San Lorenzo Ruiz Chapel (New York City)
Encyclopedia
The Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
, located at 378 Broome Street Manhattan
, New York City. The chapel was established in 2005. The address was the site of the Church of the Most Holy Crucifix (New York City), a church with a three-storey rectory, built in 1925 by the Most Rev. Pat. J Hayes to designs by architect Robert J. Reiley
.
It is designated for the Filipino Apostolate of the Archdiocese. It was named as the official "Church of Filipinos" by Cardinal Archbishop Edward Egan of the Archdiocese of New York on June 15, 2005.
In 1998, a building was leased to the Filipino Apostolate at 248 East, 62nd Street, Manhattan, New York. The building was officially named as the Philippine Pastoral Center and became a venue for priests and cultural groups in New York, giving lectures, celebrating masses and performing cultural and religious activities.
, within the vicinity of Chinatown
and Little Italy
in downtown Manhattan
. It has a capacity of 250 persons, and is attached to the Philippine Pastoral Center of the Filipino Apostolate.
The site of the chapel is an old 1925 church originally assigned to Italians. The building has three floors that houses the Cardinal Sin Memorial Hall, offices and living quarters for the archiodese coordinator.
Since 1982, the statue of San Lorenzo Ruiz had been displayed every September at Saint Patrick's Cathedral during the mass for the Filipino saint's feast day. It was originally displayed at the Holy Family Church at the United Nations until it was transferred to the Philippine Pastoral Center in Lower Manhattan in 1998.
Weekly masses and novenas are held in the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz to honor the first Filipino saint and martyr. The statue is considered miraculous by devotees.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the Filipino Apostolate's guest of honor during the statue's unveiling on September 15, 2005.
's canonization
in 1987. Manila
's Cardinal
Archbishop
Gaudencio Rosales said:
Although not an official parish church
, Cardinal Egan has authorized the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz to offer weekday and weekend masses and all of the Sacraments of the Church, with the exception of the Sacrament of Confirmation (only a bishop can confer the Sacrament of Confirmation). Sunday Mass
es, Filipino-style wedding
s, baptism
s, and funeral
s are held in the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz. Although the chapel has been designated as a church for the Filipino community and was authorized to perform Filipino liturgies
, it welcomes all peoples regardless of ethnicity and background to attend its services and to participate in the events held in it and the Philippine Pastoral Center.
The Filipino Apostolate's aim is to elevate the designation of the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz into a parish church status. Factors that will help the Filipino Apostolate in achieving this goal is by maintaining good record-keeping, financial management and pastoral programs.
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...
, located at 378 Broome Street 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. The chapel was established in 2005. The address was the site of the Church of the Most Holy Crucifix (New York City), a church with a three-storey rectory, built in 1925 by the Most Rev. Pat. J Hayes to designs by architect Robert J. Reiley
Robert J. Reiley
Robert J. Reiley, AIA, was an American architect practicing in New York City in the early and mid twentieth century. He was particularly known as a designer of Roman Catholic churches, schools, and hospitals in the Northeast USA....
.
It is designated for the Filipino Apostolate of the Archdiocese. It was named as the official "Church of Filipinos" by Cardinal Archbishop Edward Egan of the Archdiocese of New York on June 15, 2005.
The Filipino Apostolate
The Filipino Apostolate was established by the late Cardinal John O'Connor on April 11, 1995 to address the pastoral needs of Filipino Catholics in New York. The Filipino Apostolate is in charge of the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz and the Philippine Pastoral Center. Father Erno Diaz was appointed as the first archdiocesan coordinator and director of the Filipino Apostolate.In 1998, a building was leased to the Filipino Apostolate at 248 East, 62nd Street, Manhattan, New York. The building was officially named as the Philippine Pastoral Center and became a venue for priests and cultural groups in New York, giving lectures, celebrating masses and performing cultural and religious activities.
History and significance
The Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz officially opened on September 1, 2005. The opening was followed by an inaugural mass celebrated by Cardinal O'Connor on September 15, 2005. It is the third church dedicated to Filipinos outside the Philippines, the first one - St. Columban Filipino Catholic Church (1944) - is in Historic Filipinotown in Los Angeles, and the second one - The Basilica of Sta. Pudenciana (1991) - is in Via Urbana 160, Rome.Location and structure
The Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz, formerly known as the Most Holy Crucifix Church (Manhattan), is located at 378 Broome Street (between Mulberry and Mott Streets), New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, within the vicinity of Chinatown
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
and Little Italy
Little Italy, Manhattan
Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its large population of Italians. Today the neighborhood of Little Italy consists of Italian stores and restaurants.-Historical area:...
in downtown 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...
. It has a capacity of 250 persons, and is attached to the Philippine Pastoral Center of the Filipino Apostolate.
