The Fordham University Church is a Catholic (Jesuit)

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

located at Fordham University in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Originally constructed in 1845, the church was initially used as a seminary for the community, and later became part of the university in 1859. Contemporarily, it is the central place of worship and head of the university's campus ministry, which also has various associated

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s across the university's three campuses.

History

Establishment

The Fordham University Church was originally built in 1845 as a seminary chapel and parish church for the surrounding community of Old Fordham Village in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. In 1859, the university was purchased by the Jesuits, and the church was absorbed by the university (then St. John's College). It contains the old altar from the current St. Patrick's Cathedral, as well as stained glass windows given to the university by King Louis Philippe I of France. The windows are particularly notable for their connection to a workshop in Sevres, France, where the earliest stages of the Gothic Revival took place. The six windows in the nave of the University Church depict the Four Evangelists, St. Peter, and

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

. Adjacent to the church is the

Fordham University Cemetery Fordham University Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery on the campus of Fordham University in the Bronx. Established in 1847, it was moved to its current location in 1890. The last burial occurred in 1909. The cemetery holds 138 graves, 124 of which ...

, where the university's original nineteenth-century Jesuits, diocesan seminarians, students, and workers are interred; the original cemetery had been located on property that now belongs to the New York Botanical Garden, and the graves were relocated to their current location in 1890.

Campus ministry

The University Church is the central place of worship for Fordham's campus ministry; however, there are numerous

s associated with the church on the Rose Hill campus, including the Blue Chapel in

Keating Hall Keating Hall is a building located at Fordham University in the Bronx, New York City. Constructed in 1936, it is considered the "centerpiece" of the university's main Rose Hill campus, and is the home to the university's Graduate School of Arts ...

, the Sacred Heart Chapel in Dealy Hall, and the St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel at Spillman Hall. Additionally, the Our Lady's Chapel is located in the University Church basement.

Gallery

Image:Fordham University Church by R. Bucko.jpg, Church with statue of Orestes Brownson in the foreground. Image:Fordham University 07.JPG, Interior of the University Church Image:Fordham University Church window detail.png, A window in the church, donated by King Louis Philippe I of France.

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Liturgy Schedule
of University Church {{DEFAULTSORT:Fordham University Church University Church 1845 establishments in New York (state) Collegiate Gothic architecture in New York (state) Gothic Revival church buildings in New York City Roman Catholic churches in the Bronx