Located on West 204th Street between Tenth and Nagle Avenues, this playground honors Monsignor Francis J. Kett (1895-1969), the beloved pastor of nearby Saint Jude’s Roman Catholic Church. Born July 31, 1895, Kett attended Cathedral College and St. Joseph’s Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York. A staunch patriot, he took a year leave of absence from seminary to serve in the U.S. military as infantry lieutenant in World War I. Following his ordination on May 26, 1923, Kett spent a summer at St. Peter’s Parish in Liberty, New York, before he was transferred to St. Andrew’s near City Hall, where he served as a priest for nineteen and a half years. Kett spent another five years as an administrator of Old St. Mary’s on Grand Street before moving to Inwood in 1949.