Greetings in Christ! Like you, I am a transplant to the NYC area with Midwestern roots. It was an honor to attend the young adult Mass you celebrated at St. Patrick's Cathedral last December. Your joyful witness to our Catholic faith is such an inspiration.
It's come to my attention that the Archdiocese of New York is considering closing several churches. It's always a shame to see a parish go, but I get it. Neighborhood demographics change, and we're no longer in an era where multiple ethnic parishes need to co-exist within blocks of each other. Urban dioceses now find themselves with more real estate than they can handle. New York is an old city full of historic buildings, but it's also constantly evolving.
Among the parishes under consideration for closure is Holy Innocents on West 37th Street. Its closure would be a great loss to the spiritual life of the this city and a regrettable mistake.
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| The parish entrance on West 37th. |
When I get weary from spending two hours a day in crowded underground metal boxes, I know there are refuges of peace and grace not far away. At first glance, consolidating the parishes of Midtown West might seem like an obvious practical move. There are three churches within five blocks of Penn Station, an embarrassment of religious riches. The largest of these, St. Francis, offers an impressive array of sacrament times and ministries, seemingly enough to serve the area. Both St. Francis and Holy Innocents have been godsends on bad days. St. Francis is like the department store of sacraments - it's big, convenient, and offers a wide selection to suit your needs. Mass, adoration, and confession happen nonstop during rush hour. I'm eternally grateful for the kind wisdom offered by Franciscan friars willing to get up early so we can sleepily stare each other down in a confessional at 8am.
If St. Francis is Macy's, Holy Innocents is an independent boutique. Its building is smaller and more intimate, marked by a small neon cross peeking out between wholesale clothing shops and a kosher falafel/shwarma place. It has fewer Mass times, but what it does offer is superb. The reverent liturgies there are exquisite and even better, accessible. Attend any of their Latin masses, and you'll see everyone from commuters in business attire to the kid in a plastic vest who was hawking tour bus tickets outside. Getting to know the extraordinary form of the Mass can be challenging. To us born after Vatican II, this part of our Catholic heritage feels like a foreign country. Holy Innocents makes our liturgical patrimony feel one of the rich cultural experiences available here in NYC, ready for new explorers to dive right in. At other homes of the EF I've felt like an outsider, but at Holy Innocents I've only found a warm welcome with humility, not snobbery.
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| The Constantino Brumidi mural at Holy Innocents |
The EF Mass could happen at any parish, but there are two more reasons not to close this gem of a church.
1. Closing Holy Innocents would mean the loss of an important artist's work. The mural behind the altar is an historic fresco by Constantino Brumidi, the same Italian immigrant who decorated the rotunda of the US Capitol building in the 1860s. Brumidi is so significant, he posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2012. He left Italy because he was on the outs with Pope Gregory XVI, so a painting he did for the Church is an ironic rarity. Much as I love the Apotheosis of Washington, the sacrifice of Calvary is even more valuable. The parish has already invested a good deal of time and money to restore the mural's original brilliance. The scaffolding currently surrounding St. Patrick's Cathedral demonstrates the Archdiocese's commitment to historic preservation, so I know the Church can continue to keep up with the federal government in promotion of great art.
1. Closing Holy Innocents would mean the loss of an important artist's work. The mural behind the altar is an historic fresco by Constantino Brumidi, the same Italian immigrant who decorated the rotunda of the US Capitol building in the 1860s. Brumidi is so significant, he posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 2012. He left Italy because he was on the outs with Pope Gregory XVI, so a painting he did for the Church is an ironic rarity. Much as I love the Apotheosis of Washington, the sacrifice of Calvary is even more valuable. The parish has already invested a good deal of time and money to restore the mural's original brilliance. The scaffolding currently surrounding St. Patrick's Cathedral demonstrates the Archdiocese's commitment to historic preservation, so I know the Church can continue to keep up with the federal government in promotion of great art.
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| Brumidi's Apotheosis of Washington mural in the Capitol rotunda (Via Architect of the Capitol) |
2. On a more practical note, Midtown West is just too crowded for just one parish. The soon-to-open 7 subway line extension and Hudson Yards redevelopment are only going to bring more traffic to the West Side. (My job involves transit news, so I have subway construction on the brain.) If there's a Duane Reade every ten feet in this town, surely one busy neighborhood can handle multiple churches.
For example, on Good Friday my husband and I initially planned to attend the 3 pm liturgy at St. Francis since it was earlier than other nearby offerings. Arriving at 2:45, we found It was already standing room only with packed aisles. So we walked up six blocks to the 3:30 at Holy Innocents, which was also well attended. If St. Francis is that busy now, imagine the crowds with two more parishes' worth of attendees.
For example, on Good Friday my husband and I initially planned to attend the 3 pm liturgy at St. Francis since it was earlier than other nearby offerings. Arriving at 2:45, we found It was already standing room only with packed aisles. So we walked up six blocks to the 3:30 at Holy Innocents, which was also well attended. If St. Francis is that busy now, imagine the crowds with two more parishes' worth of attendees.
Please, don't make the same mistake the railroads did with Penn Station. Holy Innocents is cherished now and elevates the lives of many New Yorkers. It may be even more needed in the future.
God bless,
Sarah D.
God bless,
Sarah D.
So you like Brideshead Revisited. I've yet to read the novel, but I was actually at the house in England when they were setting up to film the movie 7 years ago. So it needs to be on my list.
ReplyDeleteOh cool! I've always wanted to visit Castle Howard. Definitely worth a read - deep themes about art, family, religion, and guilt.
DeleteThey want to close Holy Innocents? What about the Shrine to the Unborn - that will be such a sadness for some many families!
ReplyDeleteThat's a very good point; yet another reason to keep it open. I love how the parish incorporates so many different devotions and interest groups.
DeleteRight now the closure is just a maybe. You should contact the archdiocese and tell them what you think!
We also need the witness of the Holy Innocents in today's culture of death. It's witness to life is so important!!!!!!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the Archdiocese cares what we think. This wonderful church has been a refuge of holiness in midtown Manhattan. Nothing modern or ugly about it. So it seems it's on the hit list.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of what the diocese thinks, one can still sign the petition being circulated over at Change.org. Please consider following the link below and adding your name to the list. With enough signatures, it may be possible to attract the attention of someone with enough clout to interfere with the diocese's plans.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/cardinal-timothy-dolan-keep-the-church-of-holy-innocents-opened?share_id=QFIPZLLuKK&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition
It's good to see young adult Catholics who love Manhattan's old churches. I remember walking a good stretch of Manhattan once, like a pilgrim, visiting one church after another. I can't think of anything like it. It's the only place in the world where you can go to a church and then pop into the kosher deli on the same street. (And then there's St. Bart's which is impressive in its Episcopalian aestheticism, though I don't remember any religious worship happening there). Well, this was many years ago, like 1984 (long before you were born). It's be a while since I've done anything more than drive through the city, but reading your letter makes me want to go back.
ReplyDeleteNew York is like a thing of nature, like an organism that grows and adapts and moves through every day carrying all the grandeur and all the misery of the human being. I don't know if it's possible to kill New York but we all know that it can be wounded. Certainly Manhattan is full of evils, but there is great good too, and resilience, and a lot of confusion and seeking. It's like the human soul. So dear Cardinal Dolan, be gentle.