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Church of St. Vincent Ferrer (New York)
Encyclopedia
The Church of St. Vincent Ferrer is a Roman Catholic parish in Manhattan
, New York City
. The 1918 church building, at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 66th Street on the Upper East Side
, has been called "one of New York's greatest architectural adornments". It was built by the Dominicans
; the attached priory
serves as the headquarters of the Eastern United States Province of the order.
Its architecture has some unusual features. Above the front entrance is one of the few statues of the Crucifixion
on the exterior of an American Catholic church. Inside, the Stations of the Cross
depict Christ with oil paintings instead of statuary or carvings. It has two Schantz
pipe organ
s.
The church is under the patronage
of Saint Vincent Ferrer
, a Dominican preacher
. It was designated a New York City landmark
in 1967. Seventeen years later, in 1984, the church and priory
, designed in 1881 by William Schickel, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. Andy Warhol
regularly attended Mass
at the church.
St. Vincent Ferrer High School
for girls is on its grounds. The congregation is active in supporting it. Members also work in charitable efforts like local shelters and food pantries
. They are also involved in interfaith
lobbying for affordable housing
in Manhattan.
between East 65th and 66th on the east side of Lexington. Across the street are low rowhouses; just to the north are the Seventh Regiment Armory
, a National Historic Landmark
, and the apartment building at 131–35 East 66th Street, also a city landmark. The entire site is less than an acre (4,000 m²).
Within the site, four buildings — the church, priory, Holy Name Society building and St. Vincent Ferrer High School
— are connected by adjoining walls. All are architecturally compatible, but only the church and priory are considered contributing properties
due to their age and simpler architecture.
The cruciform church is built of limestone laid in a random ashlar
pattern on three sides. The east (rear) elevation, barely visible from the street, is faced in brick. On the west, facing Lexington Avenue, is the five-bay
tower. It has two engaged octagonal towers flanking the large rose window
, with stone tracery
forming conjoined trefoil
s, in the center of the upper stage. Below the window is a tall round-arched entryway and stone steps topped with a carving of the Crucifixion
. On the north and south the bays are divided by buttress
es supporting the steeply pitched
copper roof
Inside, the entire nave
is finished in the exterior limestone. In addition to the rose window, all the side windows are filled with stained glass
. Pews and choir stalls are in ornate carved wood, and the altar
is set off by a carved stone reredos
. At the rear the oak pulpit
is decorated with carvings in medieval Gothic style. The Stations of the Cross
are represented by oil paintings. A large console
in the choir controls the two Schantz
pipe organ
s, a two-manual
instrument in the choir and a four-manual organ in the west gallery. The interior also features two relic
s of St. Vincent Ferrer in the church and the only example of a hanging pyx
that is not in a museum.
The priory
, at the northeast corner of 65th and Lexington, is a five-story brick building on a brownstone
foundation
. Its facade
s are decorated with alternating stone and brick voussoir
s, arched openings, stone bands at the impost
s, pilaster
s and buttresses. The roofline is lined with stone and brick corbel
s below the cornice, with elongated stone corbels on the projecting gable
d entrance tower in the center of the east (front) facade. A high brownstone stoop
with cast iron
newel
s and rails leads from the street to a deeply recessed, arched first floor entrance with clustered colonnettes. The mix of the brick and stone with the slate tiling on the dormer-pierced mansard roof
gives the building a polychromatic
effect.
The Holy Name Society building and school are both similar structures of brick and stone. Much of their detailing and ornament
, such as their buttresses and tracery, echoes or mirrors that found on the church and priory. The Society building and school date to 1930 and 1948 respectively and are not considered sufficiently historic enough to be included in the National Register listing with the church and priory at this time.
The address of the church, as listed in 1892, was 871 Lexington Avenue.
and took up residence in a brownstone
on Lexington Avenue and 62nd Street. Others followed, and the Dominicans became popular among the city's Catholic population. John McCloskey, the archbishop of the Diocese of New York
and the first American cardinal, asked them to establish a parish
on what is now the Upper East Side
. Father Martin and the other priests borrowed $10,000 ($ in contemporary dollars), bought 18 lots
totaling 45000 square feet (4,180.6 m²) at the present location and began to construct a chapel
on the northeast corner of 65th Street. The first Mass
was offered in this chapel on July 2, 1867.
