The Church of St. Mary 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 in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 438–440 Grand Street between Pitt and Attorney Streets in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

neighborhood of

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 ...

. Established in 1826 to serve Irish immigrants living in the neighborhood, it is the third oldest Catholic parish in New York. The church itself was built in 1832–33, and was then enlarged and had its facade replaced in 1871 by the prolific church architect Patrick Charles Keely. The original portion is the second oldest Roman Catholic structure in the city, after

St. Patrick's Old Cathedral The Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral, sometimes shortened to St. Patrick's Old Cathedral or simply Old St. Patrick's, is a Catholic parish church, basilica, and the former cathedral of the Archdiocese of New York, located in the Nolita ...

, which was built in 1815. p.106

History

Before their sanctuary was built, services were held in a former

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

church on Sheriff Street. Rev. Hatton Walsh was named pastor. In 1831, anti-Catholic

nativists Nativism is the political policy of promoting or protecting the interests of native or indigenous inhabitants over those of immigrants, including the support of immigration-restriction measures. In scholarly studies, ''nativism'' is a standard ...

set fire to the church, but it was not completely destroyed and continued to operate. The first New York chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians was established in 1836 at nearby St. James Church partly in response. In 1832 the cornerstone was laid for the present building, which was dedicated in June 1833. Rev. William J. Quarter, curate at St. Peter's on Barclay Street, was named pastor. Quarter would later become the first bishop of Chicago. Originally designed in the

Greek Revival style The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

, the new red brick facade designed by Patrick Charles Keely in 1864 was in the Romanesque style and featured twin spires. Other changes were made by Lawrence O'Connor in 1871. The Irish-American prelate, Rev. Michael McKenna, who had ties to Irish nationalist movement, was assistant pastor here in 1868 before becoming the first pastor of the newly separated – from St. Mary's parish – parish of St. Rose of Lima.Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor,
The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg Together with some Supplementary Articles on Religious Communities of Women.
'. (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.369. Charles Edward McDonnell, future

Bishop of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. ...

, was assigned as curate here in the autumn of 1878.

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Mary's Church, New York City Religious organizations established in 1826 Roman Catholic churches in Manhattan Romanesque Revival church buildings in New York City Roman Catholic churches completed in 1833 Patrick Keely buildings Lower East Side 1826 establishments in New York (state) 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States