St. John the Evangelist's Church (Manhattan)
Encyclopedia
The Church of St. John the Evangelist is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
, located at 355 East 55th St. at First Ave., Manhattan
, New York City
.
moved their academy to a fine old house on 50th Street and Fifth Avenue where they created a chapel of St. Ignatius. The chapel was then occupied by Trappist monks from 1813 to 1815, and appears to have ceased function after that. Bishop DuBois reopened the chapel in 1840 for Catholics employed at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum and in the general neighborhood. A modest frame church was built and dedicated 9 May 1841 by the Rev. John Hughes, administrator of the diocese. Tickets were sold to the dedication to ease the parish's debt level, managed by a lay Board of Trustees, but to no avail and the property mortgage was finally foreclosed on and the church sold at auctioned. The stress is said to have contributed to the death that year of the church's pastor, the Rev. Felix Larkin. The experience was blamed on the management of the trustees and this incident is said to have played a significant role in the abolishment of the lay trusteeship, which occurred shortly thereafter. The young and energetic Rev. Michael A. Curran was appointed to raise fund for the devastated parish, and shortly fitted up an old college hall as a temporary church. Fr. Curran continued raising funds to buy back the church during the Great Famine in Ireland, eventually succeeding and taking the deed in his own name. "The site of St. Patrick's Cathedral, hence, came to the Church through the labors of this young priest and the self-denial of his countrymen and not by the fight of the city." The debt was finally all paid for by 1853 when it was clear a large church was needed and the site was selected as appropriate for the new cathedral.
Rev. James McMahon
(later of Catholic University
) had a new church built one block east of Madison Avenue, freeing the previous site for St. Patrick's Cathedral. The new church measured 140 by 90 feet and contained an organ valued at $30,000, which was constructed under the direction of Fr. McMahon, himself, who was a skilled musician. However, a fire on 10 January 1871 destroyed this church with organ and a smaller church was finally opened within a year, serving as the cathedral parish. The parish was removed eastward in 1879 in the cathedral parish and in 1880 went to St. Andrew's Church (New York City)
in Duane Street, Manhattan. In 1914, the Catholic population of the parish was around 7,000 and the property valued at $425,000.
and 7 lay teachers.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York covers New York, Bronx, and Richmond counties in New York City , as well as Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties in New York state. There are 480 parishes...
, located at 355 East 55th St. at First Ave., Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Parish
The parish was established in 1830. Or according to other sources in 1841 "with a rather stormy history." The church originally stood on the site of the present St. Patrick's Cathedral, Manhattan. The first Catholic presence of the site there dated from 1810 when the Society of JesusSociety of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
moved their academy to a fine old house on 50th Street and Fifth Avenue where they created a chapel of St. Ignatius. The chapel was then occupied by Trappist monks from 1813 to 1815, and appears to have ceased function after that. Bishop DuBois reopened the chapel in 1840 for Catholics employed at the Deaf and Dumb Asylum and in the general neighborhood. A modest frame church was built and dedicated 9 May 1841 by the Rev. John Hughes, administrator of the diocese. Tickets were sold to the dedication to ease the parish's debt level, managed by a lay Board of Trustees, but to no avail and the property mortgage was finally foreclosed on and the church sold at auctioned. The stress is said to have contributed to the death that year of the church's pastor, the Rev. Felix Larkin. The experience was blamed on the management of the trustees and this incident is said to have played a significant role in the abolishment of the lay trusteeship, which occurred shortly thereafter. The young and energetic Rev. Michael A. Curran was appointed to raise fund for the devastated parish, and shortly fitted up an old college hall as a temporary church. Fr. Curran continued raising funds to buy back the church during the Great Famine in Ireland, eventually succeeding and taking the deed in his own name. "The site of St. Patrick's Cathedral, hence, came to the Church through the labors of this young priest and the self-denial of his countrymen and not by the fight of the city." The debt was finally all paid for by 1853 when it was clear a large church was needed and the site was selected as appropriate for the new cathedral.
Rev. James McMahon
James McMahon
James McMahon may refer to:* James McMahon , Ontario, Canada doctor and politician* James McMahon , former Australian Labor politician* James McMahon , American amateur astronomer...
(later of Catholic University
Catholic University
A Catholic University is a private university run by the Catholic Church or by Catholic organizations like religious institutes. Those with closer ties to the Holy See are called pontifical universities....
) had a new church built one block east of Madison Avenue, freeing the previous site for St. Patrick's Cathedral. The new church measured 140 by 90 feet and contained an organ valued at $30,000, which was constructed under the direction of Fr. McMahon, himself, who was a skilled musician. However, a fire on 10 January 1871 destroyed this church with organ and a smaller church was finally opened within a year, serving as the cathedral parish. The parish was removed eastward in 1879 in the cathedral parish and in 1880 went to St. Andrew's Church (New York City)
St. Andrew's Church (New York City)
The Church of St. Andrew is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 20 Cardinal Hayes Place, Manhattan, New York City...
in Duane Street, Manhattan. In 1914, the Catholic population of the parish was around 7,000 and the property valued at $425,000.
Pastors
- ?-1841: Rev. Felix Larkin (d.1841)
- 1841-?: Rev. Michael A. Curran
- Rev. James McMahon
- Rev. John T. O'Reilly was transferred from here (presumably as assistant) to St. John the Evangelist Church (Manhattan) in 1904.
Buildings
Under Monsignor James J. Ford, P.R., a new church was begun at the corner of 55th Street and First Ave. in 1880 and completed in 1886. A brick garage was built 1947 at 344-348 E 56th Street to the designs of architect George J. Sole of 110 East 42nd Street for $900.School
The church had a four-storey brick and stone school at the southwest corner of First Avenue and 56th Street built in 1907 to the designs of architect Franklin A Green and John V. Van Pelt, Associated of 333 Fourth Avenue for $80,000. The parish school opened in 1908. In 1914, the school had 497 boys and 500 girls, run by 11 Sisters of CharitySisters of Charity
Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity as part of their name. The rule of Saint Vincent for the Daughters of Charity has been adopted and adapted by at least sixty founders of religious orders around the world in the subsequent centuries....
and 7 lay teachers.