Dr. McNiff closes two more schools

The archdiocese of New York announced on 2.4.2019 that two more Catholic elementary schools in The Bronx will close in June.  They are St. Nicholas of Tolentine as 2336 Andrews Avenue, one block west of the church, and St. Joseph's elementary school on Bathgate Avenue, opposite St. Joseph's church.
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For the official announcement from Dr. Timothy McNiff, please see THIS LINK. Seven schools in five counties are being closed.

Religated to profane use, 2017 and 2018

Churches closed and readied for sale.
Saint Anthony, Wakefield, Bronx, May 2018. It was said that the pastor donated much to this Italian national parish.
Our Lady of Grace, Bronxwood Avenue and East 226 St., Bronx, May, 2018.
St. John Vianney, Castle Hill Avenue, May, 2018. Francis Cardinal Spellman several times overestimated the number of Catholics entering Housing Authority projects. Boston-style segregation was not replicated in our city's public housing. In several instances, Cardinal Spellman purchased property for new parishes before the projects were constructed. With regard to the Marble Hill houses, he dropped plans for a new parish of St. Philomena at the corner of West 225th Street and Kingsbridge Road, and sold the plot to the Board of Education.
Our Lady of Pity, East 151 St., Bronx, demolished 2018.
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St Veronica, Christopher St., Greenwich Village, Manhattan, 2018. My parents wed there in 1935.
St. Joseph, Lower East Side, Manhattan, May, 2018.
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St. Sylvia, Tivoli, Dutchess County, May, 2018. This was the northernmost church of the archdiocese east of the Hudson River.
St. John the Baptist, Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, May 2018.
Chapel of Christ the King, Staten Island, May 2018.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mount Vernon, Westchester County, May, 2018.
Most Holy Trinity, Mamaroneck, Westchester County, May, 2018.
St. Mary of the Assumption, Port Richmond, Staten Island, November, 2017.

St. Roch on Wales Avenue is reduced to profane use, up for sale

In the summer of 2018, I am catching up with neglected posts.  On November 30, 2017, the archdiocese posted this notice that the church of St. Roch has been reduced to profane, but not sordid, use.  That is, after the sacred objects are removed, confessionals, for example, the building is for sale.
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The Archbishop merged this parish with that of St. Anselm on Tinton Avenue, effective August 1, 2015. No Masses or sacraments are regularly celebrated at St.  Roch's.  The telephone number of the combined parish is 718-292-3834.

On the afternoon of September 4, 2010, I entered St. Roch's church and chanced upon the celebration of a Mass on what appeared to be a Quinceanera. A mariachi group played and sang the liturgical music, such as the Sanctus and offertory and communion hymns. Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.

See page 231 for the foundation of St Roch parish in 1899 by Father John Milo. The church is on the west side of Wales Avenue north of East 147th Street.
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The above 2010 sign is invalid as of August 1, 2015.  Mass will not be celebrated here on a regular basis.

This view looks north on Wales Avenue towards busy East 149th Street and the Bx19 bus.

The church was dedicated in 1932. According to the A.I.A. Guide, it was designed by the firm DePace & Juster, Anthony DePace also designer of two churches at the parish of St. Theresa, Pelham Bay.

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Decrees of Relegation. June 30, 2017

The archbishop has signed decrees relegating certain churches of the archdiocese for profane, not sordid, use. This canonically clears the way for their sale or lease. The list is linked HERE and may disappear soon from the archdiocesan website. Note that this list of properties "up for sale" is limited to churches. Properties other than churches do not require this type of decree.

In The Bronx, the list includes
St. Ann, Bainbridge Avenue, pastor Rev. Raul Miguez. This church is inside a school that was closed in June, 2017. Nearby Montefiore Hospital keeps buying up the neighborhood, so I would not be surprised if St. Ann's will go to Montefiore.
Visitation (a relatively new church on Van Cortlandt Park South), pastor Father Michael Kerrigan.
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Warning: I may have misread some of the decrees in this list, as both halves of each merger are named in the text but only one building is deconsecrated. Please inform me of any error!
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In Manhattan: Nativity Church on Second Avenue between Second and Third Streets. I consider the "modern" design of this church a box used as a gathering place of worship.
The church of Most Holy Crucifix on Broome Street.
The church of St. John the Martyr, a former Presbyterian church on East 72nd Street, purchased for Bohemian Catholics in 1904.
The church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary on East 83rd Street.
The church of St. Lucy on East 104th Street.
The church of St. Paul on East 117th Street, not St. Paul the Apostle at West 60th Street.
The church of St. Gregory the Great on West 90th Street. One building contains the church, the school above the church, and the rectory above the school!
The church of St. Benedict the Moor on West 53rd Street.
The church of All Saints at the corner of East 129th Street and Madison Avenue, This landmarked Gothic Revival church may be the most imposing building on this list.
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In Westchester: the church of St. Ursula, Mount Vernon.
The church of Sacred Heart, Mount Vernon.
The church of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Port Chester.
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In Dutchess County, Immaculate Conception, Bangall.
The chapel of St. Joseph in Clinton Corners.
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In Sullivan County, the church of St. Thomas Aquinas in Forestburgh.

