Welcome to Catholic Churches of Manhattan

This blog comprises a 2 1/2 year journey where I visited each of the 96 Roman Catholic churches of Manhattan for a single Mass each. I have taken photos, gathered church contact info, collected Mass, confession, and prayer times.  Oh, and written some thoughts down that were going through my head at the time. Here are those journeys and that info for you, the casual church goer, devout Catholic, pilgrim, atheist, priest, nun, drunk, coward, hero or whatever you may be to use for the benefit of also finding and discovering these very holy places, these houses of God, these Catholic churches of Manhattan...

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A note from the author.

Horarios de Misa / Mass Schedule App!

There is a new Mass Schedule app out there (created in 2014) that is slowly building a database of every Catholic church in the world and they need your help! The developers of Horarios de Misa have built in an interface where users can upload churches not currently in the database and add Mass times as well as confession times. This seems like a very useful tool and one that I certainly could have used 10 years ago when I was beginning my journey with this blog.

The app is called Horarios de Misa (or Mass Schedule in English) and has thus far focused on churches in Latin America. But it now seems that they are growing their database to include North America and points beyond. The app can be downloaded from the Apple Store here, or from Google Play here.

So, go download it and see if your neighborhood churches are on it and find out when your local Mass times are. Don't see your church? Then go ahead and add it and add your parish details including Mass and confession times, as well as the church contact info.

97. St. Brigid-St. Emeric

(mass times & church info last updated 03/08/2016) 
Address: 119 Avenue B (@ E. 8th St.)
Phone: (646) 476-5617
Weekend Mass Times:

Sat: 6pm (English)
Sun: 10am (English), 11:30am (Spanish)

Weekday Mass Times:

Mon, Wed, Thu: 9am (English)
Tue: 7pm (Spanish)
Fri: 9am (English), 6pm (Spanish)

Constructed: 1839
Renovated: 2013
Links: 
Official Website
My original post about St. Emeric's Church
About the Organ
Wikipedia
St. Brigid
Articles on the renovation: 
Donor Gives $20 Million (NY Times)The New York Landmarks Conservancy
Greenwich Village Preservation Society
The Villager

With this very last Catholic church of Manhattan, I now pronounce this blog officially complete!

Because of the numerical order of this post's title, it may seem the subtitle of this blog is now somewhat obsolete. I considered changing it from 96 churches to 97, but have decided against that. In truth, this blog was a bunch of stories about a young man's turmoil in discovering 96 houses of God. However, this 97th finds me (certainly!) no longer a turmoiled man and (even more certainly!) no longer a "young" man. My life has moved on since I began this journey.

The parish of St. Brigid's has been on a journey too. 

Here's what is looked like with scaffolding covering the church just a few years ago...

And here's what it looks like now...

According to the links above, the simplest story goes that the church of St. Brigid's was old, dilapidated and falling apart a few years back and was in danger of being closed, torn down and sold until a mysterious donor stepped up offering twenty million dollars to save it. That's when the renovations began. And since that process started, the Archdiocese of New York went ahead and closed the nearby parish of St. Emeric's, merging it with St. Brigid's in the new, renovated, pristine church building, to become the new parish of St. Brigid-St. Emeric.

 

All these new photos come from when I visited the church this past April during Holy Week (hence the covered up statues). I went to the Wednesday morning daily Mass (daily Mass always being my favorite and preferred over the pageantry of Sundays). The church was nice, peaceful, and quiet. Although it is a little far east for my liking, it's a good place to stop by when you're in the neighborhood of the East Village / Lower East Side.

Since taking these photos I have departed the awesome and awful metropolis of New York City, to begin a new life with my wife in a land both cleaner and greener. The sun shines bright here during the summertime and the air generally just smells better. Life is good, the way it should be.

Much like this parish, I am renewed and regenerated. Writing one last time in this blog gives me the opportunity to look back on my journey with incredible thoughts of gratitude. I am very thankful that I was able to take such a pilgrimage as this in such an incredible city as is New York. And I'm very happy I was able to do so when 96 parishes still existed, because as you probably are aware, many of those I visited are now closed or in danger of closing, or at least merging very soon.

