Sunday, August 31, 2008

42. Our Lady of Pompeii

(mass times & church info last updated 03/25/2016)
Address: 25 Carmine St. (In the West village at Bleecker)
Phone: 212.989.6805
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 5pm (English)
Sun: 9am (English), 11am (Italian), 12:15pm (English), 1:30pm (Brazilian), 3pm (Filipino), 6pm (English)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Fri: 7am, 12:05pm (both English)
Wed: 6:30pm Mass & Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Sat: 8am (English)
Our Lady of Perpetual Help Novena: 
Wed: 6:30pm Mass & Novena
Confession: 30 minutes before weekend Masses

Links:
Official Website
Church Info PDF
About the Organ
The Caring Community
New York Daily Photo Blog
Architecture Images
Churches Around the World
Greenwich Village Virtual Tour
Our Lady of Pompeii School
Our Lady of Pompeii Shrine
The Story of Our Lady of Pompeii

This church is awesome. If you even just glance at any of the links above, you will see A) much nicer photos than the ones I have posted here, and B) a little bit of the history of the place.

This church overlooks Father Demo Square - a great nice open space that I had never been to before, even though I've ventured into the West Village quite often. The square is quite a beautiful place to sit, eat ice cream, people-watch - there's a relaxed comfortable feeling there and it's nice to be able to look up at the church tower and know the church's own calming presence is right there as well.

Looking back on some of my entries I wonder, am I just purporting a bad image or a further stereotype of what Catholics are seen as: guilt-ridden, distraught and generally messed-up individuals? I certainly hope I am not. If any out there (without a better prior understanding of Catholicism, or knowing someone who is Catholic) is reading me as such I must warn - don't take me or this blog as any kind of foundation for your knowledge of Catholicism or Catholics. The Church, as a whole, is so much more than one person's experiences (be they good or bad;) so much more than some of it's terrible history (be it, a lot of it, bad;) so much more than these rituals and traditions.

It's organic. It's all these buildings and these parishes. It's God above us, God within us, God around us. It's each member doing his or her part to reach toward God, always seek God, always remember God and to never forget God.

And somehow it's me, doing what I do, and somehow God reaching towards me, always.

8 comments:

  1. My grandparents were married at this very church April of 1935. When my grandmother passed they had been married 68 years. I sit here at my computer with my grandfather who is now 95 years old looking at the pictures and marveling at how beautiful it still is. Thank you for giving us this window into his past.

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  2. Billy's 5th Manhattan Church visted.

    What a beautiful church in a great location. Unlike (few Manahattan Churches) Natural light is able to permeate into this church, making it a better experience in my opinion.

    Was praying there today and an old Marist Brother's voice came to me and said "If you are doing what you should be doing and are supposed to be doing, you would be in trouble in the first place"

    I went back to work and regained focus.

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    1. HI Billy,
      That was so nice. I stumbled upon this site and I am reading random comments. I went to a Marist High School in NJ and I sometimes recall some of the saying our Marist Brothers taught us. They always made me feel more at peace.

      Dian

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  3. My fathers parents were married here in 1918, according to their marriage certificate that I just received. But, everything I've read states that the church was build in 1926/1929. Just a little confused. Was there another?

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    1. Hi mary! My great-grandparents married there too. The old church has been demolished in 1927, and it was rebuild in the same street but at 240 and not 210 Bleecker Street. Hope I've been helpful :)
      (Here is the facebook page where I found the info: https://www.facebook.com/OLPNYC)

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  4. My grandparents were also married at the church in 1915. I had read that the church burned down and that's why it was rebuilt. I'm wondering if they were able to save any of the old records.

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    1. It didn't burn down. It was demolished to make way for the extension of Sixth Ave. to church Street ( Sixth Ave originally ended at Minetta Lane.) All the records were moved to the new church.

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    2. It didn't burn down. It was demolished to make way for the extension of Sixth Ave. to church Street ( Sixth Ave originally ended at Minetta Lane.) All the records were moved to the new church.

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