St Augustine, Franklin Avenue and East 167 St.

See pages 175 and 176 for the founding of The Bronx's third parish, St Augustine, on East 170th Street in 1855. The imposing church on East 167 St. between Fulton Avenue and Franklin Avenue was erected in 1895. The rectory address is 1183 Franklin Ave., Bronx NY 10456, the telephone number 718-893-0072.
-----

As the above greeting explains, Sunday Masses are offered in the auditorium of the school, in Spanish at 9:30 a.m. and in English with a Gospel choir at 11 a.m. Weekday Masses are offered in the chapel of the Spiritual Life Center, to the right of the school. The church building cannot be used because the roof needs major restoration.

The much-praised parish elementary school is located at 1176 Franklin Avenue, Bronx NY 10456, telephone 718-542-3633. It seems that St. Augustine School has one section per grade, with an enrollment of about 270.

Any photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.
For about seventy years the boys' department was staffed by the De La Salle Christian Brothers. The Sisters of Charity taught younger boys and all the girls.

Above is the Lwanga+DePorres Spiritual Life Center, 1168 Franklin Avenue, adjacent to the school.

Immaculate Conception, Melrose

The above view looks west at the intersection of Melrose Avenue and East 150th Street in The Bronx. The large building at the corner is the parish rectory, 389 East 150th St., Bronx NY 10455, telephone 718-292-6970. Adjacent is the church of the Immaculate Conception, with a cornerstone dated 1889.
-----
See page 175 for the foundation of Immaculate Conception parish in 1853, by Father Joseph Stumpe. See page 392, for the visitation by coadjutor archbishop Corrigan in August, 1883. In 1886, the parish was given to the care of Redemptorists. See page 606 for the parish becoming a Hispanic parish. (Please do not confuse this parish with another parish named Immaculate Conception on East Gun Hill Road.)
-----

Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.

The above view looks east on 150th Street. The cornerstone of the church bears the date September 25, 1887.

The above view looks east on 151 Street towards Melrose Avenue. Immaculate Conception school is in the foreground, with a parish hall at the corner of Melrose Avenue. The school website, extensive, current, and informative, is here. The school address is 378 East 151 St., Bronx NY 10455, telephone 718-585-4843.

-----
For many years, the Sisters of Christian Charity have lived and worked for the parish. They continue to provide teachers in the school.
-----
Grace Outreach, a non-profit organization, is located on the fifth floor of the school building.
-----

St. Michael the Archangel, Co-op City

Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.

See page 489 for the 1969 establishment of the parish of St Michael, Co-op City. The rectory address is 765 Co-op City Blvd., Bronx NY 10475, telephone 718-671-8057. The church is at the intersection of Co-op City Blvd. and Rombouts Avenue, but, as shown above, the Rombouts Avenue sign is missing from the intersection. Blue street signs are memorials.
----
Co-op City is a development of cooperative apartments in the northeast Bronx near Baychester and Pelham Bay. When this large project was planned and built, no government agency was willing to extend rail service to this community of 55,000. Hence, people rely on walking, cars, and buses. Five bus routes have a stop near the church.
----
In driving to St. Michael's church, it is helpful to note that the church is quite close to the Connor St. Exit of Interstate 95. By using Connor Street eastward to reach the maze of apartment houses and curving streets, one soon meets Co-op City Boulevard, a principal winding road. Turn right on Co-op City Boulevard and within a quarter-mile one will see the church. If you become lost, take note of the address: 765 Co-op City Blvd.
----
The parish has no school. I have been told that some students attend Our Lady Star of the Sea on nearby City Island. Holy Rosary parish school and Cardinal Spellman High School are both near sections of Co-op City.

Bronx Catholic high schools

There are fourteen Catholic high schools in The Bronx. The organization that manages the Test for Admission to Catholic High Schools (TACHS) has prepared an informative, printable chart at this link in preparation for the October, 2009, open houses. Also, here is a short version of the list, in order of approximate enrollment, a number that is different from the approximate admissions numbers on the TACHS site:
St. Pius V Parish (parish) High School, about 200 girls enrolled.
St. Barnabas (parish) High School, about 350 girls enrolled.
St. Raymond (parish) Academy, about 350 girls enrolled.
Academy of Mount St. Ursula, about 400 girls enrolled.
All Hallows High School, about 600 boys enrolled.
Preston High School, about 600 girls enrolled.
Aquinas High School, about 700 girls enrolled.
Monsignor Scanlan (parish) High School, about 700 students enrolled.
St. Catharine Academy, about 750 girls enrolled.
St. Raymond (parish) High School for Boys, about 700 boys enrolled.
Mount St. Michael Academy, about 870 boys enrolled.
Fordham Prep, about 930 boys enrolled.
Cardinal Hayes (archdiocesan) High School, perhaps about 1,100 boys enrolled.
Cardinal Spellman (archdiocesan) High School, about 1,500 students enrolled.