By 1879 the construction was expanded and on December 12, a second church was dedicated. Its first Mass was celebrated on the feast day of St. Vincent Ferrer, September 8, 1879. At the same time the order decided to build a priory
at the church to serve as its provincial
headquarters. It commissioned William Schickel, a German-born
architect who had recently completed his first major work in New York, the John Crimmins House at 40 East 68th Street. The priory's intricate use of materials and its overall polychromy, characteristics of the High Victorian Gothic style popular in the late 19th century, reflect Schickel's training in Bavaria
and the strong influence there of Friedrich von Gärtner
. It was the first of many buildings Schickel would design for the New York diocese.
Five years later, in 1884, the first school was built. The church would serve the congregation until 1914, when it was demolished in order to begin construction of a new one designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, who had recently struck out on his own from Cram
, Goodhue & Ferguson. While it was being built, the congregation worshipped in a temporary building at East 67th Street.
The architect wrote to a friend that he considered St. Vincent Ferrer his best Gothic work; he designed the Gothic Revival church in the style of 14th-century French Gothic, with echoes of Romanesque
. Lee Lawrie
's carving of the Cross above the entrance was the first time one had been located on the exterior of an American Catholic church, and is still one of the few instances. Guastavino tile
was used on the interior to provide for excellent acoustics
, the only time it was used in a church. Goodhue had Charles Connick
's stained glass windows positioned so that the colors complemented each other. He also decided that, reflecting the Dominican Order
's Spanish origins, the representations of Christ at each of the Stations of the Cross
would be oil paintings rather than the statuary or carvings more commonly used in American Catholic churches. The images were painted by Telford and Ethel Paullin in imitation of styles from different countries and eras, which accounts for the changing color of Christ's robe between them.
As originally planned the church was to have a fifteen-story fleche
. As construction progressed that became unfeasible. An ancient canal
that passed under the site, as well as the construction of subway
tunnels down Lexington Avenue, made it impossible to lay a sufficient foundation. On October 22, 1916 the construction of the present incarnation of St. Vincent was completed, at a cost of $1.5 million dollars ($ in contemporary dollars). It was dedicated on May 5, 1918, when over 50,000 people attended.
In 1930 the Holy Name Society building was constructed. It was one of architect Wilfrid Anthony Edwards' many designs for the Catholic Church, and considered one of his best overall. the oaken High Pulpit was installed in the sanctuary
. Its 14th-century French Gothic detailings were consistent with the church's architecture.
The school building quickly outgrew its intended design, and a new one was built over it in 1948. Architects Elliott Chisling-Ferenz & Taylor designed a building with sympathetic Gothic motifs that help it blend in to the older buildings. Following Vatican II
in the 1960s, the Dominicans replaced their rite
with the standard Roman Rite
Mass of Paul VI
. The oaken High Pulpit was moved to the rear of the sanctuary. It is still reserved for the Blessed Sacrament
.
During the late 1960s and 1970s Andy Warhol
, a devout Byzantine Catholic who lived nearby, attended Mass regularly at St. Vincent Ferrer. Father Sam Matarazzo, the pastor at the time, remembers him sitting quietly in the back of the church, taking neither communion nor confession
. He speculated that Warhol, one of many gay men who attended services at St. Vincent Ferrer despite Matarazzo's regular preaching of Catholic doctrine opposing homosexuality
, was perhaps afraid of being recognized. Warhol himself said he was self-conscious about being seen crossing himself
"the Orthodox way
"
Later in the 20th century contributions from William E. Simon
and an anonymous donor allowed the church to purchase the newer of its two Schantz pipe organs. In the early 2000s a capital campaign allowed the church to install new heating and cooling systems, and restore
its exterior. That latter project was complete in 2009.
The funeral of Geraldine Ferraro
was held at the church on March 31, 2011.
s are observed on Saturday nights and the evenings before Holy Days of Obligation
. The Sacrament of Reconciliation
(confession) is offered all evenings except Sunday. The Liturgy of the Hours
observed by the Dominican priests and monks daily in the Friars' Chapel is open to the public.
Outside the church, the congregation's Social Concerns Committee coordinates involvement in charitable work in the area. Members host holiday parties and bingo games at the Women's Shelter in the neighboring Park Avenue Armory
, staff the Yorkville
Common Pantry
and assist members of nearby Jan Hus Presbyterian Church
in feeding the homeless on Tuesday nights. The congregation is also a member organization of East Congregations for Housing Justice, which advocates for affordable housing
in Manhattan.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The 1918 church building, at the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 66th Street on the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
, has been called "one of New York's greatest architectural adornments". It was built by the Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
; the attached priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
serves as the headquarters of the Eastern United States Province of the order.
