St. James' Roman Catholic Church is located at 32 James Street between St. James Place and Madison Street in the Two Bridges neighborhood of

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It is the second oldest Roman Catholic building in the city, built in 1835–1837 of

fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...

, with a pair of Doric columns flanking the entrance. While the neo-classical church is modeled on the published designs by Minard Lefever, and is sometimes attributed to him, there is no hard evidence of this being true., p.210-11 The building was once topped by a domed

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

History

The parish was established by Bishop John Dubois in order to relieve the overcrowding at St. Peter's on Barclay Street. He purchased an Episcopal church building on Ann Street, retaining the name of Christ Church, and asked Father

Félix Varela Félix Varela y Morales (November 20, 1788 – February 18, 1853) was a Cuban Catholic priest and independence leader who is regarded as a notable figure in the Catholic Church in both his native Cuba and the United States, where he also served. ...

to organize a congregation. Fr. Varela also established a free school. In October 1833, it was discovered that nearby excavation had rendered Christ Church unsound. Pending the completion of a new building on James Street, premises were rented at 33 Ann Street. However, some members of the congregation finding this too far uptown, instead purchased the Reformed Presbyterian church on Chambers Street. This would become the parish of the Transfiguration, with Fr. Varela as the first pastor.Lafort, Remigius. ''The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X'', Catholic editing Company, 1914, p. 336
/ref> The first Mass was said in the basement of the James St. church on September 18, 1836. The following January it was dedicated under the invocation of St. James the Apostle, by Bishop Dubois. Andrew Byrne was appointed rector. Byrne was succeeded in 1842 by Rev. John Maginnis, who was in turn followed by Rev. John N. Smith. In 1848 Fr. Smith succumbed to " ship fever" contracted when administering last rites to Father Mark Murphy of Staten Island, who had contracted the illness while tending recently arrived immigrants. Alfred E. Smith served as an

altar boy An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helping bring up the gifts, and bringing up ...

at this church when he was a student at its

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

, the former St. James Elementary School, located across the street. The church was ordered to be closed by New York City officials in 1983, because of the danger of its roof collapsing. It was scheduled to be torn down in 1986, but was saved by the efforts of the community, especially the

Ancient Order of Hibernians The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH; ) is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is in the United States, where it was founded in New Yo ...

, the first branch of which was organized in the church in 1836. The building suffered significant damage in a fire on January 11, 2011.Cunningham, Jennifer H. and Paddock, Barry. "Firefighters Save Historic Manhattan Church," ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'' (January 11, 2011) In 2007, St. James Parish merged with the nearby Parish of St. Joseph. The combined Parish of St. Joseph/St. James was merged again with the Church of the Transfiguration in 2015.

Pastors

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint James' Church, New York City Roman Catholic churches in Manhattan Roman Catholic churches completed in 1837 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan Hibernian buildings New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan Irish-American culture in New York City Greek Revival architecture in New York City Greek Revival church buildings in New York City Lower Manhattan Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)

History

Pastors

See also

References

External links