{"id":13439,"date":"2025-07-22T14:08:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T18:08:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/?p=13439"},"modified":"2025-07-22T14:08:27","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T18:08:27","slug":"from-pews-to-the-pier-new-york-catholics-bring-sunday-mass-to-the-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2025\/07\/from-pews-to-the-pier-new-york-catholics-bring-sunday-mass-to-the-beach.html","title":{"rendered":"From Pews to the Pier: New York Catholics Bring Sunday Mass to the Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"
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beachcatholic \/ Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the shores of Long Island, New York, Sunday mornings look a little different\u2014but no less reverent. Instead of pews, there are beach chairs. Instead of stained glass, the Atlantic Ocean. And in place of a church bell, it’s the sound of waves crashing that announces the beginning of Beach Catholic’s seaside Mass.<\/p>\n

Since 2014, Beach Catholic\u2014a coalition of three parishes on Long Island\u2014has offered weekly Mass outdoors, drawing over 1,000 people each Sunday. Held at local beaches near St. Ignatius Martyr, St. Mary of the Isle, and Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, the open-air services have become a summer tradition that brings faith to where the people are\u2014sand and all.<\/p>\n

“It is a powerful public witness of faith that draws Catholics from all over Long Island, with some even coming from New York City,” said Jordan Bernhardi, Beach Catholic’s director of operations. He estimates more than 50,000 people have attended beach Masses over the last decade.<\/p>\n

“There is something so powerful about hundreds of Catholics kneeling before their King and receiving Him in the Eucharist, at the beach,” Bernhardi said. “We believe the answer is to bring Him out.”<\/p>\n

Fr. Brian Barr, pastor of Beach Catholic, believes taking Mass outside the church walls challenges believers to be bold in their faith. “When you were a kid, do you remember being uneasy or embarrassed about expressing your faith in front of others? I do,” he admitted. “We shouldn’t be that way.”<\/p>\n

He added, “Bringing the Eucharist, which is our most important prayer, to the streets (and the beach), challenges that fear in a great way. Like most things that scare us, the more you confront them, the quicker you conquer them.”<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital spoke with attendees at a recent service, many of whom shared how transformative the experience has been. Tim Murphy, who’s been attending the beach Mass since it began, said it changed his life in more ways than one.<\/p>\n

“My wife and I actually met here because of the beach Mass, and so my son would not be born without it,” Murphy said. “Every week we still make the trip to come down, and it’s worth the trip if you’ve never been.”<\/p>\n

Dee Santos echoed the sentiment. “What I love is, first of all, we have this beautiful gift from God of the beach, and we get to celebrate His gifts to us in His presence on the beach,” she said. “Last week we had 1,200 people come for communion.”<\/p>\n

She added that the visibility of the beach Mass draws in those who may not otherwise attend church. “It brings people off the boardwalk, off the beach. Last week, someone asked what was going on, and we said, ‘We’re going to have Mass here.’ He stayed.”<\/p>\n

As Pope Leo XIV encourages a more outward-facing, missionary Church, Beach Catholic is answering the call\u2014bringing Jesus to the people, one sandy step at a time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the shores of Long Island, New York, Sunday mornings look a little different\u2014but no less reverent. Instead of pews, there are beach chairs. Instead of stained glass, the Atlantic Ocean. And in place of a church bell, it’s the sound of waves crashing that announces the beginning of Beach Catholic’s seaside Mass. Since 2014,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":13442,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Pews to the Pier: New York Catholics Bring Sunday Mass to the Beach<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Beach Catholic brings Sunday Mass to the shores of Long Island, drawing crowds to worship by the waves and share faith beyond church walls.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/christnewstoday\/2025\/07\/from-pews-to-the-pier-new-york-catholics-bring-sunday-mass-to-the-beach.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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