Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (New York City)

Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Location	457 West 51st Street,; New York, New York 10019
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	http://shjnycparish.org/
History
Founded	1876
Founder(s)	Rev. Martin J. Brophy
Dedication	Sacred Heart of Jesus
Dedicated	May 17, 1885
Architecture
Architect(s)	Napoleon LeBrun & Sons
Years built	1884-1885
Administration
Archdiocese	New York
Clergy
Pastor(s)	Rev. Gabriel Piedrahita

Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
	The church as it appeared in 1914
General information
Architectural style	Victorian Romanesque
Location	Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City
Construction started	1884
Completed	1885 and c.1901 (according to the AIA Guide to NYC)
Owner	The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Technical details
Structural system	Masonry brick with terracotta trim
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Napoleon LeBrun & Sons

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a Roman Catholic parish church, located in Hell's Kitchen/Clinton, Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1876, it is a parish of the Archdiocese of New York and is located at 457 West 51st Street. Sacred Heart of Jesus School is located at 456 West 52nd Street.

History

The parish was founded in 1876 with the Rev. Martin J. Brophy as the first pastor.^[3] The congregation first met in the former Plymouth Baptist Church at 487 West 51st Street.

Vicar-General Mooney, pastor of the church in the 1890s, was a strong proponent of the parochial school system, as opposed to secular public schools. During a sermon at the dedication to the now closed and demolished St. Rose of Lima Parish School, he "urged his hearers to send their children to the parochial schools, where, he said, the religious instruction they would receive was far more important than the secular instruction they could receive in the public schools."^[4]

Buildings

It is one of the largest churches in Midtown Manhattan.^[5] The congregation was mostly Irish and German.

According to the parish history, the cornerstone of the present Victorian Romanesque church building was laid on July 23, 1884, and the finished church building was dedicated by The Most Rev. Michael A. Corrigan, Archbishop of New York, on May 17, 1885.^[2] According to the AIA Guide to NYC (1978), the "symmetric confection of deep red brick and matching terra cotta frosted with light-colored stone arches, band courses, and copings" was built in Romanesque Revival to the designs by the prominent architectural firm of Napoleon LeBrun & Sons.^[1] The address listed in 1892 was 447 West 51st Street.^[6]

In 1966, the interior of the church was the first in the Archdiocese of New York to be reconfigured after the Second Vatican Council.^[7]

Pastors

Rev. Martin J. Brophy (1876-?), first pastor^[3]
Rev. Joseph I. Norris (1930-?), transferred here from being pastor at the former St. Rose's Church^[8]
Rev Msgr. Joachim Beaumont (1997-2009)
Rev. Gabriel Piedrahita (2009- 2021)
Rev. Lorenzo Ato (2021- 2023)

Sacred Heart of Jesus School

The parish school was considered for closing by Archbishop Dolan but escaped a decision on 11 January 2011 and is still under review.^[9]^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Norval White and Elliot Willensky, AIA Guide to New York City, rev. ed., (New York: Collier Books, 1978), p.145.
^ ^a ^b ^c Browne, Henry. One Stop Above Hell's Kitchen: Sacred Heart Parish in Clinton. 1977., p.25.
^ ^a ^b Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg.... (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.371.
^ "Distinguished Prelates at St. Rose’s: Bishop Michaud Celebrates Mass-Archbishop Corrigan Blesses a School", The New York Times, Sep 10, 1894. “Pontifical high mass was celebrated In the Church of St. Rose of Lima, In Cannon Street, yesterday, by the Right Rev. J. S. Michaud, coadjutor to Bishop De Goesbriand of Burlington, Vermont. His assistants were the Revs. N.J. Hughes and T. P. McLaughlin, deacons of honor; the Very Rev. William Penny, Dean of Newburgh, assistant priest; the Rev. Joseph Campbell, deacon of mass, and the Rev. Patrick E. Fitzsimmons, sub-deacon of the mass. “On the Gospel side of the altar was a throne, which was occupied by Archbishop Corrigan. His deacons of honor were Vicar General Farley and the Rev. John Kearney, pastor of the old St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “Vicar-General Mooney, pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart, was the preacher. He referred to the good that the parochial schools were doing in the city as well as throughout the State. Father Mooney urged his hearers to send their children to the parochial schools, where, he said, the religious instruction they would receive was far more important than the secular instruction they could receive in the public schools. “Archbishop Corrigan, assisted by Bishop Michaud and a number of priest, at 4 PM blessed the new school attached to the church, which will be opened in about a month.”
^ "Our History". Archived from the original on 2010-04-04. Retrieved 2010-05-14.
^ The World Almanac 1892 and Book of Facts (New York: Press Publishing, 1892), p.390.
^ Browne, Henry. One Stop Above Hell's Kitchen: Sacred Heart Parish in Clinton. 1977., p.27.
^ "Priests are Shifted by Cardinal Hayes; Several Promotions Are Among Various Changes Announced for the Archdiocese.", The New York Times, Sep 26, 1930. Excerpt: “Cardinal Hayes announced yesterday the appointment of several new pastors and the transfer of numerous other priests in the archdiocese of New York….Joseph I. Norris, pastor of St. Rose's Church, 36 Cannon Street, was made pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart, Fifty-first Street, between Ninth and….”
^ Alice McQuillan, "New York Archdiocese to Close 27 Schools," NBC New York, 11 January 2011 (Accessed 7 February 2011)
^ Archdiocese of New York, "RECONFIGURATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING “AT-RISK” SCHOOLS ACCEPTED BY ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK Archived 2011-01-17 at the Wayback Machine," Official Press Release, 11 January 2011 (Accessed 7 February 2011)

