Councilman Robert Holden and the Children’s Smile Foundation, along with members from the Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, honored Monsignor Peter Zendzian by declaring the corner of 56th Road and 61st Street in Maspeth as Monsignor Peter Zendzian Way on Sunday, Oct. 23.
Rev. Msgr. Peter Zendzian served at St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church at 58-15 Catalpa Ave. in Ridgewood from December 2013 until he died in 2015. Zendzian was born in Maspeth and baptized at Holy Cross Church, where he eventually became a pastor for 13 years.
For his long service to the community, leaders from political and religious sectors came together to honor Zendzian.
“He was a dedicated servant not only to his congregation and the Polish people but also the communities within District 30 and throughout the city,” Holden said. “Today, we honored the life and indelible memory of the monsignor by declaring the corner of 56th Road and 61st Street, in Maspeth, as Monsignor Peter Zendzian Way.”
Zendzian was an active member of his community, working on 30th Council District’s civic and cultural activities, was chair of the Polish Apostolate in the Diocese of Brooklyn, chair of the Polish American Priests Association and chaplain of the Children & Smile Foundation in Maspeth. He was also involved in the Polish American Congress and the Polish Supplementary School Council of America.
Zendzian was also passionate about immigration issues, and served as the director of the American Episcopate for Immigration in the United States, and sat on former Mayor Ed Koch’s Immigration Advisory Board and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Immigration and Naturalization Service.
After the pastor died, he was buried at Saint John’s Cemetery in Middle Village.