Four Bronx schools to lose grades K-8.

Sad to report, Dr. Timothy McNiff, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York, has announced the closure of three parish schools in The Bronx, and the elimination of grades K-8 in one other.  Closed are Visitation School in Kingsbridge, where the church lost regular services in August, 2015, St. Ann School, Bainbridge Avenue, likewise with a church without regular worship, and St. Mary School, Carpenter Avenue.  The school at the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul, Brook Avenue, Morrisania, will become a Universal Pre-Kindergarden school financed by the City of New York.
Please see the link HERE.  The superintendent's euphemism is "operational changes."

Visitation, Van Cortlandt Park South

Sometime in 2023, Visitation Church was sold and leveled.  Please see https://www.riverdalepress.com/stories/van-cortlandt-church-property-fetches-29-million,80028

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As of August 1, 2015, Visitation church was closed for regular worship.  The merged parish of St. John - Visitation worships at St. John church, Kingsbridge Avenue near West 230th Street. Visitation School closed in June, 2017. At the same time, the archbishop decreed that Visitation church, pictured below, has been canonically relegated to profane, not sordid, use. The decree may still be available HERE on the archdiocesan website.
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The photos below are from 2010.  This was demolished in 2023.

See pages 478 and 480 for Visitation parish, Kingsbridge, founded in 1928. The second church dated from 1953, because the previous church and school (a combined building, if memory is correct) was destroyed to construct Major Deegan Expressway. The rectory address was 160 Van Cortlandt Park South, Bronx NY 10463.

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The parish school, now closed, is at 171 West 239th Street, Bronx NY 10463. The school had one section per grade. Lay teachers, Sisters of Charity, and Dominican Sisters staffed the school. In the 1940's, Mom occasionally subbed here. She learned that the principal required the students to walk on the gold or bronze line that separated the slabs of terrazzo in the halls.
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This note is from a viewer:

Just some more info on the Visitation Parrish

My family the

Greco/Caputo's moved to 238th St. around 1935 from St Nicholas Ave.

I know that my Uncles owned the stores along Bailey Ave.

I think cousins still may own them

and each of the Uncles had a business - the others were rented.

One of the 10 or so stores was given to Father Stafford?? the founder of Visitation by my uncles to use for Mass.

until the first church was built on 238th st. next to 135 west 238 st.

my older cousins who are now in their 80's went to Visitation and graduated from the old school.

I was in the first first grade class  at the new school and graduated in 1961.

in those days our first grade class had 58 students. Sister Dorothy was our teacher.

FYI

Rosemary Dilgard

St Ann, Bainbridge Avenue, Gun Hill

Both the school and church in this post are now closed (2017).
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See pages 478 and 478 for the 1927 creation of the parish of St. Ann on Bainbridge Avenue, just north of Gun Hill Road. Inside the door, another set of stairs leads up to the church. Higher up is the school. Several Bronx parishes have a similar construction of school-above-church. Because of the steps, a ramp has been installed to a new church door along the left side of the building. 



For years, the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill staffed this school.
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The New York Times of March 31, 1928, announced the filing of plans for the school and convent. The pastor was Rev. Martin Cavanagh.  The architects were Viemuster and Brady.

Our Lady of Pity, East 151 St., Melrose

See pages 476 and 467 for the Italian parish of Our Lady of Pity (Madonna del Suffragio) on East 151 Street near Morris Ave., Melrose. Founded in 1908, "the parish is now (2007) closed."

St Adalbert, East 156 Street, Melrose

See page 240 for the founding of St Adalbert parish, East 155 Street, Melrose. in 1898. In 2008, this parish does not appear on the list of archdiocesan parishes, but the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal may be using some of the buildings.  Please view the comments below by clicking on the word "Comments."
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To answer the question of the 3rd comment below:  A 1995 Catholic Telephone Guide (an official organ) said even then that all records were at the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul.  You may contact that parish at 718-665-3924. The office address is 833 St. Ann's Avenue, Bronx NY 10456.
Please note that the archdiocese does not maintain a centralized record bureau of baptism, marriage, and other sacraments.  When a parish is closed or merged, the records are transferred to a nearby parish, and that transferal shows up in the Official Catholic Directory and other listings of parishes.  I have the impression that mere membership in a parish is not considered a sacramental record.