But we can all look at St. Brigid's as an example of darkness turning light. Yes, it can be argued that this parish got very, very lucky because of the kindness and generosity of a very rich person. However, it's still a tale of a parish and its people overcoming the odds of an unforgiving city and reality closing in and being reborn as something new.

I, myself, am now new again thanks to many people and many things. Not least because of many of my experiences, wandering around this city, exploring these sacred spaces and places, and yearning, looking and praying for a better (no, that's not the right word), a different state of being that what was my status quo.

If your own parish is one of those unfortunates that the Cardinal has closed down, I am so, so sorry. You have probably lost a bit of your identity and history and being. But I urge you not to let your mind and soul linger in some darkened old building now locked to you, but to walk a few blocks north, west, south or east and find a new church to call your own. And if you don't like the priest or the people there for whatever reasons (and trust me, I have been to so many churches, I know there's a lot of bad ones out there), you should feel free to walk outside and head to another one. Because the city is filled with churches and choices. Or do me one better. If you get to a new church and don't like it, or someone there, or the music or the smell, do something about it. Change it. Make it better. Make it more accepting. Teach it love and forgiveness. As you know, much of the institution that claims a monopoly on those two teachings has forgotten all about them. Invest yourself in it and help transform it into what it should be.

Much love to you, reader, and anyone out there that has graced these ramblings or entered any of these holy places in yearning or torment. Please take care of them for me. I do miss them now and then.

Mob Mass: This Sunday at Our Lady of Peace!

Just heard about the upcoming Mob Mass planned for this Sunday January 25 at 12:30pm at the Church of Our Lady of Peace (237 East 62nd Street). This lovely parish is one of the churches in danger of closing because of the Archdiocese's current machinations.

If you're interested in attending, just show up. Or click the images below for more details about the Mass and the church. If we can support these parishes, maybe so many wouldn't be in danger of being closed by the number crunchers, yes men and lifers of the Archdiocese.

* STATEN ISLAND: St. Peter's Church

(mass times & church info last updated 01/06/2015) 
Address: 53 Saint Marks Place, New Brighton - Staten Island
Phone: 718.727.2672‎
Weekend Mass Times:  
Sat: 5pm
Sun: 9am, 12pm
Weekday Mass Times:  
Mon-Fri: 7am, 12:10pm
Sat: 12:10pm
Confession:  
Sat: 11:30am-12pm; 4pm-4:45pm
Baptism:   
1st and 3rd Sundays of the month (call to make arrangements)
Constructed: 1839
Post-Mass Activity: Took a cab to the faraway but excellent restaurant of the Basillo Inn for a delicious Italian lunch

Wikipedia Article
Historical Facts about St. Peter's
About the organ
175th Anniversary Celebration of St. Peter's
Snug Harbor - a beautiful garden and cultural center, and a great excuse to visit Staten Island

We actually visited this church in November but I've only just had the time to edit the images and write out a few thoughts. Because of the time lapse, I can't really remember what was going through my head at the time — certainly not the crazed and dark thoughts of posts past. This time my wife accompanied myself as well as the Catholic priest who married us last summer.

I chose this out of the many Staten Island churches for two main reasons: 1) it was actually suggested to me by someone from the island; 2) it's the closest church to the S.I. Ferry terminal and about a 20 minute (uphill) walk to the church once you land on Staten Island.

Approaching it by foot, St. Peter's appears like a fortress on a hill. Because the uphill walk took a little longer than expected, we entered Mass late (will I ever be on time for Mass?!?!), in the middle of the priest's homily. None of us were too thrilled by the words that day, but the church itself was pretty — lots of art, sculpture, glass and statues — and must take a lot of work to keep up.

I apologize in advance if this post lacks that certain desperation that typically overflowed in most of my others. The simple fact is, I just don't feel that desperation anymore (or at least, as much). Without much more drama or shenanigans to discuss here, I offer some random facts about this church that I've picked up from the internet (links above):

St. Peter's is the oldest of the 36 Roman Catholic churches on Staten Island.

Before the establishment of this church in 1839, Mass was not regularly celebrated on Staten Island and Islanders had to travel to either Manhattan or Brooklyn for services

In the late 1890's, the original church burned down, so a new one was constructed and completed and standing by 1903.

