St. Ann's Cathedral was an

Armenian Catholic Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

and national shrine located in

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United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It was the seat for the Eparchy of Our Lady of Nareg. The church had two locations in the city: the former St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church on East 12th Street on 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. Historically, it w ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and at the former St. Vincent de Paul Church in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

. The Armenian Catholic parish of St. Ann continues to function in a church in Brooklyn.

History

Father Mardiros Meguerian was appointed as the first priest to minister to Armenian Catholics in New York. He was sent by Patriarch Stephan Peter X Azarian in 1896. Meguerian was named the General Vicar of Armenian Catholics in the United States in 1911. He was succeeded by Father Haroutioun Maljian whose ministry in New York spanned 50 years from 1921 to 1971. It was during his successors pastorate, Father

Krikor Guerguerian Krikor Guerguerian (12 May 1911 ( Gürün) – 7 May 1988 ( New York)) was a Reverend Father of the Catholic Church. He is known for the ''Krikor Guerguerian Archive'', a collection of documents concerning the Armenian genocide. Early life Guergu ...

, that Bishop

Mikail Nersès Sétian Mikail Nersès Sétian (November 18, 1918 - September 9, 2002) was a bishop of the Catholic Church in the United States. He served as the first exarch of the Apostolic Exarchate of United States of America and Canada of the Armenian Catholic Chur ...

was sent to New York in 1982 to lead the newly established Apostolic Exarchate of United States of America and Canada for the Armenians. Until this time the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service. The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...

was celebrated in Roman Catholic Churches in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. Cardinal

Terence Cooke Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardinal in 1969. Cooke pre ...

of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York City and the count ...

offered St. Ann's Church on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for use as the Armenian Catholic cathedral. The offer was accepted and St. Ann's Cathedral was established in 1983. In 2002, Cardinal

Edward Egan Edward Michael Egan (April 2, 1932 – March 5, 2015) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Bridgeport from 1988 to 2000 and as Archbishop of New York from 2000 to 2009. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001. Earl ...

requested that the exarchate surrender the facilities at St. Ann's . Attempts were made to save the cathedral, but in the end the exarchate had no choice. Bishop Thomas Daily and his successor Bishop

Nicholas DiMarzio Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio (born June 16, 1944) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York City from 2003 to 2021. DiMarzio previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Camden ...

of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn offered St. Vincent de Paul Church in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn as a new site for both the exarchate and the cathedral parish. This offer was accepted and the name of St. Ann's Cathedral was maintained. The use of St. Vincent de Paul Church was short lived. The church was sold by the Roman Catholic diocese to a developer in 2011. St. Ann's parish subsequently moved to Holy Family Roman Catholic Church, a Slovak-heritage parish, in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn. Its status as a cathedral, however, did not go with it. The cathedral for the eparchy has since been transferred to St. Gregory the Illuminator Church in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Ann's Armenian Catholic Cathedral Armenian-American culture in New York City Christian organizations established in 1983 Armenian Catholic cathedrals Armenian churches in the United States Eastern Catholic churches in New York (state) Eastern Catholic cathedrals in New York (state) Former cathedrals in the United States East Village, Manhattan Churches in Manhattan Williamsburg, Brooklyn Churches in Brooklyn Gothic Revival church buildings in New York City Cathedrals in New York City 1983 establishments in New York City