Rev J Skerstonas

I heard from a lovely lady in Lithuania who is researching the family of the 2nd President of Lithuania, Alex Stulginskis.   (Of course neither of us speaks the others language).   As of her last count, Mr Stulginskis had 12 brothers and sisters so she was trying to determine which of these may have been the father of Bruce Stulginskis, who had married a Skerstonas cousin.   I was able to locate their marriage certificate from New York in 1926:

Something interesting on the certificate - the ceremony was officiated by "Rev J Skerstonas."  And, who is this cousin?  The church appears to be Our Lady of Vilnus in New York City which closed in 2007.   I now need to add this to things I need to research.   A quick google search shows:

http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/OurLadyVilnius.html

570 Broome Street at Varick Street New York, N.Y. 10013 Organ Specifications: ► II/10 Aeolian Company – from unknown residence ► II/17 George W. Earle (1868) – inst. as Möller, Op. 1186 (c.1909)
The Church of Our Lady of Vilnius was established in 1909 as a national parish church to serve Lithuanian Catholics in New York City. Harry G. Wiseman designed the yellow-brick church that was built in 1910. Located on Broome Street near Varick, the parish became a center fostering not only religious belief but also Lithuanian culture and national identity. People rallied around their church to maintain community bonds and remain close to their homeland. Our Lady of Vilnius was for many years home for a local chapter of the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal order. In the 1920s, construction of the nearby Hudson Tunnel and its access roads uprooted the community, and by the time the tunnel opened in November, 1927, many one-family homes belonging to Lithuanian parishioners had been destroyed. Over the years, however, the Lithuanians continued to return to the church for social activities and for Masses in their native language. By the late 1990s, the church roof had become unstable and services were moved to the basement. Despite valiant efforts to repair and save the church, the Archdiocese closed the parish on February 27, 2007.  I'll need to do some digging to see if I can find any church history.   I know in other church's they have anniversary books which list the various priests they have had through the years.  Wonder if this church had one and if there is any information on Father Skerstonas.   Hmm... ******UPDATE****** I heard back from a woman who still maintains a blog on Our Lady of Vilnius.   She set me straight: I think that the priest was most likely Father Sestokas.  In many instances his name has been spelled “Shestokas” in English, as it is pronounced.  You can probably verify the name against the parish record.  Various parish histories have been prepared for parish anniversaries.  If I can lay hands on them, I can scan and send. So, upon a second look with this new information, I think she is right.   The priest is likely Rev Shestokas not Rev Skerstonas!   I believe we have a mystery solved...