St. John Chrysostom

The church stands on the southwest corner of East 166th Street and Hoe Avenue. One block behind the church is the busy intersection of Westchester Avenue and Southern Boulevard, at the Simpson Street station of the #2 and #5 trains.

See page 297 for the establishment of the parish of St John Chrysostom on East 167 St at Hoe Avenue, in 1899. The church dates from 1900. Also see page 521 for a 1974 photo of the parish Holy Name Society. The rectory address is 985 East 167 St., Bronx NY 10459, telephone 718-542-6164.
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Since 1914, the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill and lay teachers have staffed the parish school. The school address is 1144 Hoe Avenue, Bronx NY 10459, telephone 718-328-7266. The extensive and informative school website is lined here. With about 600 students, it apparently has two sections per grade.
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St. John, known as Chrysostom (golden-mouthed) because of his preaching, is recognized as both a Father and Doctor of the Church.  He lived from about 349 to 407, in what is now Turkey and in the imperial capital of Constantinople.  He spoke Greek, and many of his sermons survive in the original Greek, with some English translations available.  A brief life of St. John Chrysostom is linked here.

St. Martin of Tours, East 182nd St.

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.
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For decades, laity and the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill staffed the parish school.  Unfortunately, the archdiocese chose to close the school in 2011, and a public school now uses the rooms  
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David Gonzalez has written an excellent article on the final day of St. Martin of Tours school, which was Wednesday, June 22, 2011. The article appeared in the New York Times and is linked here. Photos accompany the article. Because newspaper articles sometimes change their url, you may have to do a search for the article. The web edition headline is "School's Out, Forever."



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St Helena, Olmstead Ave., Parkchester

Each photo may be enlarged by clicking on it.

See page 487 for the beginnings of St Helena parish, Parkchester in 1940. The church was built in 1941 on Olmstead Avenue, just north of Westchester Avenue. Whereas St. Raymond's church is near the northeast corner of Parkchester, St Helena's is at the southeast corner. The parish website is linked here. The rectory address is 1315 Olmstead Ave., Bronx NY 10462, telephone 718-892-3232. The stained glass windows of the church are pictured and described on the parish website.
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Since 2014, Piarist Fathers staff the church.

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On May 5, 2020, the Bronx Times published an excellent article on the foundation of this parish, with important clarifications. Arthur Scanlan, it was, who chose to name the parish St. Helena because Spellman's mother, deceased five years previously was Ellen. When I walked the neighborhood, I wasn't looking for the green building, the former tavern in which Mass was first offered. A corner of it may be in the photo below! Also, there is a reference to Gustav Schultheiss, the priest of Staten Island origin, whom I met in 1950, in a practice session for an episcopal Mass. He was the antithesis opposite of gruff, putting the servers at ease. 
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The parish elementary school is at 2050 Benedict Avenue, adjacent to the church. Its website is linked here. 

Above is the elementary school as seen from Westchester Avenue. The school entrance is on the other side, Benedict Avenue.

Above, another view from Westchester Avenue.
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The parish high school, Msgr. Scanlan High School, is about a mile south of the church, at 915 Hutchinson River Parkway, Bronx NY 10465.

St. Theresa parish, Pelham Bay

Looking north on Pilgrim Avenue at St. Theresa Avenue, one can see St. Theresa School on the southwest corner and St. Theresa church on the northwest corner.
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See pages 482 and 483 for the parish of St Theresa of the Infant Jesus, Pelham Bay, founded in 1927 as an Italian national parish. The present church dates from 1970. The rectory address is 2855 St. Theresa Ave., Bronx NY 10461, telephone 718-892-1900.
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The parish school is located at 2872 St. Theresa Avenue, telephone 718-792-3688. The school website is here. Apparently, the school has about 350 students, two sections per grade.
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An interesting history is linked here. It explains that an architect, Anthony DePace, was a parish trustee who designed both the school and the new church.



The above photo looks east on St. Theresa Avenue towards to #6 train over Westchester Avenue.


Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.

St. Brendan, East 207 St., Norwood

See pages 477 and 478 for the creation of the parish of St. Brendan, Norwood or Bedford Park, in 1908. The church is at East 207th Street and Perry Avenue, near the northern terminal of the D train. The present church, built in 1968 resembles the prow of an ocean-going ship, in reference to the title "Brendan the Navigator." The rectory address is 333 East 206th St., Bronx NY 10467, telephone 718-547-6655. The parish website is here.
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The above view shows the rectory on East 206th Street, with Perry Avenue at the end of the street. The slope of Perry Avenue provides an entrance to the lower church and, a few steps further north at East 207th Street, the main entrance to the upper church. The architects were Belfatto and Pavarini, who designed Epiphany, Second Avenue, about the same time.

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The address of the parish school, shown above, is 268 East 207 Street, Bronx, NY 10467, telephone 718-653-2292. For decades, the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill staffed the elementary school and the now-closed girls' high school. In this photo, the church is to the left of the school. Photos of the church and school are on this site.

St. Joseph, Bathgate Ave., Tremont

St. Joseph's school remains open, but as of August 1, 2015, St. Joseph's church on Bathgate Avenue is closed, and the parish is merged with that of St. Simon Stock.  The photos below were taken in 2009.  For a photo of the church interior and some other parish photos, please click on this link.  Then scroll down that page. (As of 2022, the church may have been demolished. I don't know for certain. One of the windows may go to the parish in Bellport, Long Island.)

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.
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The address of the parish school was 1946 Bathgate Ave., across from the church. The school closed in 2019. For years, the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill staffed the school and lived on the top floor.
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The neighborhood bustles with residents, shoppers, and workers in many small enterprises. Quite a few smaller churches line the streets.
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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.

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.


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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.