WRITER – ACTOR
Chiara Montalto-Giannini was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and started writing creatively in the fifth grade. She began formally studying acting and writing while a student at Eugene Lang College of The New School, from which she holds a degree in Urban Studies and NYC history.
WRITER – ACTOR
Fr. Andrew L. Struzzieri (1947-2020), a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Brooklyn & Queens, was my uncle.
As a young boy in Brooklyn, he attended CCD or Catholic after-school education. One day, without explaining the word, the teacher asked who thought they might have a vocation. As he put it, his arm “just shot up.” Later that day, he returned home and recounted the story to his mother as she drained the macaroni for dinner. He kept (as I now do) that scolapast’ displayed in his room with his Holy books as a sign that he had a calling, a mission in life.
After high school, he attended Brooklyn Cathedral Prep Seminary; however, during his studies, he experienced a crisis of faith and left the seminary. Through the Experiment in International Living, he spent time in India, and later, he took a job at Pan-Am Airlines, which enabled him to travel and experience the world.
Around this time, as he explained it to me, he was visiting a Charismatic group at Farleigh Dickinson University. As a friend prayed over him, he experienced a burning in his mouth – he received the gift of tongues.
Still, he was experiencing doubt and uncertainty. In prayer, he asked for a clear sign. His eyes closed, he opened the Bible and pointed to the word “presbyter” priest. Once again, his mission was clear.
He was ordained a priest on The Feast of Saint Francis, his patron, on October 4, 1975. He served as a Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Mercy, Saint Matthew’s, and Our Lady of Charity, and as Pastor at Our Lady of Refuge, Saint Matthew’s (all in Brooklyn, NY), and Saint Claire’s in Rosedale Queens.
He gave me all of my sacraments, prayed over my aching ears as a child in tongues, and gave me my most-beloved childhood toy, my stuffed Franciscan monk. Uncle A had a silly sense of humor and the most wonderful, warm way about him. He always encouraged creativity, art, and self-expression. “Art, creativity… God is a CREATIVE God, and art and creativity are divine.”
There are many examples of simple kindnesses he offered others; a refuge, care, and counsel. He was an exceptionally gifted homilist and earned his Doctorate in Ministry.
In 2009, he was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, a disease he bravely fought for 11 years. Through all of that, I was by his side. There were times I slept at Sloan-Kettering and nearly every appointment I was with him.
He fought his disease with bravery, courage, and faith.
Finally, we learned in the Spring 2020 that doctors could not do anything else. Uncle was placed into the care of Calvary Hospice. And he had an extraordinary summer. Fifty years later, he reconnected with the friend who had prayed over him at Farleigh Dickinson. Friends and family came to visit him from near and far. We went on many walks and talks.
Then, about a month before he died, I visited him one day. I knew he was experiencing some anxiety. He asked me to stay over at the rectory. I did, and I never went home.
During that month, we had a lot of laughs and a lot of prayers, and a lot of good talks. We were cleaning out a closet one night because he knew he was dying and wanted to make sure he’d gone through everything. And as we were looking through old files, letters he’d written on behalf of people, old paper work and the like, he asked me to write about his life; not just his cancer, not just his ministry, but all of it, his struggles, his doubts, his journey. I promised him I would.
His last few days on this earth were mainly beautiful. He had a great meditation on Jesus. He had visits from friends, old friends, and family. We even stayed up one night till 1 am eating ice cream sundaes. Finally, he took a turn on his journey on The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross – how fitting. A Monstrance was placed on the windowsill, and his beloved parishioners gathered outside his window, singing.
Around 3 am that night, we were administering his meds. My husband had joined me. He opened his eyes and said, “Chiara, I want to go home, but I need you to drive me; I can’t drive anymore.” I told him that was okay; that there were people at home excited he was coming. That he should squeeze my hand, and we’d go. He squeezed my hand hard, closed his eyes, and went back to sleep. Those were the last words he said to me.
He died two days later, on September 18, 2020, at 12:08 pm, as the Angelus bells rang the hymn “Now Thank We all Our God.” He was 73 years old.
I have yet to start writing about him, but creating this page for him, on my website is a beginning. I miss him more than words can say.
After he died, a friend and mentee of Fr. Andy’s set up a memorial endowment in his name to help immigrants, refugees, and those in need of one-time small emergency grants.
At St. Martin de Porres parish in Philadelphia, PA, there is the Fr. Andy Struzzieri Memorial Library. Many of his books are available to read by the public.
In the summer of 2022, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and Councilwoman Selvena Brooks-Adams re-named a street in Queens for Fr. Andy.