The site of the chapel is an old 1925 church originally assigned to Italians. The building has three floors that houses the Cardinal Sin Memorial Hall, offices and living quarters for the archiodese coordinator.
San Lorenzo Ruiz
On September 15, 2005, a bronze statue of the first Filipino saint, San Lorenzo Ruiz, was enshrined and unveiled in the chapel. It was originally donated by Cardinal Sin from the Philippines to the Filipinos in America in 1982, the year when the Filipino Apostolate started a movement to promote the blessed San Lorenzo Ruiz in the United States. The bronze image of the Philippine saint was brought to the United States by Celso Al Carunungan, author of To Die A Thousand Deaths, a book on the life and martyrdom of San Lorenzo Ruiz. Carunungan was accompanied by Father Ramon Salinas who is the national director of the Movement for the Cause of San Lorenzo Ruiz and Companion Martyrs. Both Carunungan and Father Salinas together with Filipino youth leaders Antonio Santiago and Paul John Durano Gorre were delegated by Cardinal Jaime Sin to establish a movement for San Lorenzo Ruiz in the United States. Father Erno Diaz of the Filipino Apostolate is the first director of the movement.Since 1982, the statue of San Lorenzo Ruiz had been displayed every September at Saint Patrick's Cathedral during the mass for the Filipino saint's feast day. It was originally displayed at the Holy Family Church at the United Nations until it was transferred to the Philippine Pastoral Center in Lower Manhattan in 1998.
Weekly masses and novenas are held in the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz to honor the first Filipino saint and martyr. The statue is considered miraculous by devotees.
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the Filipino Apostolate's guest of honor during the statue's unveiling on September 15, 2005.
20th anniversary
On September 29, 2007, the Catholic Church celebrated the 20th anniversary of Lorenzo RuizLorenzo Ruiz
Saint Lorenzo Ruiz , also known as San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, is the first Filipino saint venerated in the Roman Catholic Church...
's canonization
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
in 1987. Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
's Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Gaudencio Rosales said:
“Kahit saan nandoon ang mga Pilipino, ang katapatan sa Diyos ay dala-dala ng Pinoy." ("Wherever the Filipino may go, he carries his faith in God.")
Although not an official parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
, Cardinal Egan has authorized the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz to offer weekday and weekend masses and all of the Sacraments of the Church, with the exception of the Sacrament of Confirmation (only a bishop can confer the Sacrament of Confirmation). Sunday 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...
es, Filipino-style wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
s, baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
s, and funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
s are held in the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz. Although the chapel has been designated as a church for the Filipino community and was authorized to perform Filipino liturgies
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
, it welcomes all peoples regardless of ethnicity and background to attend its services and to participate in the events held in it and the Philippine Pastoral Center.
The Filipino Apostolate's aim is to elevate the designation of the Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz into a parish church status. Factors that will help the Filipino Apostolate in achieving this goal is by maintaining good record-keeping, financial management and pastoral programs.
See also
- Pontificio Collegio FilippinoPontificio Collegio FilippinoPontificio Collegio Filippino is the college of Filipino diocesan priests studying at pontifical universities in Rome, Italy. It was formally established as an institution with pontifical rights by Pope Blessed John XXIII on June 29, 1961 through the Papal Bull Sancta Mater Ecclesia...
- Philippine Center, New YorkPhilippine CenterThe Philippine Center is a building that houses the Philippine Consulate General in New York City. It is located at 556 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, three blocks south of Rockefeller Plaza and north of the New York Public Library.-History:...
- Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo
- Jeronima de la AsuncionJerónima de la AsunciónThe Servant of God Mother Jeronima of the Assumption, P.C.C. was the foundress of the first Catholic monastery in Manila and the Far East. Mother Jermonia's monastery became known as the Monastery of Saint Clare in Intramuros, Philippines...
- Religious of the Virgin MaryReligious of the Virgin MaryThe Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary is a ecclesiastical community of vowed religious Roman Catholic women of pontifical right and approval founded in Manila, Philippines. The community was founded in 1684 by Venerable Mother Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, a Filipino Roman Catholic...
- Three Fertility Saints of Obando, Bulacan, PhilippinesObando Fertility RitesThe Obando Fertility Rites is a Filipino dance ritual. Every year during the month of May, to the tune of musical instruments made out of bamboo materials, the men, women and children of Obando, Bulacan, Philippines wear traditional dance costumes to dance on the streets followed by the images of...
- The First Filipino NunMartha de San BernardoMartha de San Bernardo was the first Filipina Catholic nun in both Philippine and world history.-Biography:De San Bernardo belonged to an affluent and influential family in Pampanga, and was a ladina, a Spanish-speaking Filipina that had no Spanish lineage...