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.

92. Church of the Most Holy Redeemer (Now Parish of the Most Holy Redeemer and of Nativity)

NOTE: In 2015 the Church of the Nativity closed down and was merged into Church of the Most Holy Redeemer as part of the Archdiocese of New York's great closings & mergers of 2015. Only Church of the Most Holy Redeemer will remain open for regular Masses and other events. This combined parish is called Parish of the Most Holy Redeemer and of Nativity.

(mass times & church info last updated 03/23/2016)
Address: 173 E. 3rd St. (Between Avenues A & B)
Phone: 212.673.4224
Weekend Mass Times: 
Sat: 5:30pm (English)
Sun: 9am (English), 10:30am (Spanish), 12:15pm (English), 7:30pm (English)
Legal Holiday Mass Times: 9am (English)
Weekday Mass Times: 
Mon-Thur: 8am, 6pm (both English)
Wed: 12pm (Spanish)
Thu: 12pm (English)
Fri: 8am (English), 7pm (Spanish)
Sat: 9am (English)
Confession:
Fri: 7:45pm-8:30pm
Sat: 4:30pm-5:30pm
Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help: 
Thu: 8am, 12pm (both English)
Wed: 12pm (Spanish)
Novena to Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos: 
Fri: After the 8am Mass (English)
Fri: After the 7pm Mass (Spanish)
Constructed: 1851-1852
Links:
Official Website
About the Organ
Golden Jubilee Article (NY Times, 1894)
Congegration of the Most Holy Redeemer

DAILY MASS

As I approach the end of this journey, I wanted to include one more daily Mass. My new job, thankfully, allows the time and proximity to attend daily Mass much more often than my old life. As always, I find daily Mass so much more calming, peaceful and devout than Sundays.

'The Roman Catholic Church of the Most Holy Redeemer was established in 1844 by the Redemptorist Fathers to serve German immigrants living in the city. St. Nicholas could no longer accomodate the numbers... Located on East Third Street in an area formerly known as Kleindeutschland ("Little Germany"), the convent & rectory school built first...the present cathedral-like church building was built in 1851-52 to designs by a Mr. Walsh, and dedicated on November 28, 1852.

In 1913, the church was renovated by Paul Schulz, who simplified the original Baroque facade and shortened the 250-foot tower. In the tower are eight bells: two by Meneely of Watervliet, N.Y., and six from Constance, Switzerland. With the advent of the elevated trains, the German population moved northward, often to the Yorkville. Today, the congregation is known as Santisimo Redentor, and is a shrine in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help."
-from NYCago (http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/MostHolyRedeemer.html)

Church of the Most Holy Redeemer had "the first bells in the world ever to be rung by means of electric switches [on Janauary 11, 1914]." (The Spiritual Traveler, 18)

In addition to this church holding the complete remains of St. Datian, a reliquary chapel also holds "relics of Jesus' manger, the pillar at which he was scourged, the true cross, the girdle of the Virgin Mary, the mantle of St. Joseph, and other relics of St. Ann, St. Lazarus, St. John the Baptist, and St. Anthony of Padua."(124)

It was strange this morning, for some reason, waking early and taking the train down to the Lower East Side. There is such newness each morning, so much potential, before the sun begins its journey across the sky, and the hours slip away, bringing us to night.

I walked into this church and became instantly entranced with its size and decor'. Being there at that hour carried me to a different place, another realm. I sat, I kneeled, I prayed and experienced a calm and an energy that exists in this space.

I prayed in front of St. Datian and the other relics. I can find no online resources telling me who St. Datian was. All I know is he was "the first saint and the only male saint whose complete set of relics were given to the Church in the United States..."(Adam's Ale) and only one of two saints whose complete remains are in New York City, (the other being Mother Cabrini at her shrine.)

I dreamt of Leviathan last evening.

