By Stephen Stirling
Although the Rev. Marcello Latona, the longtime pastor of Church of the Holy Trinity in Whitestone, died last year, he now has a permanent place near the congregation that remembers him so fondly.
City Councilman Tony Avella (D−Bayside) and dozens of friends and family members formally unveiled the renaming of 14th Avenue and 143rd Street as “Rev. Marcello Latona Street” Saturday morning. The street corner sits atop a hill overlooking Holy Trinity Church, where he served as pastor from 1990 until 2005.
“I’m sure he’s getting a big kick out of this,” said longtime friend Bishop Ignatius Catanello. “I’m sure he’d have some interesting remarks. ‘Why am I on this hill? Why am I all the way up here? Why am I in the sun like this?’”
Latona died in August after a prolonged bout with Lou Gehrig’s disease. After being ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1970, Latona served as pastor at Queen of All Saints, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary Queen of Heaven and Our Lady of Grace in Brooklyn before coming to Holy Trinity Church. After leaving in 2005, Latona spent the final four years of his life presiding over services at Most Precious Blood in Astoria.
The Rev. Joseph Gibino, who took over the pastor’s duties at Holy Trinity when Latona departed, said the mark he left on the congregation was clear immediately.
“It was certainly some big shoes to fill,” Gibino said. “His touch was present in every aspect of the congregation … so this is just in every way a tribute to what he did here.”
Avella said in addition to serving his parish, Latona was a relentless fighter for the community.
“I know we all know him as our pastor, our friend, but I knew him most as a community activist,” Avella said. “Whenever there was a cause in this community, Father Latona was there.”
Latona’s brother and sister, John and Marge Latona, were also in attendance and expressed their gratitude to the community for supporting the gesture.
“I thank you all very much. It’s a true honor,” John Latona said.
Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e−mail at sstirling@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 138.