St. Luke, 138th St., Mott Haven

The address of St. Luke's parish address is 623 East 138th St., Bronx NY 10454, telephone number 718-665-6677. The school address is 608 East 139th Street, telephone 718-585-0380. An informative website is here. There would appear to be one or two sections per grade level.

The church of St. Luke, completed in 1919, stands on the north side of East 138th Street just west of Cypress Avenue. Because the building east of the church has been demolished, one can see the side of the church and the school behind it. Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.

The school on East 139th Street is now entered through a passageway from the busier East 138th Street. Please click on this photo to read the signs.
-----
See page 293, for the establishment of St Luke parish on East 137 Street, Mott Haven, in 1897, where a Sadlier family stable was converted into the first church. The present church on the north side of East 138 Street was completed in 1919. See also page 587 for a view of the survival of the people of St Luke's parish.
-----
Since 1910, the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt have staffed this school. For some years, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart taught older boys.

St. Jerome, Alexander Avenue, Mott Haven

The above view shows St. Jerome's church at Alexander Avenue and busy East 138th Street in Mott Haven, The Bronx. Not everyone arrives by town car. Stairs from the Third Avenue station of the #6 subway train are to the right of the photographer.

The above view looks north on Alexander Avenue from East 137th Street. At the next corner is St. Jerome's church. In the foreground is Saint Jerome's elementary school. The rectory is between them at 230 Alexander Avenue, Bronx NY 10454, telephone 718-665-5533.

The school address is 222 Alexander Avenue,Bronx NY 10454, telephone 718-292-4920. The school website is linked here. Each photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

On the 138th Street side of the church is this shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of Mexico. On a weekday afternoon, I found the church locked.

In Msgr. Shelley's book, please see page 230 for a reference to Italians at St Jerome parish in 1893. On pages 292 and 293, there is a more lengthy description of the establishment of St Jerome parish in 1869 under Father John J. Hughes. By 1871, he constructed a school on Alexander Avenue at East 137 Street. The present church on the southeast corner of Alexander Avenue and East 138 Street dates from 1900. For many years, Ursuline sisters staffed the school. For decades after 1928, the Brothers of the Christian Schools taught the older boys. Page 558 contrasts Mass attendance in 1950 (6,100) and 1975 (795). Page 586 describes the parish in difficult times. See also page 606 for recent restoration of the church.

-----

About 2007, Archbishop Egan entrusted this parish to the care of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, a congregation founded in Argentina about twenty-five years ago. They, "the IVE fathers," also staff St. Michael's parish in East New York, Brooklyn.
-----
An excellent professional photographer has posted about 200 of her photos of St. Jerome's on Flickr, as linked here. Her photo of the Eye is here. Another photographer offers an interior shot from the altar steps to the main doors, linked here.

St Mary Protectress, Washington Ave., Tremont

St. Mary Protectress church stands on the west side of Washington Avenue about two blocks south of the Cross-Bronx Expressway.


See page 254 for the creation of the Ukrainian parish of St Mary Protectress, 1745 Washington Avenue, Tremont, in 1943. This is an Eastern Rite parish in the jurisdiction of the Eparchy of Stamford, Connecticut. Whether the Sunday Divine Liturgy is celebrated in modern Ukrainian or Old Slavonic, I don't know. It appears that the pastor is a Basilian monk. Yes, this is a Catholic parish.
----
Note that the English name of the parish is a bit different from the Ukrainian name, which I take to be Holy Protectress. This link gives some of the history of the title Protectress.

St. Joseph, Bathgate Ave., Tremont

Above is a view south on Bathgate Avenue. Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.


The school is on the east side of Bathgate Avenue. The cornerstone is dated 1922. The church cornerstone is dated 1899.


