Mary of Nazareth Parish came into existence in the years 2007-2011, when the former Bishop of Brooklyn, The Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, merged the parishes of Sacred Heart (founded 1871), St. Michael-St. Edward (founded 1890), and St. Lucy-St. Patrick (founded 1845).
The parish of the Sacred Heart was established by the Most Reverend John Loughlin, who at the time was the bishop of Brooklyn, in November 1871. Bishop Loughlin, aware of the growing community, appointed Reverend Thomas F. McGivern to establish the parish and tend to the spiritual needs of Catholics in the area. An old primary school building on Vanderbilt Avenue was secured and remodeled for the community to use as a church; the first Mass was celebrated on December 3, 1871. On May 11, 1874, Bishop Loughlin laid the cornerstone, and soon after the walls and tower were erected and the roof was completed.
After Reverend McGivern, Bishop Loughlin appointed Reverend John A. McCullum to take over the parish. Father McCullum was said to be an energetic young priest who had been ordained in 1871, and under his active and efficient leadership, work on the church resumed and on June 20, 1875, Mass was said in the actual church for the first time.
Father McCullum continued his efforts until the church was furnished. The church was dedicated on June 24, 1877. By 1914, the parish numbered 6000 members. Today, the parish is substantially smaller due to a change in demographics over the years.
The Parish of St. Edward, the Confessor, was organized in 1891, having been formed from parts of St. James, Our Lady of Mercy and Sacred Heart parishes. Bishop Loughlin appointed the Rev. James F. Mealia of St. James Cathedral to take charge of the new church that would be built on the corner of Canton and Divisions Streets, later known as St. Edward Street and Leo Place. The cornerstone was laid on September 13, 1891, and on December 8th the basement was opened and Mass was celebrated in it for the first time. As the neighborhood was poor, it would take 15 more years for Father Mealia to raise the funds to complete the church.
Finally, in 1906, the church and rectory were completed and dedicated. Designed in the Romanesque style, the church had an apsidal front flanked by two towers and was constructed of gray brick trimmed with terra cotta. Measuring 124 feet long with an average width of 65 feet, the church could originally seat 1000 persons. In 1942, St. Michael's and St. Edward's churches were combined to serve the residents of the new Fort Greene Housing Project and the congregation was renamed St. Michael–St. Edward Church.
In 2008, the Church of St. Michael-St. Edward was consolidated into Sacred Heart Church, taking the name Mary of Nazareth.
The familiar red-brick church on Willoughby Avenue in the Fort Greene area of Brooklyn was established in 1843, but was originally called St. Mary's Church. In 1856, the church was renamed in honor of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Patrick C. Keely, an Irish-born resident of Brooklyn who would design many churches, was the architect for St. Patrick's Church. The building is noted for its roof dormers that illuminate windows in the nave wall, and reflects Keely's early development in the gothic style. St. Patrick's Church is similar to those that Keely designed for St. Brigid's and St. Nicholas churches in Manhattan.
In 1974, St. Lucy's Church, located a few blocks north on Kent Avenue, was absorbed into St. Patrick's, and the church was renamed St. Lucy-St. Patrick. St. Lucy's Church was established in 1904 to serve the Italian residents of the area.
On January 31, 2011. St. Lucy-St. Patrick merged with Mary of Nazareth.