Claudette Colvin (born September 5, 1939) is an American nurse and was a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement. She has lived in Parkchester for over 50 years. On March 2, 1955, she was arrested at the age of 15 in Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give up her seat to a white woman on a crowded, segregated bus. Colvin acted a few months before the more widely known incident in which Rosa Parks, secretary of the local chapter of the NAACP, played the lead role, sparking the Montgomery Bus Boycott that began that year. Colvin was among the five plaintiffs originally included in the federal court case filed by civil rights attorney Fred Gray on February 1, 1956, as Browder v. Gayle, to challenge bus segregation in the city. She testified before the three-judge panel that heard the case in the United States District Court. On June 13, 1956, the judges determined that the state and local laws requiring bus segregation in Alabama were unconstitutional. The case went to the United States Supreme Court on appeal by the state, and it upheld the District Court ruling on December 17, 1956. Colvin was the last witness to testify. Three days later, the Supreme Court issued an order to Montgomery and the state of Alabama to end bus segregation, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott was called off. For many years, Montgomery's black leaders did not publicize Colvin's pioneering effort. She was an unmarried teenager at the time, and was reportedly pregnant by a married man. Colvin has said, "Young people think Rosa Parks just sat down on a bus and ended segregation, but that wasn't the case at all." Her case helped pave the way.

St. Helena Parish presents an important teaching and exposition of Sacred Relics on Tuesday, March 5 at 7:00 pm. The relics can be viewed all day in the gymnasium. Father Carlos Martins of the Companions of the Cross will be here with a very special Vatican collection of over 150 relics, some as old as 2000 years. Among the treasures will be relics of St. Helena, St. Maria Goretti, St. Therese of Lisieux (the “Little Flower"), St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Faustina Kowalska. In addition, there will also be present a portion of the veil of Our Lady, as well as one of the largest remaining pieces of the True Cross in the world. Those in attendance will be able to examine and venerate each relic. In the Church’s history, many miracles and healings have been worked in the presence of relics, and many have been healed through this ministry. Please do not miss this opportunity. You are encouraged to bring your articles of devotion (such as rosaries, holy cards, etc.) and pictures of ill friends/family members which you will be able to touch to the reliquaries as a means of intercession.

Any boy or girl in grades 6-12 who are interested in Scouting are invited to attend.

Any boy or girl in grades 6-12 who are interested in Scouting are invited to attend.

Conference Day

Sponsored by the Italian American Cancer Foundation, the mobil mammography van will be parke in front of the church. Any woman who lives anywhere in New yrk City, is between the ages of 40-80 and who has not had a mammogram in the past 12 months is elible for a free mammogram. Call 718-892-3232 to register for a time slot.

Any boy or girl in grades 6-12 who are interested in Scouting are invited to attend.

This is a FREE concert,givrn by an international choir and EVERYONE is welcome.

Any boy or girl in grades 6-12 who are interested in Scouting are invited to attend.