See page 216 for the influx of Germans into Melrose, Morrisania, and Tremont, and the creation of the parish of St Joseph in Tremont in 1873. See page 218 for prints and photos. See page 292 for its quickly becoming a territorial parish. Page 392 shows St Joseph's parish on the list of coadjutor archbishop Corrigan's visitations in August, 1883. Page 222 refers to an Irish-American pastor at St. Joseph's in 1895. See page 412 for a photo of a Holy Name Communion Breakfast in 1938. The present church was built in 1902 on Bathgate Avenue, just north of East Tremont Avenue and a block west of Third Avenue.
-----
The rectory address is 1949 Bathgate Ave., Bronx NY 10457, telephone 718-731-2504. The parish office has shorter hours than larger parishes, so if the phone is not answered, try at a different time. From a Sunday parish bulletin, it would seem that Sunday adult attendance (total of all Masses) is about 190. The exterior granite of the church has been beautifully cleaned.
-----
The address of the parish school is 1946 Bathgate Ave., across from the church. With about 500 students, it seems to have one or two classes per grade. The school's excellent website is linked here. For years, the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill staffed the school.
-----
The neighborhood bustles with residents, shoppers, and workers in many small enterprises. Quite a few smaller churches line the streets.
-----
In this 1969 photo of the Third Avenue El, one can see both the church and the school. The school has a white-painted wall facing east and a satellite dish for the archdiocesan television network. The church stone is afflicted with the grime from many Bronx furnaces. In fact, one cloud of soot can be seen in the distance.

St. Martin of Tours, East 182 Street

The entrance to St. Martin of Tours church is on East 182 Street, the northeast corner with Grote St. Across Grote St. is Aquinas High School. Over the doorway is a statue of St. Martin, Bishop of Tours, France, who lived 316-397.


In the above photo, East 182 Street is to the left. Crotona Avenue goes north (at the right) past what seems to be a school gym.
See page 296 for the establishment of the parish of St Martin of Tours at the intersection of East 182 St. and Grote Street, Tremont, in 1897. This intersection is one short block east of Belmont Ave. The present church dates from 1953. See also page 348. The rectory address is 664 Grote St., Bronx NY 10457, telephone 718-295-0913.
-----
The school address is 695 East 182nd Street, and the school website is here. For years, the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill staffed the school. School enrollment seems to be almost 300.

St. Gabriel, Arlington Ave. and West 235 St., Riverdale

Above is the view from Arlington Avenue. The church entrance is seen ahead. Access to this door is from three directions: a short driveway from West 235 Street, a often-closed gate on Nethlerland Avenue, and the stairway from Arlington Avenue. The stairway is to the right of the photographer's position.

Above is a sign at the southwest corner of Netherland Avenue and West 235th Street.

The above view looks north. Inside this center door is a foyer, a few steps down, and then the east-west main section of the church. The altar is in the corner where the two wings meet. It appears that folding doors allow an expansion of church seating in the north-south wing (at the right side of this photo). The school is located upstairs.
----
See pages 487 and 513 for St. Gabriel parish at Arlington Avenue and West 235 Street, Riverdale. The parish was created in 1939, and the combined church and school were completed in 1941. The address is 3250 Arlington Ave., Bronx NY 10463, telephone 718-548-4470. The parish website here includes both church and school. School enrollment seems to be about 200.

Aquinas High School, East 182 St.

Aquinas High School, a leading Catholic high School for girls, is located at 685 East 182nd Street, Bronx NY 10457, where both Belmont Avenue and Grote Street meet 182nd Street. The telephone is718-367-2113. The school website is linked here.


Aquinas High School is not a parish or archdiocesan high school. Rather, as with numerous Catholic high schools and academies, it was established by a congregation of teaching Sisters, the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill. They and lay teachers have staffed the school for many decades.


The above photos are taken from the east side of the intersection, where the parish church of St. Martin of Tours is located.


The Metropolitan Transit Authority inherited many of its bus routes from previous owners who had arranged with some high schools to provide direct bus service at the student fare, rather than have students change from bus-to-bus. Perhaps because of the different requirements for school buses, in recent years these routes have become marked as public routes. They have never used yellow buses. This bus stop sign shows that at dismissal students may board a Bx12 bus which travels Fordham Road to Sedgwick Avenue.


-----