Peace of the Lord be with you!

Greetings and Peace of the Risen Lord! I wish to begin by saying that I am very happy and especially humbled to be appointed as your new pastor here at Our Lady of Mercy! I thank God for all of you, and for your families, each of you, for who you are and what you do each day in witness to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. I truly look forward to serving together as we share our lives, our faith, our gifts and talents, and our vocations to continue building up the Body of Christ on earth; His Body, the Church. I was born in Brooklyn and raised in the community of Levittown; my home parish is Saint James in Seaford. I, along with my sister and two brothers, had the privilege of attending twelve years of Catholic School Education. I graduated from Holy Trinity D.H.S. in June 1978. During my senior year I joined the U.S. Navy and began my career shortly after graduation by serving God and Country in the Naval Aviation Corps for a twenty-year period. During my Naval career I earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and graduated in 1991. Upon transition from active duty service in 1998, I served on staff for a five-year period with the Naval Air Systems Command as the Senior Program Analyst on the F/A-18 Aircraft Research, Development, Test and Evaluation Team (RDT&E) at the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River, Maryland. In the Year 2002, I opened my heart to the profound possibility that God was calling me to a much different capacity for service in His Church and for His People. I subsequently entered the priesthood formation program in August 2003 at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington. I was ultimately ordained to the priesthood of Jesus Christ through the grace of God on June 14, 2008. My first parish assignment was the Cathedral of Saint Agnes in Rockville Centre. I then had the privilege to serve as a Navy Chaplain for a two-year period at the Naval Submarine Base in Kings Bay, Georgia.
I have been serving primarily as the School Chaplain at Holy Trinity D.H.S. since September 2013, as well as ministry at Our Lady of Victory in Floral Park and Our Lady of Lourdes in Malverne. I’m most grateful for these priestly experience as appointed by Bishop William Murphy, and now being assigned as the Pastor of Our Lady of Mercy by Bishop Barres. I am also looking forward to working with the OLM Grammar School and Religious Education Programs to meet the faith formation and spiritual needs of our children. It is a wonderful honor and privilege for me continue all the good work of Father Steve, and from all the previous pastors and priests assigned to OLM. I look forward to personally greeting you and the community next month in June, please feel free to introduce yourselves to me. I anticipate the day when we meet and continue our mission by working together in our respect ministries to build up the Mystical Body of Christ at Our Lady of Mercy and beyond as a community of faith, hope and love.

Sincerely, yours in Christ,
Father John McCarthy