St. Monica Church (Manhattan) Explained

Church of St. Monica
Location:New York, New York
Country:United States of America
Website:https://www.stelmo79.org/
Architect:Schickel & Ditmars (for church);
Thomas Dunn of 37 West 57th Street (for 1926 school and convent);[1]
Brown-Guenther-Booss of 1860 Broadway (for 1955 convent)
Archdiocese:Archdiocese of New York
Denomination:Catholic Church
Groundbreaking:1926 (school and convent)
1955 (convent)
Construction Cost:$120,000 (1926 school and convent)
$275,000 (1955 convent)
Style:Gothic Revival

The Church of St. Monica, commonly referred to as St. Monica's, is a parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 413 East 79th Street, Manhattan, New York City. The parish was established in 1879 and in 2015 merged with nearby St. Elizabeth of Hungary and St. Stephen of Hungary churches.[2]

History

The fourth Catholic parish on the Upper East Side, St. Monica's was founded by John Treanor, pastor of the Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole (now the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola). James J. Dougherty was appointed the first pastor, and in 1880 he began conducting Mass over a feed store at 404 East 78th Street. The following year, he purchased land for the construction of the church and school. Construction of the first church building was completed in 1883.[3] In 1892, the address was listed as 409 East 79th Street.[4]

John J. Boyle served as acting rector at St. Monica's before becoming the founding pastor of St. Luke's Church (Bronx, New York) in 1897.[5]

In 2015, the Archdiocese of New York ordered St. Monica's merged with St. Elizabeth's and St. Stephen's to better serve 21st century Yorkville. The merged parish, which holds services at St. Monica's, is known as the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Monica, St. Elizabeth and St. Stephens.[6] [7] As a result of the merger, St. Monica's parish boundaries shifted slightly.[8]

Parish school

The parish school opened in 1883, operated by the Sisters of Charity of New York. The Sisters of St. Francis assumed operations in 1944. After several years of declining enrollment, the school was closed in 1974.

Buildings

The current Gothic Revival church building was erected in 1906 to the designs of Schickel & Ditmars, prominent church architects.

In 1926, the rector Arthur J. Kenny had a three- and four-story brick school and convent with tile roof built at 410 East 80th Street, to designs of Thomas Dunn for $120,000 ($ in current dollar terms). A three-story convent at 405–413 East 79th Street was built in 1955 to designs by Brown-Guenther-Booss for $275,000 ($ in current dollar terms).[1]

Pastors

External links

40.7723°N -73.9519°W

Notes and References

  1. http://www.metrohistory.com/dbpages/NBresults.lasso Office for Metropolitan History
  2. Book: Dolkart. Andrew S. Andrew S. Dolkart. Postal. Matthew A. . Guide to New York City Landmarks. registration. Third. 2004. John Wiley & Sons. Hoboken, New Jersey. 295. 9780471369004 .
  3. Web site: Parish History. September 23, 2018 . May 15, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170515231213/https://stmonicanyc.org/parish-history . live.
  4. https://books.google.com/books?id=qO0bAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA390 The World Almanac 1892 and Book of Facts
  5. Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America, Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York.. New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914. p. 388.
  6. Web site: HISTORY . STELMO79 . 23 August 2021 . en.
  7. News: Otterman . Sharon . Heartache for New York's Catholics as Church Closings Are Announced . 23 August 2021 . The New York Times . 2 November 2014.
  8. News: Two Manhattan Merger Decrees to Be Reissued . 23 August 2021 . Catholic New York . 28 April 2016 . en.
  9. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1904/06/11/101317858.pdf "Changes in Catholic Clergy: Archbishop Farley Announces a Number of Assignments and Transfers"
  10. News: Most Rev. James Griffiths Dies; Vatican Observer at U.N., 60 . The New York Times . February 25, 1964 . December 6, 2019.
  11. News: West . Melanie Grayce . One Pastor Takes on Three Parishes as Churches Merge . 23 August 2021 . Wall Street Journal . 24 July 2015.