By Paula Katinas / The Tablet, OSV News
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (OSV News) — Dorothy Day’s extraordinary life began in Brooklyn, and now a street corner near her birthplace has been named after the legendary co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.
The intersection of Pineapple and Henry streets in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood is now officially called “Dorothy Day Way” in honor of the “Servant of God,” who was born nearby at 71 Pineapple St. in 1897.
On May 2, Martha Hennessy, Day’s granddaughter, and members of the Dorothy Day Guild, the organization promoting her cause for sainthood, joined clergy for the ceremony to unveil the street sign.
Hennessy and Councilman Lincoln Restler, who sponsored legislation in the City Council to name the street corner, did the honors of pulling the string to remove a covering and reveal the street sign.
Hennessy, who like her grandmother is a Catholic peace activist, called the ceremony “a beautiful moment.”
The street naming marked the second time New York City has paid tribute to Day.
In 2021, the city commissioned a Staten Island ferry in her name, and the Dorothy Day had its inaugural voyage in 2023.
Day (1897-1980) was a journalist and social activist who lived a wild, bohemian youth before becoming a Catholic in 1927. She fed and clothed the poor, advocated for civil rights and protested all wars.
On May 1, 1933, she co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement with Peter Maurin. It is a faith-based organization that urges members to perform the corporal works of mercy and work for peace and justice. At the same time, Day also began publishing a newspaper, The Catholic Worker, which is still published today.
Day’s life of faith inspired others, said Father Anthony Andreassi, administrative vicar for the Brooklyn Oratory Parishes in Brooklyn Heights.
“She was a convert to Catholicism, a woman of incredible faith and committed to the poor,” he told The Tablet, newspaper of the Brooklyn Diocese. “I know many people who have been attracted to the church because of Dorothy Day and have come to accept baptism.”
New York Cardinal John J. O’Connor officially opened Day’s sainthood cause in 2000, granting her the title of “Servant of God.”
Twenty-one years later, following the conclusion of the diocesan phase of the investigation into her life and her fitness for sainthood, her case was submitted to the Vatican for review by New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.
Kevin Ahern, board chairman of the Dorothy Day Guild, said he sees the street corner naming as an opportunity to promote her good works.
“And maybe by learning about her,” Ahern said, “they can be inspired by her to live their life a little … and make the world a better place.”
Alex Avitabile, a guild board member, spearheaded the drive to have the street corner named for Day, whom he met in 1970. He asked Restler to sponsor legislation.
Avitabile recalled walking up to her after a talk she had given at the Catholic Worker House in Rochester and telling her how much he admired her. Even back then, he said he felt he was in the presence of a saintly person.
“I knew,” Avitabile recalled. “She had a way about her — her eyes. There are a few people I’ve met who are saintly people. And I could just see that.”
The Catholic Worker Movement, which celebrated its 93rd anniversary on May 1, is still going strong today, according to guild members.
Hennessy said she is pleased to see that people are still inspired by her grandmother, even 46 years after her death.
“It’s pretty astounding, the place she holds in their hearts and in their minds,” she told The Tablet. “It’s only expanding, and I truly believe that she will bring so much good to the Catholic Church and bring people back to the church.”
Paula Katinas is senior reporter at The Tablet, newspaper of the Diocese of Brooklyn. This story was first published in The Tablet and distributed in partnership with OSV News.
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