The Fr. Andy Struzzzieri Memorial Endowment Fund has been set up by an anonymous donor and friend to continue the work and legacy of Fr. Andrew Struzzieri. This fund will supply small grants for immigrants & refugees in Brooklyn & Queens with things like groceries and other expenses. Those wishing to contribute to the fund may do so at https://catholicfoundationbq.org/fatherandy/ Those seeking to apply for funds may do so at info@cfbq.org
WINDSOR TERRACE — Whether it was helping someone find a place to live, get a job or just talk about their problems, Father Andrew Struzzieri was more than just a sympathetic parish priest — he was a guardian angel.
One recipient of Father Struzzieri’s generosity was a struggling young immigrant who turned to the priest for help many years ago and is now determined to assist others.
Father Struzzieri, the pastor of St. Clare’s Church, Rosedale, passed away from cancer in 2020 at age 73, but that immigrant he helped is making sure his name lives on, by establishing an endowment at the Catholic Foundation for Brooklyn and Queens.
The generous donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, reached out to Foundation Executive Director John Notaro to get the ball rolling. After the priest’s family gave the effort their blessing, the Rev. Andrew L. Struzzieri Memorial Endowment Fund was born.
“Father lived his life by the Gospel, and he inspired so many people. For us to receive a call from this donor, and to hear how his life was shaped by Father is just inspiring,” Notaro said. “Father showed him the way and it stuck with him so much that he wants to continue the legacy. We feel privileged to help this donor to make this a reality.”
The endowment is dedicated to supporting immigrants and refugees in the Diocese of Brooklyn who are in dire financial need. The funds will be used for such items as:
Notaro did not put a dollar amount on the endowment but said there is already enough money in the fund to help a handful of people. The foundation is accepting donations to the fund at cfbq.org/fatherandy.
Father Struzzieri’s generosity went global. NYPD Det. Ruben Cespedes remembers being a lonely, homesick 18-year-old in the Army stationed in South Korea. He took a chance and called the rectory of his church, St. Matthew’s. Father Struzzieri picked up the phone and the two talked for hours — with the priest offering encouraging words to keep the young man’s spirits up.
“Our phone calls became a regular thing,” Cespedes said. “Fast forward: I came home and we became best friends. There has never been a trial in my life that he didn’t know about.”
The night before he graduated from the police academy, Cespedes called his friend.
“I was going through a lot of trial and error. Father said, ‘When you want something you have to pray. You have to believe in your prayer. And you have to believe that God is going to make it happen,’ ” Cespedes said.
Father Struzzieri attended Cespedes’ graduation ceremony. He also officiated at Cespedes’ wedding to his wife Melanie and baptized the couple’s three children.
Leilosa Imasuen, who worked for Father Struzzieri in the rectory at St. Clare, saw his generosity up close.
“He was just so kind. His door was always open. The rectory was like a home. If you needed to speak to him, no matter what was happening with him, you could talk to him. He always had time for everyone,” she said.
Father Struzzieri, who was ordained in 1975, served in a number of churches in the diocese. He served as an assistant at Our Lady of Mercy, Forest Hills, (1975-76) and St. Matthew, Crown Heights, (1976-88). He was the pastor of Our Lady of Refuge, Flatbush, (1988-99) and St. Matthew’s, (1999-2012). While at St. Matthew’s, he also served as administrator of Our Lady of Charity, Brownsville. In 2012, he was assigned to St. Clare.
Rodney L. Pepe-Souvenir met Father Struzzieri in 1998 when he was pastor of Our Lady of Refuge.
“I went to a Mass there. He said the Mass both in Spanish and in Haitian Creole, which really impressed me,” she said. “I was not a practicing Catholic, but my husband had recently passed away and I was drawn to speaking to him about dealing with that grieving process. He helped me.”
Pepe-Souvenir went to see Father Struzzieri about six weeks before he passed away. She brought a group of Our Lady of Refuge School alumni with her.
“They were so excited to see him and tell him what became of their lives. He was just over the moon to speak to them and to find out this person is an engineer and that person’s a real estate broker,” she said.
Chiara Montalto-Giannini, Father Struzzieri’s niece, said the endowment is giving the family comfort.
“The endowment is forever. His ray of light will continue to shine. In some way, shape, or form, it will go on. That’s really beautiful,” she said.
The fact that the endowment was started by an anonymous donor is fitting, Cespedes said. “That was father, too. He didn’t do things because it would make [him] look good. He did things because it was the right thing to do. It speaks volumes that the donor is keeping quiet,” he said.
Like the parishioners he touched, Montalto-Giannini was inspired by Father Struzzieri.
“His life was being a priest. That was front and center for him,” she said. “I would go to his Masses and hear people talk about how much they loved him. In life, we don’t often take the time to know one another, engage in interaction, and communicate. And that was at the heart of what he did.”