A Tourist’s Guide to Catholic New York

Let's not forget:

Church of Saint Stephen 28th Street - has a large fresco painted by Constantin Brumidi who painted the US Capitol Rotunda frescoes.

Church of Saint Anselm - South Bronx.  The church is an exact, smaller replica of Hadie Sofia in Instanbul (Constantinople).  

Corpus Christi Church, Port Chester - has a chapel containing one of only six approved, exact replicas of the Shroud of Turin.

All those who admire Pope Francis should pray for the success of his presumably secret agenda of his visits to Cuba and US. The security and defenses of the Holy See are completely inadequate in the Age of Terrorism. The Pope must have negotiated in Cuba dispatch of a sizable contingent of "volunteer" hired-gun mercenaries and in the US, acquisition of modern weapons. Such deals would not be new for either country and one may recall Fidel Castro's assignment of Cuban fighters to the former Portuguese colony of Mozambique. As it stands now, Vatican is protected by one defender about every 13 meters or 40 feet of its perimeter.

As a parishioner of St Peter- Our Lady of the Rosary and thrilled to read these details about the long history of these two very special Roman Catholic churches in downtown Manhattan. If you want to learn more about the admirable and fascinating individuals and events involved with our parish, please visit spcolr.org.

Since the Tenement Museum denies their existence let me mention the Polish immigrants who lived in the Lower East Side - their parish named after St. Stanislaus B&M, was formed in 1872 on Delancey Street - they rented space at St. Teresa's and then St. Mary's on Attorney Street. They purchased a tenement on Henry St. near Grand Street and no more than ten years after being formed purchased a former Methodist Church on the corner of Stanton Street. Within that bulding their pastor formed a school for adults where they learned English and citizenship so that they could apply for citizenship and pass the examination. They also had an elementary school.

Shortly after the turn of the century they purchased property on East 7th Street where a church, nun's residence and rectory were built. The school stood on St. Mark's Place - and looking at that building - to realize that up to 1,000 children attended class there is mind boggling - there had to be 60 kids in each class or they were double shifted (although I have not seen any records indicating that).

With over 1,100 weddings, christenings and funerals each year - in addition to the Masses - the doors of the church must have been open 12 hours a day.

The Church was not "defensive" in the first half of the 19th century. It was, frequently, under physical attack. The Church in America may have been hesitant, or even reluctant to condemn slavery (Bishop Hughes) but the Vatican had centuries before.
It should not be forgotten that many of the Abolitionists were as fervently opposed to Catholicism, and also immigration - particularly Irish and German - as to slavery.

Candles burn night and day throughout the abundance of beautiful Manhattan parishes. Transcendent music is performed. The needy are clothed, sheltered and fed. People of all races, economic groups, ages, unite to pray, sing praise and be uplifted by some amazingly gifted preachers. Yes, there have been lots of troubles to be sure, but they don't seem a match for that.

Sorry, Charles, but you are mistaken. Elizabeth Ann Seton was America's first saint. She was born in NYC in 1774. St. Kateri Tekawitha was older, having been born in 1680, but she wasn't canonized until 2012. Wonder what took her so long??

The writers description of how Tammany Hall operated ("It was a transaction") convinces me that not much has changed in the Democratic party's approach to vote buying. Only the target demographic.

A highlight for Catholic visitors would be Corpus Christie church in the Mornning side Heights neighborhood where Thomas Merton was baptized.

One of the most important parts of Catholic New York is among things unseen - The Catholic school system. Almost every parish church had its own elementary school, which came to about one school for every ten blocks. It was a loss to all of New York when the city turned away from the outreached hand of the archdiocese and instead built charter schools when public schools were failing neighborhood children. Catholic New York lives on in everyone who contributed to the city and all points beyond, armed with the outstanding education provided by the Catholic schools of New York City.

As I recall, Mother Seton was the first foreign-born American saint for Catholics, and a convert to Catholicism, as was a later convert to Catholicism from NYC (Columbia U.) who also has a shrine in Maryland: Thomas Merton. Katherine Anne Drexel of Philadelphia was the first American-born female saint, I recall. In our area of NJ in the 1950s the Catholic schools were often staffed by Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, begun by Sister Katherine, who established grammar schools on American Indian reservations out west, as well. Drexel University is her family's legacy. Katherine Drexel, and Grace Kelly, are Philadelphia's two most famous Catholics.

Several Catholic churches to visit in NYC-

Getting their Acts together-
http://members.efn.org/~hkrieger/acts.jpg
Atlas Shrugged-
http://members.efn.org/~hkrieger/c031.jpg
And Nobody Stopped to Pray-
http://members.efn.org/~hkrieger/c035.jpg
Immaculate Delivery-
http://members.efn.org/~hkrieger/god.jpg

For much of the Lower Manhattan tenements' history, many of the slumlords were prosperous Episcopalian churches, most notably Trinity Church.

The richest photographic history of those hard times is of course 'How the Other Half Lives,' by Jacob Riis, a Danish-Jewish immigrant, after whom Riis Park beach is named.

St. Peter's Church on Barclay Street is lovely. Very near the old World Trade Center. This is where first responders brought Fr. Mychael Judge's body for safety. He was the first casualty of 9/11.

New York City is about as Catholic as the New Pope.

I believe the canonization of individuals is idolatrous and medieval!
However, if Francis is serious about those on the fringes and determined to carry out these retrograde practices of bestowing "sainthood", certainly Dorothy Day would be first up!