External links

40°45′54.34″N 73°59′25.44″W / 40.7650944°N 73.9904000°W / 40.7650944; -73.9904000

[AIANYC-1] Norval White and Elliot Willensky, AIA Guide to New York City, rev. ed., (New York: Collier Books, 1978), p.145.

[Browne-2] Browne, Henry. One Stop Above Hell's Kitchen: Sacred Heart Parish in Clinton. 1977., p.25.

[Lafort-3] Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg.... (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.371.

[schoolbless-4] "Distinguished Prelates at St. Rose’s: Bishop Michaud Celebrates Mass-Archbishop Corrigan Blesses a School", The New York Times, Sep 10, 1894. “Pontifical high mass was celebrated In the Church of St. Rose of Lima, In Cannon Street, yesterday, by the Right Rev. J. S. Michaud, coadjutor to Bishop De Goesbriand of Burlington, Vermont. His assistants were the Revs. N.J. Hughes and T. P. McLaughlin, deacons of honor; the Very Rev. William Penny, Dean of Newburgh, assistant priest; the Rev. Joseph Campbell, deacon of mass, and the Rev. Patrick E. Fitzsimmons, sub-deacon of the mass. “On the Gospel side of the altar was a throne, which was occupied by Archbishop Corrigan. His deacons of honor were Vicar General Farley and the Rev. John Kearney, pastor of the old St. Patrick’s Cathedral. “Vicar-General Mooney, pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart, was the preacher. He referred to the good that the parochial schools were doing in the city as well as throughout the State. Father Mooney urged his hearers to send their children to the parochial schools, where, he said, the religious instruction they would receive was far more important than the secular instruction they could receive in the public schools. “Archbishop Corrigan, assisted by Bishop Michaud and a number of priest, at 4 PM blessed the new school attached to the church, which will be opened in about a month.”

[5] "Our History". Archived from the original on 2010-04-04. Retrieved 2010-05-14.

[6] The World Almanac 1892 and Book of Facts (New York: Press Publishing, 1892), p.390.

[7] Browne, Henry. One Stop Above Hell's Kitchen: Sacred Heart Parish in Clinton. 1977., p.27.

[Priests-8] "Priests are Shifted by Cardinal Hayes; Several Promotions Are Among Various Changes Announced for the Archdiocese.", The New York Times, Sep 26, 1930. Excerpt: “Cardinal Hayes announced yesterday the appointment of several new pastors and the transfer of numerous other priests in the archdiocese of New York….Joseph I. Norris, pastor of St. Rose's Church, 36 Cannon Street, was made pastor of the Church of the Sacred Heart, Fifty-first Street, between Ninth and….”

[9] Alice McQuillan, "New York Archdiocese to Close 27 Schools," NBC New York, 11 January 2011 (Accessed 7 February 2011)

[10] Archdiocese of New York, "RECONFIGURATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING “AT-RISK” SCHOOLS ACCEPTED BY ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK Archived 2011-01-17 at the Wayback Machine," Official Press Release, 11 January 2011 (Accessed 7 February 2011)

[2]