St. Peter's is one of the many churches that will be merging this August with other churches in the great diocese shakeup of 2015, compliments of Cardinal Dolan. Specifically, St. Peter's is merging with the churches of the Assumption and St. Paul of Staten Island. More detailed info can be found here and here.

Thus ends my foray into visiting some churches of the other boroughs. Just like the longer Manhattan journey, it was a fun, interesting and enlightening adventure visiting these holy houses. However, I feel I've lost some steam. One cannot go on wandering forever, even in a city as great and terrible as this. With that said, my wife and I are planning our exit from New York city this year. But by my count, I actually have one last Manhattan church to visit before I go.

More Manhattan Church Closings

The New York Times reported yesterday that the original list of church closings released last month may have a few additional names added to it. The new Manhattan churches now in danger of closing or merging are:

• St. Gregory the Great would close and be merged with Holy Name of Jesus.  

• St. Thomas More would close and be merged with St. Ignatius Loyola.

• St. John the Martyr would close and be merged with St. John Nepomucene and St. Frances Xavier (both of which would remain open).

• St. Joseph of the Holy Family would merge with St. Aloysius (both would remain open). 

• St. Vincent Ferrer would merge with St. Catherine of Siena (both would remain open).

(Click to view larger)
From the The New York Times

Click here to read my post that includes the entire previous list of closing/merging Manhattan churches, and pray for these churches and their parishioners.

Church Closings (UPDATED)

(Click to view larger)
From the The New York Times

It's a sad day for New York City churches. Yesterday, Cardinal Dolan announced that in the Archdiocese of New York, 112 parishes will be merged to create 55 new parishes. In 31 of those new parishes, one of the two churches will no longer be used for regular services, meaning those churches will effectively be closed by August 2015. (New York Times)

The nine churches in Manhattan that are essentially closing (that I have previously mentioned in this blog) are as follows:

• Church of the Holy Agony
• Church of the Holy Rosary
• Church of the Nativity 
• Church of Our Lady of Peace
• Our Lady of the Scapular and St. Stephen 
• Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary
• Church of St. Joseph (Chinatown)
• Church of St. Lucy
• Church of St. Stephen of Hungary

Click here for a complete Archdiocese list.

And here is a complete Archdiocese list of churches that will be merging where both churches will remain open.

The twelve churches in Manhattan that are merging to create six new parishes are as follows: (each of these churches will remain open for the regular celebration of Masses, etc.)

• St. Peter + Our Lady of the Rosary = new parish.
• Our Lady of Victory + St. Andrew = new parish.
• Old St. Patrick's + Most Precious Blood = new parish.
• Church of the Guardian Angel + St. Columba = new parish.
• Church of the Holy Cross + St. John the Baptist = new parish.
• Our Saviour + Chapel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus & Mary = new parish.

 - - -
And finally, here is that first list of nine churches closing from above, but below indicating which church they are merging with:

• Holy Agony [will merge with St. Cecelia Church]
• Holy Rosary [will merge with St. Paul (Spanish Harlem)]
• Church of the Nativity [will merge with Most Holy Redeemer] 
• Our Lady of Peace [will merge with St. John the Evangelist]
  
• Our Lady of the Scapular & St. Stephen [will merge with Our Saviour]
• St. Elizabeth of Hungary [will merge with St. Monica Church]
• St. Joseph (Chinatown) [will merge with Transfiguration]
• Church of St. Lucy [will merge with St. Ann Church]
• St. Stephen of Hungary [will merge with St. Monica Church]

- - -
Cheers to The New York Times for such great coverage of these events. Here's a new slideshow showing the aftermath at some of these holy houses of worship:
Parishioners Mourn as Mergers are Announced