Its architecture has some unusual features. Above the front entrance is one of the few statues of the Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
on the exterior of an American Catholic church. Inside, the Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
depict Christ with oil paintings instead of statuary or carvings. It has two Schantz
Schantz Organ Co.
The Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, Ohio is a major, national builder and restorer of the pipe organ. Their facilities are located in Orrville, Wayne County Ohio, about 70 kilometers due south of Cleveland, Ohio.- History :...
pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
s.
The church is under the patronage
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Saint Vincent Ferrer
Vincent Ferrer
Saint Vincent Ferrer was a Valencian Dominican missionary and logician.-Early life:Vincent was the fourth child of the Anglo-Scottish nobleman William Stewart Ferrer and his Spanish wife, Constantia Miguel. Legends surround his birth...
, a Dominican preacher
Preacher
Preacher is a term for someone who preaches sermons or gives homilies. A preacher is distinct from a theologian by focusing on the communication rather than the development of doctrine. Others see preaching and theology as being intertwined...
. It was designated a New York City landmark
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The Commission was created in April 1965 by Mayor Robert F. Wagner following the destruction of Pennsylvania Station the previous year to make way for...
in 1967. Seventeen years later, in 1984, the church and priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
, designed in 1881 by William Schickel, were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
regularly attended Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
at the church.
St. Vincent Ferrer High School
St. Vincent Ferrer High School
St. Vincent Ferrer High School is an all-girls, private, Roman Catholic high school located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.-Background:...
for girls is on its grounds. The congregation is active in supporting it. Members also work in charitable efforts like local shelters and food pantries
Food bank
A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes mostly donated food to a wide variety of agencies that in turn feed the hungry. The largest sources of food are for-profit growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers who in the normal course of business have...
. They are also involved in interfaith
Interfaith
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
lobbying for affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
in Manhattan.
Property
The church complex comprises four buildings, all on the blockCity block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
between East 65th and 66th on the east side of Lexington. Across the street are low rowhouses; just to the north are the Seventh Regiment Armory
Seventh Regiment Armory
The Seventh Regiment Armory, located at 643 Park Avenue also known as in New York, New York, United States, is an historic brick building that fills an entire city block on New York's Upper East Side.- History :...
, a National Historic Landmark
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
, and the apartment building at 131–35 East 66th Street, also a city landmark. The entire site is less than an acre (4,000 m²).
Within the site, four buildings — the church, priory, Holy Name Society building and St. Vincent Ferrer High School
St. Vincent Ferrer High School
St. Vincent Ferrer High School is an all-girls, private, Roman Catholic high school located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is located within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.-Background:...
— are connected by adjoining walls. All are architecturally compatible, but only the church and priory are considered contributing properties
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
due to their age and simpler architecture.
The cruciform church is built of limestone laid in a random ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
pattern on three sides. The east (rear) elevation, barely visible from the street, is faced in brick. On the west, facing Lexington Avenue, is the five-bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
tower. It has two engaged octagonal towers flanking the large rose window
Rose window
A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery...
, with stone tracery
Tracery
In architecture, Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the 'tracing floors' on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.-Plate tracery:...
forming conjoined trefoil
Trefoil
Trefoil is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings used in architecture and Christian symbolism...
s, in the center of the upper stage. Below the window is a tall round-arched entryway and stone steps topped with a carving of the Crucifixion
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
. On the north and south the bays are divided by buttress
Buttress
A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall...
es supporting the steeply pitched
Roof pitch
In building construction, roof pitch is a numerical measure of the steepness of a roof, and a pitched roof is a roof that is steep.The roof's pitch is the measured vertical rise divided by the measured horizontal span, the same thing as what is called "slope" in geometry. Roof pitch is typically...
copper roof
Metal roof
A metal roof, often referred to as a tin roof, is a roofing system made from metal pieces or tiles. It is a component of the building envelope.-History:...
Inside, the entire nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...
is finished in the exterior limestone. In addition to the rose window, all the side windows are filled with stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
. Pews and choir stalls are in ornate carved wood, and the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
is set off by a carved stone reredos
Reredos
thumb|300px|right|An altar and reredos from [[St. Josaphat's Roman Catholic Church|St. Josaphat Catholic Church]] in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]. This would be called a [[retable]] in many other languages and countries....
