Father Chris Costigan has been assigned as the new associate pastor of St. Mary’s Catholic Church to replace Father Allan Sikorski, who completed his assignment on June 26.
Costigan, who grew up attending St. Christopher’s Church and Elementary School in Baldwin and graduated from Chaminade High School, previously served at St. Bernard’s parish in Levittown after being ordained a priest in 2008.
“[Joining the priesthood] was a gradual process that always seemed to be in the back of my mind,” Costigan said in a press release issued by the parish.
Costigan graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2002 with a degree in government and international studies with minors in philosophy and theology, and he said it was during his time as an alter server in college that eventually led to his entering the seminary.
“It was actually Holy Thursday night, my sophomore year in college at Notre Dame,” Costigan said. “I was very involved in the Basilica there, so it was at that mass when I made the decision to see the vocation director, who just happened to live next door to me.”
After graduation, Costigan spent a year as an emergency medical technician before entering the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington in 2003 to study the priesthood.
At St. Bernard’s, Costigan said he had to “jump in with both feet,” as he was still learning to be a priest while learning about the parish and its community. In his first few years at St. Bernard’s, he had to serve as a source of strength and comfort for families as the church community healed from the funerals of 12 parishioners who were under the age of 25.
From that experience, Costigan said he gravitated to a passage from the Gospel of Luke, which says “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
“The verse really is the heart of everything,” Costigan said. “Priests often refer to it because we don’t always get everything our way.”
Costigan has also been a member of the Oceanside Fire Department since 1998 and was appointed as the department’s chaplain in 2008. He is also the chaplain for the North Bellmore and Point Lookout departments.
Costigan served the Oceanside Fire Department during Hurricane Sandy and said the community’s resolve during that time was inspiring.
“The department was on 24-hour standby since the day before the storm,” Costigan said. “That status continued for over 1.5 months. I was struck by the generosity of the people in Oceanside, as well as many people who immediately came to assist from surrounding towns and Upstate New York.”
The press release said that in addition to being a volunteer firefighter, Costigan is an avid sports fan and roots for the New York Yankees, New York Jets and New York Islanders, in addition to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
