55. St. Ignatius Loyola

NOTE: In 2015 this church was part of a list of churches in danger of merging with other churches or closing altogether as part of the Archdiocese of New York's great closings & mergers of 2015. This doesn't seem to have happened and this church remains open for regular Masses and other events. If you have any news about this merger or lack thereof please feel free to write in the comments section at the bottom of this post.

(mass times & church info last updated 04/04/2016)
Address: 980 Park Ave. (@ 84th St.)
Phone: 212.288.3588
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 5:30pm (English)
Sun: 8am, 9:30am, 11am (Solemn Mass), 11am (Family Mass in Wallace Hall), 7:30pm (Solemn Mass) (all English)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Fri: 8:30am, 12:10pm, 5:30pm (all English)
Sat: 8:30am (English)
Confession: Sat: 4:30pm-5pm

Links:
Official Website
City Guides
About the Organ
Flickr
Yelp
School
Sacred Music in a Sacred Space
St. Ignatius Loyola (Saint of the Day)
St. Ignatius Loyola (Catholic Encyclopedia)

What can I say about this church more than, you have to visit it for yourself.

It's amazing and the music is equally amazing. I have attended the Solemn 11am Mass before and doing so again today brought me the exact same feelings as before. A kind of visceral cinematic feeling. You feel as though you are caught in the midst of something grand, bigger than you and all that you are, both because of the music as well as the grandiosity of the church.

The church was recently renovated and if you've seen it in the past you must come by again to see it's new brilliance - even more so than before.

And though this is, in a way, what some would refer to as a wealthy Upper East side church - there is a strong feeling of communion and giving among this congregation. This Lent they are participating in something they call The Lenten Cross - a way of focusing on the importance and reasons for Lent - more than merely giving up something. The program works to unite the community through charitable acts and social justice causes.

My girlfriend attended Mass with me this morning and we started off by lighting candles for our respective godchildren. I accidentally placed my candles upside down at first and we spent a good five minutes trying to flip the burning waxy mess right side up. What kind of godparent will I be if I can't even light a candle for her correctly?

Later in the day I wandered with a friend into the New York Historial Society. It was one of thoze bizarre kind of casual circumstances that lead us there, but once in we were amazed at the treasures before us. If you wander all the way up to the top floor, you really will be in the "city's attic." The first few floors all have exhibitions, but the top floor is exclusively an assortment of the permanent collection in plastic display cases for your viewing pleasure. It is a lot to take in - but well worth it if you have an afternoon to spend up there.





Unfortunately I spent a lot of this weekend upset over the fact that my boss had taken away our upcoming President's Day holiday five minutes before leaving the office on Friday. That just seemed cold. And I do enjoy my three day weekends so much...

But perhaps I should just feel lucky and blessed that I have a job at all, and should pray I'm lucky enough to be working next year on President's Day.