A little more than a year after he became director of St. Ignatius Retreat House in Manhasset, Rev. Joseph Constantino, S. J. is preparing for a second Celebration of Spring on Sunday, May 6. This year the event will honor two men, Donald Gross and Daniel Denihan, both of Manhasset.

The event will consist of a Liturgy at 4 p.m., followed by a cocktail reception. With luck with the weather, the guests will enjoy the beautiful grounds of the property.

The purpose of the fund-raising celebration is to raise money for further renovations of the former Brady estate, Inisfada. At present the solarium is the only room large enough to hold a crowd such as the one expected on May 6. There is space in the lowest level of the present building or the possibility of adding a wing. "It's nice to dream," said Father Constantino in an interview last week.

During his first year in office, Father Constantino oversaw the painting of the entire first floor and the grand staircase, and it is grand indeed. Now there is also the question of rehabilitating the heating system, which is the original one. Inisfada (Long Island in Gaelic) was built between 1916 and 1920.

A year ago some people expressed concern at the apparently new direction the Jesuits were taking with the house, which had been a Retreat House since the order received it as a gift from Mrs. Nicholas Brady, the widow of its builder. "People now see the house has new life," Father Constantino said. "Change is hard and painful and not everyone understood what the Society might be doing, but we knew there would be fewer Jesuits to staff the house in the future." They are presently working on setting up a board of directors and writing bylaws for the future of the house, which will then be incorporated.

Among the programs that are presently being developed is one for the training of spiritual directors. Some will be young Jesuits, some members of women's religious orders and some lay people. The director of that program is Sister Karen Doyle, a sister of Saint Joseph of Chestnut Hill. A Triduum Retreat was held over Easter weekend this year and was well attended by both lay and religious retreatants.

The honorees of this year's Celebration are both Jesuit educated. Donald W. Gross, a native Long Islander, has lived with his wife, Marie, in Manhasset since 1957. They raised their four children, Donald, Kathleen, Robert and Maria, here. Don spent the last 23 years of his business career prior to his retirement in 1997 with Genovese Drug Stores. Prior to joining Genovese, he spent more than 25 years in the textile industry in various executive-marketing positions.

Don Gross is a graduate of Regis High School in New York City. After service in the United States Navy, he attended and graduated from the College of the Holy Cross. He also attended St. John's Law School.

He has been active in both Regis High School and Holy Cross College alumni affairs for many years. He is a past member of the board of Abilities, Inc. Don and his wife, Marie, are involved in a myriad of activities at St. Mary's parish. Recently they served as core committee chair for the Renew 2000 program. Don and Marie headed the Pre-Cana program at St. Mary's for a number of years. He is currently serving as major gift chair for St. Mary's $10 million capital campaign.

Daniel Denihan, one of the owners of Manhattan East Suite Hotels, has worked in the family-owned all-suite hotels for more than 30 years. A graduate of Xavier High School in Manhattan, Mr. Denihan received his Bachelor of Science degree from Boston College in 1969.

In addition to his work at Manhattan East, Dan Denihan is active in educational, charitable and community organizations. He serves on the board of trustees for Xavier High School and is a member of the National Development Board of Boston College. He also serves on the board of governors for St. Francis Hospital and is the chairman of the capital campaign committee of St. Aloysius School in Harlem.

Mr. Denihan and his wife, Kathleen, have been married for 26 years. They are the parents of five children, Dan, Conor, Suzanne, Sean and Mary Kate.

After the Spring Celebration, St. Ignatius' friends will begin gearing up for their first golf outing, to be chaired by Maura Connolly and held on August. 6.