Anthony D’Ambrosio-Three Unforgettable Experiences 

St. Kevin Roman Catholic Church, Flushing, New York

        There are some people we meet in this life who make a lasting impression on us! The ‘larger than life’ personality of Anthony (Tony) D’Ambrosio, who came into my life in 1989, was this type of person. It began as a business relationship but eventually evolved into a wonderful friendship. Tony was the founder of D’Ambrosio Ecclesial Art Studio (a company that does church renovations), based in Mt Kisco, NY, where he lived with his wife, Marian, and his family. I once visited them in their home for dinner and a tour of the homestead. 

         What made our friendship come about was the opportunity to work with Tony for three separate and distinct projects over the course of 30 years. It was Monsignor David Cassato who introduced us to each other. I told Msgr. Dave I wanted to do some church renovations at Our Lady of Miracles Church in Brooklyn (Canarsie). Msgr. Dave said, “Tony D. is the man you need to speak with,” and he was right! He came out to look at the church, and in a very short time, he knew what he needed to do. My aim quickly became his aim: keep the “country look” of the church, which needed to be upgraded and modernized from its rustic look since its construction in 1936. He literally “gutted” the interior from floor to ceiling and made it so extremely beautiful that the parishioners were very happy with the finished product.   

         When I went to Our Lady of the Snows Church in Floral Park (Queens) in 1999, the necessity of building a new church became evident. The gymnasium had served as a church for 55 years. The vast majority of parishioners (along with family and friends) supported the idea of a new church building. The contractors were Gino and John Fazio of the Fazio Construction Company, who did a superb job along with the architect Martin DeSapio, but for the liturgical design and development phase, I once again turned to Tony D., or “Mr. D” as his employees called him. He was so happy to work with me again. He quickly worked up plans and submitted them for approval. I realized I needed to do only one thing in working with him: stay out of his way and trust his experience and judgment. For 99.9% of the time, he was right on target. His aim was to please the pastor and the people. He wanted to do his best to make everyone happy with the end results. (He even donated the new altar as a way of expressing his gratitude for getting this particular job.) 

         Finally, we had a third chance to work together, this time at St. Kevin Church in Flushing, NY, on a very practical but necessary sanctuary renovation. The altar was on a platform, raised up by three steps, which became very inconvenient for elderly priests and made incensing the altar at Solemn Masses quite an “up and down” event. So, with the help of Tony and his crew, we were able to get the steps demolished and move the altar closer to the people who could still see the altar very well because the lower platform was already raised. This rather small change provided space for concelebrating priests and made for a very neat and clean renovation. Tony D’Ambrosio, who did many, many renovations in the Diocese of Brooklyn, has gone to his eternal reward, but we hold his memory dear. I had the privilege and pleasure of working together with him three times for the glory of God and the beautification of God’s Churches.