The Other Boroughs

Brooklyn
Williamsburg
Queens
The Bronx
Staten Island

*BRONX: St. Nicholas of Tolentine

(mass times & church info last updated 09/15/2014) 
Address: 2345 University Ave., Bronx, NY
Phone: 718.295.6800
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 7pm (Spanish)
Sun: 8am (English), 9:30am (Spanish), 11:15am (English), 12:45pm (Bilingual Family Mass Sept-June), 4pm (Vietnamese)
Weekday Mass Times: 
M-F: 8:30am (Spanish), 12:10pm (English)
Thu, Sat: 7:45am (Vietnamese)
Confession: 
Sat: 4-5pm and at the Parish Office by appointment
Sun: 3:30-4pm (Vietnamese)
Constructed: 1906-1907
Post-Mass Activity: Walking a mile and a half to the New York Botanical Garden located in the Bronx

About the Organ
Bronx Catholic Review
Suspicious Blaze Breaks Out
Wikipedia Page

Over four years ago when I finished my Manhattan journey and began thinking about visiting one or two churches from each of the other boroughs, having no knowledge whatsoever of Bronx churches, I contacted the man behind Bronx Catholic and asked his opinion of which one church I should select and attend in the Bronx.  He replied naming four different Bronx parishes that would be very much worth my while, with the caveat, "It is the worshiping community that gives a church its resonance, a resonance of praise. Some Bronx church interiors may be bland or boxy, but that is secondary to the worship."

It's obviously taken me a great deal of time to follow his advice, but I finally decided to make the journey to the Bronx and attend St. Nicholas of Tolentine. (See a few brief notes about the other 3 choices at the bottom of this post.)

For starters, here's what Bronx Catholic said about the church of St. Nicholas of Tolentine:
The upper church was completed after World War II.  Given the opportunity, I would choose a Vietnamese Mass or a trilingual Mass.

This church is massive! Just approaching it on foot from the west, it suddenly seems to appear out of nowhere, and then towers above everything else.

My wife and I, (yes, in the past 4 years I did indeed meet a beautiful and lovely lady who did me the honor, favor and privilege of saying "yes" to me, and who occasionally joins me on some Sunday morning ventures,) walked here from our place in uptown Manhattan. It was a great walk on one of the first cool and crisp days this fall. We arrived at the enormous structure, made our way around the building to the front where the doors were open and Mass was about to begin.

Oddly enough, it turned out that they were actually celebrating the feast of their patron saint, St. Nicholas of Tolentine, this weekend and the intro procession included some beautiful and pretty cool kites that appeared to be either angels or spirits or the Holy Spirit or all of the above:

After the Mass ended, in honor of the feast, there was a 30 minute organ concert performed by the parish's organist on the enormous and breathtaking organ:

This was such a picturesque and beautiful early fall/late summer day. The sun was shining. Mass was nice. And my wife and I enjoyed our walks around the city and through the Bronx.

She has been a light in my life and has taught me the importance and joy of love and affection, kindness and sweetness. It's nice to have her with me at the very tail end of this journey. For it is truly and finally coming to a close. Most of the churches have all been viewed. And we are probably not long for this great and terrible city, this monstrous metropolis.

Here are the other churches suggested by Bronx Catholic:

St. Jerome
Here's what Bronx Catholic said:
The eye of the Lord was blue and is now brown.  Some parishioners and former parishioners saved the church from closure.  (St. Jerome's is the easiest to reach from midtown: #6 train to Third Avenue and 138th Street.)
For the Bronx Catholic review, click here.  For the NYCago organ page, click here.

St. Anselm
Here's what Bronx Catholic said:
Interior that it is romanesque.
For the Bronx Catholic review, click here.

Immaculate Conception
Here's what Bronx Catholic said:
The interior is ornate, but not baroque.  Off-hours, one can visit the church by passing through the rectory.  A glass wall blocks one from moving forward into the pews (off-hours, that is,) but one can see the church.  This parish is German, Bavarian, or Austrian in heritage.  Do not confuse this parish with Immaculate Conception, Gun Hill Road.  (This is the Redemptorists church, in Melrose, one block north on East 150th Street, just north of the 149th Street (Third Avenue station of the #2 and #5 train.)  The intersection of 149th Street, Third Avenue, and Melrose Avenue is known as The Hub (of The Bronx.))
For the Bronx Catholic review, click here.

- - -

Special thanks to Bronx Catholic for all his help.
Ok, so that's enough Bronx churches for me.

And ahhhh shit...
Now I have to go to Staten Island...