. At the rear the oak pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
is decorated with carvings in medieval Gothic style. The Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
are represented by oil paintings. A large console
Organ console
thumb|right|250px|The console of the [[Wanamaker Organ]] in the Macy's department store in [[Philadelphia]], featuring six manuals and colour-coded stop tabs....
in the choir controls the two Schantz
Schantz Organ Co.
The Schantz Organ Company of Orrville, Ohio is a major, national builder and restorer of the pipe organ. Their facilities are located in Orrville, Wayne County Ohio, about 70 kilometers due south of Cleveland, Ohio.- History :...
pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
s, a two-manual
Manual (music)
A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the pedalboard, which is a keyboard that the organist plays...
instrument in the choir and a four-manual organ in the west gallery. The interior also features two relic
Relic
In religion, a relic is a part of the body of a saint or a venerated person, or else another type of ancient religious object, carefully preserved for purposes of veneration or as a tangible memorial...
s of St. Vincent Ferrer in the church and the only example of a hanging pyx
Pyx
A pyx or pix is a small round container used in the Catholic, Old Catholic and Anglican Churches to carry the consecrated host , to the sick or invalid or those otherwise unable to come to a church in order to receive Holy Communion...
that is not in a museum.
The priory
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
, at the northeast corner of 65th and Lexington, is a five-story brick building on a brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
foundation
Foundation (architecture)
A foundation is the lowest and supporting layer of a structure. Foundations are generally divided into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.-Shallow foundations:...
. Its facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s are decorated with alternating stone and brick voussoir
Voussoir
A voussoir is a wedge-shaped element, typically a stone, used in building an arch or vault.Although each unit in an arch or vault is a voussoir, two units are of distinct functional importance: the keystone and the springer. The keystone is the center stone or masonry unit at the apex of an arch. A...
s, arched openings, stone bands at the impost
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s, pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s and buttresses. The roofline is lined with stone and brick corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...
s below the cornice, with elongated stone corbels on the projecting gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
d entrance tower in the center of the east (front) facade. A high brownstone stoop
Urban stoop
In urban architecture, a stoop is a small staircase ending in a platform and leading to the entrance of an apartment building or other building.-Etymology:...
with cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
newel
Newel
A newel, also called a central pole, is an upright post that supports the handrail of a stair banister. In stairs having straight flights it is the principal post at the foot of the staircase, but it can also be used for the intermediate posts on landings and at the top of a staircase...
s and rails leads from the street to a deeply recessed, arched first floor entrance with clustered colonnettes. The mix of the brick and stone with the slate tiling on the dormer-pierced mansard roof
Mansard roof
A mansard or mansard roof is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterized by two slopes on each of its sides with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper that is punctured by dormer windows. The roof creates an additional floor of habitable space, such as a garret...
gives the building a polychromatic
Polychrome
Polychrome is one of the terms used to describe the use of multiple colors in one entity. It has also been defined as "The practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." Polychromatic light is composed of a number of different wavelengths...
effect.
The Holy Name Society building and school are both similar structures of brick and stone. Much of their detailing and ornament
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
, such as their buttresses and tracery, echoes or mirrors that found on the church and priory. The Society building and school date to 1930 and 1948 respectively and are not considered sufficiently historic enough to be included in the National Register listing with the church and priory at this time.
The address of the church, as listed in 1892, was 871 Lexington Avenue.
History
In the 1860s, a Dominican priest from France, Father Thomas Martin, was sent to the Diocese of New YorkRoman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York covers New York, Bronx, and Richmond counties in New York City , as well as Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties in New York state. There are 480 parishes...
and took up residence in a brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
on Lexington Avenue and 62nd Street. Others followed, and the Dominicans became popular among the city's Catholic population. John McCloskey, the archbishop of the Diocese of New York
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York covers New York, Bronx, and Richmond counties in New York City , as well as Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties in New York state. There are 480 parishes...
and the first American cardinal, asked them to establish a parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
on what is now the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
. Father Martin and the other priests borrowed $10,000 ($ in contemporary dollars), bought 18 lots
Lot (real estate)
In real estate, a lot or plot is a tract or parcel of land owned or meant to be owned by some owner. A lot is essentially considered a parcel of real property in some countries or immovable property in other countries...
totaling 45000 square feet (4,180.6 m²) at the present location and began to construct a chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
on the northeast corner of 65th Street. The first Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
was offered in this chapel on July 2, 1867.
