The Church of Holy Cross is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

under the authority of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the borough ...

, located at 600 Soundview Avenue,

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 List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York 10473. The rectory address is the same.

Buildings

The church is located on the east side of Soundview Avenue at the intersection with Taylor Avenue. The church was designed by Brother

Cajetan Baumann Brother Cajetan J. B. Baumann, O.F.M., AIA, (1899-1969), was a Franciscan friar and a noted American architect.Modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

concrete and stained-glass shell, reminiscent of Hugh Stubbins Jr.'s 1957

Haus der Kulturen der Welt The Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW), in English House of the World's Cultures, in Berlin is Germany's national center for the presentation and discussion of international contemporary arts, with a special focus on non-European cultures and so ...

, the former ''Kongresshalle'' (nicknamed the "Pregnant Oyster") in Berlin. The school is a typical mid-20th-century

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

three-storey concrete and glazed block.

Parish history

The parish was established in 1921. The

Franciscan Friars The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

administered the parish for nearly 90 years, but withdrew from the parish in 2008 and were replaced by archdiocesan clergy.

Holy Cross School

The school address is 1846 Randall Avenue, Bronx, New York 10473. The school was established in 1923, and for much of its history was staffed by the Franciscan Sisters of Allegheny.Parish School Official Website
/ref> The school has around 419 students in grades from prekindergarten to 8th grade. According to the

Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...

, "Holy Cross demonstrated that it is effectively advancing the quality of educational experiences it offers to its students, meets its responsibilities to the public and the profession of education, and complies with the standards of accreditation that are established by the Commission on Elementary Schools."

Notable alumni

The musician Leon Heyward attended Holy Cross School. As "MC Sundance", he was a member of the "

Jazzy Five Jazzy Five was a hip hop group founded in the mid-1970s. History The group was initially formed in South Bronx as the Jazzy Four by Charlie Choo, Master Bee, Master Ice, and MC Sundance, with Jazzy Jay as the group's DJ. Prior to the group's for ...

", one of the first rap groups to form in the

South Bronx The South Bronx is an area of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. The area comprises neighborhoods in the southern part of the Bronx, such as Concourse, Bronx, Concourse, Mott Haven, Bronx, Mott Haven, Melrose, B ...

during the 1970s. He was a survivor of the

attacks of 9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

at the

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

, but later died from exposure to the various air-borne

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...

s released in the destruction of the buildings, and was officially recorded as a victim of the terrorist attack.

References

Notes

External links

Official Parish WebsiteOfficial School Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy Cross Church (Bronx, New York) Christian organizations established in 1921 Roman Catholic churches in the Bronx Private middle schools in the Bronx 1921 establishments in New York City Soundview, Bronx Catholic elementary schools in the Bronx