The Old Church of St. Joachim and St. Anne, also known as Mount Loretto Church, is a historic

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church building located in the Pleasant Plains area of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

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 ...

. It is located north of Hylan Boulevard between Page Avenue and Richard Avenue, in the southern part of the island, near the Atlantic Ocean and

Tottenville Tottenville is a neighborhood on the South Shore of Staten Island, New York City. It is the southernmost settlement in both New York City and New York State. Tottenville is bounded on three sides by water: the south side abuts New York Bight w ...

. At , it is the tallest building in Staten Island.

History

It was constructed in 1891 on the grounds of Mount Loretto, an institution founded by Father John Drumgoole to house destitute

street children Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids or street child; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policym ...

who were living on the streets of the city. The church principally served the children and staff of that institution. Mount Loretto was conceived as a farm and at the time of its construction the church stood in a rural area. Father Drumgoole Statue - Mount Loretto - Staten Island - August 2015 - 10

Father Drumgoole Statue - Mount Loretto - Staten Island - August 2015 - 10

In 1972, the church was one of the locations used in the movie ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...

''. In 1973, a serious fire largely destroyed the church, leaving only its facade. The owner of the church, the

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 boroug ...

, rebuilt it in 1976, incorporating the facade into the new structure. The church is not listed as a parish on the website of the archdiocese. The church building does not operate full time and is mainly used to perform occasional ceremonial Masses. Mount Loretto, officially known as the Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, continues to use the surrounding property for various of its social service programs, including some residential programs. A small plaza in front of the church features bells saved from the steeples of the church during the 1973 fire and an 1891 statue of Father Drumgoole by sculptor Robert Cushing. The church is currently the tallest building in Staten Island.

References

Roman Catholic churches in Staten Island Closed churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York Closed churches in New York City Building and structure fires in New York City Church fires in the United States {{US-RC-church-stub