Priory
A priory is a house of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or religious sisters , or monasteries of monks or nuns .The Benedictines and their offshoots , the Premonstratensians, and the...
at the church to serve as its provincial
Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...
headquarters. It commissioned William Schickel, a German-born
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
architect who had recently completed his first major work in New York, the John Crimmins House at 40 East 68th Street. The priory's intricate use of materials and its overall polychromy, characteristics of the High Victorian Gothic style popular in the late 19th century, reflect Schickel's training in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
and the strong influence there of Friedrich von Gärtner
Friedrich von Gärtner
Friedrich von Gärtner was a German architect.Gärtner and Leo von Klenze are the most well known architects of Bavaria during the reign of Ludwig I. His architecture was generally in the Romanesque style and much to the king's taste...
. It was the first of many buildings Schickel would design for the New York diocese.
Five years later, in 1884, the first school was built. The church would serve the congregation until 1914, when it was demolished in order to begin construction of a new one designed by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, who had recently struck out on his own from Cram
Ralph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
, Goodhue & Ferguson. While it was being built, the congregation worshipped in a temporary building at East 67th Street.
The architect wrote to a friend that he considered St. Vincent Ferrer his best Gothic work; he designed the Gothic Revival church in the style of 14th-century French Gothic, with echoes of Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
. Lee Lawrie
Lee Lawrie
Lee Oscar Lawrie was one of the United States' foremost architectural sculptors and a key figure in the American art scene preceding World War II...
's carving of the Cross above the entrance was the first time one had been located on the exterior of an American Catholic church, and is still one of the few instances. Guastavino tile
Guastavino tile
Guastavino tile is the "Tile Arch System" patented in the US in 1885 by Valencian architect and builder Rafael Guastavino...
was used on the interior to provide for excellent acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
, the only time it was used in a church. Goodhue had Charles Connick
Charles Connick
Charles Jay Connick was a prominent American painter, muralist, and designer best known for his work in stained glass in the Gothic Revival style. Born in Springboro, Pennsylvania, Connick eventually settled in the Boston area where he opened his studio in 1913...
's stained glass windows positioned so that the colors complemented each other. He also decided that, reflecting the Dominican Order
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
's Spanish origins, the representations of Christ at each of the Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross
Stations of the Cross refers to the depiction of the final hours of Jesus, and the devotion commemorating the Passion. The tradition as chapel devotion began with St...
would be oil paintings rather than the statuary or carvings more commonly used in American Catholic churches. The images were painted by Telford and Ethel Paullin in imitation of styles from different countries and eras, which accounts for the changing color of Christ's robe between them.
As originally planned the church was to have a fifteen-story fleche
Flèche
A flèche is used in French architecture to refer to a spire and in English to refer to a lead-covered timber spire, or spirelet. These are placed on the ridges of church or cathedral roofs and are usually relatively small...
. As construction progressed that became unfeasible. An ancient canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
that passed under the site, as well as the construction of subway
New York City Subway
The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...
tunnels down Lexington Avenue, made it impossible to lay a sufficient foundation. On October 22, 1916 the construction of the present incarnation of St. Vincent was completed, at a cost of $1.5 million dollars ($ in contemporary dollars). It was dedicated on May 5, 1918, when over 50,000 people attended.
In 1930 the Holy Name Society building was constructed. It was one of architect Wilfrid Anthony Edwards' many designs for the Catholic Church, and considered one of his best overall. the oaken High Pulpit was installed in the sanctuary
Sanctuary
A sanctuary is any place of safety. They may be categorized into human and non-human .- Religious sanctuary :A religious sanctuary can be a sacred place , or a consecrated area of a church or temple around its tabernacle or altar.- Sanctuary as a sacred place :#Sanctuary as a sacred place:#:In...
. Its 14th-century French Gothic detailings were consistent with the church's architecture.
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
in the 1960s, the Dominicans replaced their rite
Dominican Rite
The Dominican Rite is the unique rite of the Dominican Order of the Roman Catholic Church. It has been classified differently by different sources - some consider it a usage of the Roman Rite, others a variant of the Gallican Rite, and still others a form of the Roman Rite into which Gallican...
with the standard Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
Mass of Paul VI
Mass of Paul VI
The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Catholic Mass of the Roman Rite promulgated by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council...