I was with some family and friends at some kind of seaside park. There was a gaming area. Alone, I chose to play the pinball machine. This game though, was covered in thick hard black plastic surrounding the glass. I controlled the paddles, but could not see what they were doing, couldn't tell where the little metal balls were going, if I was winning. Tiring of this game I walked outside where I found an outdoor aquarium. I walked over to one area, where a woman stood watch over a tank, the caretaker. Just above the surface of the dark green water, I saw the thick white skin of some sea creature beneath. I reached to touch it, and it moved, broke the surface suddenly and sailed towards heaven.

Up and up it soared into the air, larger than I could have imagined it being. So immense and terrifying and amazing was this creature, I could do nothing but stare as it reached further to the sky, it's size ever increasing. And the beast came crashing down upon me, darkening the sun, ending me.

84. St. Emeric (CLOSED) - Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament (Open)

(updated 07/30/2014)
Thanks so much to the below comment from Paul Armesto informing me that this church of St. Emeric has now been combined with the old/new church of St. Brigid to now be formally called the Church of St. Brigid-St. Emeric. That new parish is now located at 119 Avenue B, 646.476.5617. It seems as though there is a chapel still located at St. Emeric's with adoration at the times below. One day I will visit the new parish and make one last, official, 97th post, but for now here are the Mass times of the new parish of St. Brigid-St. Emeric:
(mass times & church info last updated 03/08/2016) 

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)

CHAPEL OF THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT AT ST. EMERIC'S CHURCH: 
(adoration times & church info last updated 07/30/2014
UPDATED 3/8/2016: Can't find any new info on the adoration times, you should call them before visiting to make sure.)
Address: 185 Ave. D (@ E. 12 St.)
Phone: 212.228.4494
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament:
Mon-Fri: 9am-9pm
Sat: 9am-5pm
Sun: 9am-2pm
Nocturnal Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament:
Fridays 9pm - Saturday 6am
Links:
Official Website
St. Emeric of Hungary

(The below post is from January 2010 when I ventured to the then parish of St. Emeric, before it was combined with St. Brigid.)

BAPTISM OF OUR LORD

Somewhere in Alphabet City, on a dead end of Avenue D, sits the church of St. Emeric, found amidst the factory area of the lower east side, dropped in the middle of industrial smokestacks and a neighborhood - the last outpost between the city and the east river. The smokestacks spill out pure white sinister clouds on this sunny, cold Sunday morning, and this whole neighborhood feels like a strange distant land to me - even though my home is only eight or nine miles away.


I was happy to find this outpost, as that is what it felt like until I actually entered the church. It's funny, this trek, which brings me to all these places I've merely located on a map, that remain just that - points on a map - until I actually make the visits there. I'm always ecstatic to finally find them, to see what's there. Sometimes I am happy, pleasantly surprised by what I find - some kind of special place to have witnessed, and sometimes the churches are merely churches, not much else than simple basic points of interest that remain marks, insignificant, in my mind.

St. Emeric had something going for it though, especially the 10am youth Mass I attended this morning. Mistaken, I thought I'd be arriving late for a 9:30am Mass but found myself instead twenty minutes early for the 10am. Those twenty minutes revealed something so important to me - a kind of energy and excitement in the air, an electricity, like that you would witness before a big show or rock concert. The growing congregation was excited, and seemed to look so forward to what was to come. By the time Mass began, the church was nearly full. It was a good place to be for Mass, and everyone was quite into it.



Though the new year has brought with it new joys and fresh hope and much to look forward to, and I overall feel very positive about 2010, there is something not quite right with my chi lately. I'm off, somehow. My impatience grows. I find myself moreover angry all the time - and this is certainly not how it used to be with me. I'm short with people - my friends and family. Strangers set me off. Crowds on the street. Traffic. The trains. Everything. A mere symptom of simply intaking too much Curb Your Enthusiasm lately, or a growing trait of my personality?

Though I feel good about this year, there is something I'm still missing. So angry. So scared.

God help me.

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