The Church of the Immaculate Conception is a

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, ...

in 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 414 East 14th Street, near First Avenue,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

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 ...

, and previously at 505 East 14th Street.

History

The parish was established in 1855, when a temporary church was established in a carpenter's shop on 15th Street by Rev. Bernard Farrell. The congregation was largely Irish and Italian immigrants who had settled on the East Side. Farrell resigned due to failing health, and his successor, Rev. John Ryan had a new church constructed at 505 14th Street, which was dedicated by Archbishop Hughes in May 1858. Ryan was followed by Rev. William P. Morrogh, who established the parish school. The school opened in 1864, staffed by the

Sisters of Charity of New York The Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul of New York, most often known as the Sisters of Charity of New York, is a religious congregation of sisters in the Catholic Church whose primary missions are education and nursing and who are dedicated ...

; the Christian Brothers arrived in 1880 and assumed instruction of the boys. By the tenure of Monsignor John Edwards in 1875, Immaculate Conception was the largest parish in the city. In 1887, the church was consecrated by Archbishop

Michael Corrigan Michael Augustine Corrigan (August 13, 1839May 5, 1902) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the third archbishop of New York from 1885 to 1902. Early life Michael Augustine Corrigan was born August 13, 1839, in Ne ...

. The church was the site of the 1891 funeral of Congressman

Francis Barretto Spinola Francis Barretto Spinola (March 19, 1821 – April 14, 1891) was an American politician and military leader often considered to have been the first Italian AmericanMultiple sources: * * * * to be elected to the United States House of Repres ...

When Msgr. William G. Murphy took over in 1906, Immaculate Conception was one of the largest in the archdiocese. The following decades saw a diminishing number of parishioners as members of the congregation moved to other parts of the city. The church was demolished in the 1940s to make way for

Stuyvesant Town Stuyvesant may refer to: People * Peter Stuyvesant (1592–1672), the last governor of New Netherland * Peter Gerard Stuyvesant (1778–1847), lawyer, landowner and philanthropist. * Rutherfurd Stuyvesant (1843–1909), socialite and land developer ...

. In 1943 the parish took over the chapel and hospital buildings now known as

Church of the Immaculate Conception and Clergy Houses The Church of the Immaculate Conception and Clergy House at 406–412 East 14th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City were built in 1894–1896 by Grace Church, one of the most ...

, completed in 1896 to designs by

Barney and Chapman Barney and Chapman was an American architecture firm based in New York, active from about 1892 through 1908. The partnership designed significant municipal buildings, churches, private estates, and an asylum complex for the state of New York. Jo ...

and formerly owned by Grace Church. Immaculate Conception School 419 E13 in 2021 jeh

This existing facility was expanded with a four-storey brick convent and parochial school, at 415-419 East 13th Street and 414-416 East 14th Street, designed by

Eggers & Higgins Eggers & Higgins was a New York architectural firm partnered by Otto Reinhold Eggers (August 4, 1882 – April 23, 1964) and Daniel Paul Higgins (September 12, 1886 – December 26, 1953). The architects were responsible for the construction phas ...

for $700,000, and completed in 1945. On February 16, 2023, the Archdiocese of New York announced that the school would close at the end of the current academic year due to falling enrollment levels and pandemic-related issues. There is another church of the same name on Staten Island established in 1887, and a third in Ditmars, Astoria, Queens, and also

Immaculate Conception Church (Bronx) The Church of the Immaculate Conception is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 754 Gun Hill Road, Williamsbridge, Bronx, New York City, New York. The parish was established ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Immaculate Conception (New York City) Roman Catholic churches completed in 1858 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Religious organizations established in 1855 Roman Catholic churches in Manhattan Eggers & Higgins church buildings East Village, Manhattan 1855 establishments in New York (state) 14th Street (Manhattan)