. The oaken High Pulpit was moved to the rear of the sanctuary. It is still reserved for the Blessed Sacrament
Blessed Sacrament
The Blessed Sacrament, or the Body and Blood of Christ, is a devotional name used in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, to refer to the Host after it has been consecrated in the sacrament of the Eucharist...
.
During the late 1960s and 1970s Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, a devout Byzantine Catholic who lived nearby, attended Mass regularly at St. Vincent Ferrer. Father Sam Matarazzo, the pastor at the time, remembers him sitting quietly in the back of the church, taking neither communion nor confession
Confession
This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...
. He speculated that Warhol, one of many gay men who attended services at St. Vincent Ferrer despite Matarazzo's regular preaching of Catholic doctrine opposing homosexuality
Homosexuality and Roman Catholicism
In Roman Catholicism, homosexual acts are considered contrary to natural law and sinful, while homosexual desires are considered "disordered" but not themselves sinful. The Catholic Church considers human sexual behavior to be sacred, when properly expressed...
, was perhaps afraid of being recognized. Warhol himself said he was self-conscious about being seen crossing himself
Sign of the cross
The Sign of the Cross , or crossing oneself, is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of a trinitarian formula....
"the Orthodox way
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises the Christian traditions and churches that developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, India and parts of the Far East over several centuries of religious antiquity. The term is generally used in Western Christianity to...
"
Later in the 20th century contributions from William E. Simon
William E. Simon
William Edward Simon was a businessman, a Secretary of Treasury of the U.S. for three years, and a philanthropist. He became the 63rd Secretary of the Treasury on May 8, 1974, during the Nixon administration. He was reappointed by President Ford and served until 1977. Outside of government, he was...
and an anonymous donor allowed the church to purchase the newer of its two Schantz pipe organs. In the early 2000s a capital campaign allowed the church to install new heating and cooling systems, and restore
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
its exterior. That latter project was complete in 2009.
The funeral of Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Anne Ferraro was an American attorney, a Democratic Party politician, and a member of the United States House of Representatives. She was the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party....
was held at the church on March 31, 2011.
Programs and services
The church celebrates Mass three times a day and four times on Sunday. VigilVigil
A vigil is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance...
s are observed on Saturday nights and the evenings before Holy Days of Obligation
Holy Day of Obligation
In the Catholic Church, Holy Days of Obligation or Holidays of Obligation, less commonly called Feasts of Precept, are the days on which, as of the Code of Canon Law states,-Eastern Catholic Churches:...
. The Sacrament of Reconciliation
Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)
In the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is the method by which individual men and women may be freed from sins committed after receiving the sacrament of Baptism...
(confession) is offered all evenings except Sunday. The Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
observed by the Dominican priests and monks daily in the Friars' Chapel is open to the public.
Outside the church, the congregation's Social Concerns Committee coordinates involvement in charitable work in the area. Members host holiday parties and bingo games at the Women's Shelter in the neighboring Park Avenue Armory
Seventh Regiment Armory
The Seventh Regiment Armory, located at 643 Park Avenue also known as in New York, New York, United States, is an historic brick building that fills an entire city block on New York's Upper East Side.- History :...
, staff the Yorkville
Yorkville, Manhattan
Yorkville is a neighborhood in the greater Upper East Side, in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City. Yorkville's boundaries include: the East River on the east, 96th Street on the north, Third Avenue on the west and 72nd Street to the south. However, its southern boundary is a subject of...
Common Pantry
Food bank
A food bank or foodbank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes mostly donated food to a wide variety of agencies that in turn feed the hungry. The largest sources of food are for-profit growers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers who in the normal course of business have...
and assist members of nearby Jan Hus Presbyterian Church
Jan Hus Presbyterian Church
Jan Hus Presbyterian Church in New York City is a Presbyterian church.The church is named for Jan Hus, a Bohemian priest who was a religious thinker and reformer. The church is located at 351 East 74th Street, New York, New York, in Manhattan's Upper East Side, in the area that was once known as...
in feeding the homeless on Tuesday nights. The congregation is also a member organization of East Congregations for Housing Justice, which advocates for affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...
in Manhattan.
See also
- List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan from 59th to 110th Streets
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan above 59th to 110th StreetsNational Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan above 59th to 110th StreetsList of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan from 59th to 110th StreetsThis is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places between 59th and 110th Streets in Manhattan...
External links
- The Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer official website
- Church of St. Vincent Ferrer: specifications for the five-manual organ
- Schantz page on St. Vincent Ferrer Organ