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 Raymond parish, Westchester or Parkchester

St. Raymond's church is on East Tremont Avenue at Castle Hill Avenue.  This view looks south. 
See page 171 for an account of the founding of St. Raymond Parish in 1842 by Father Felix Vilanis, "who had been the first rector of St Joseph's Seminary in Fordham two years earlier." Page 141 has an old photo of the original St Raymond's church. Note that this was once the Town of Westchester within the County of Westchester, before Bronx County was formed. See page 174 for later history and photos of the present church, built in 1898, shown also above.
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The parish website is linked here. The history page on that website explains that the patron is St. Raymond Nonnatus (1204-1240). The rectory address is 1759 Castle Hill Ave., Bronx NY 10462, and the phone number is 718-792-4044.
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McNamara's Blog, linked here, reproduces a 1914 history of St. Raymond's parish.  This snippet adds much to other accounts, as it describes the early parish history in more detail.

The rectory and church seen from Castle Hill Avenue. The front of the church faces Tremont Avenue, to the right.
Clicking on any photo enlarges it. Above is the interior of St. Raymond's church. According to the New York City Organ Project, the church, built in 1898, was designed by George H. Streeton, who later designed St. James Cathedral in Brooklyn.  As of November, 2010, the lower church is being used for services.  A note in the parish bulletin states that the upper church will be renovated by the spring of 2011.

St. John Baptist de la Salle. A biography is here.

The above building now houses the girls' high school.

Above, looking west from the front steps of the church. It seems the church yard was much larger before this elementary school was built about 1950, as shown in this link a helpful reader has sent me. It is a 1905 view from past the school and facing the church. It shows the extent of the graveyards in 1905. It is also a good view of the church.


Above, looking west. The parish owns two other cemeteries, about two miles east.

Above, the rear of the elementary school is seen from Purdy Street.

Above, looking south from Tremont Avenue. Both the elementary school and the girls' high school are entered through this gate.

At some point after 1924, year unknown, the parish built the above building at 1754 Castle Hill Avenue as a convent for the Sisters of Charity. It seems that in the late 1950's a new convent was built on the south side of Metropolitan Avenue, and the De La Salle Christian Brothers moved from a frame house several blocks away on Benson Street to this commodious building. One can see the chapel and a parlor facing the sun. The entrance is on the far side, on Castle Hill Avenue. The new convent, with elegance resembling Motel 6, is now used for parish or archdiocesan offices. In June, 2018, the pastor, Rev. James Cruz, removed the De La Salle Brothers from work in this parish.
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The parish website is linked here. The rectory address is 1759 Castle Hill Ave., Bronx NY 10462, and the phone number is 718-792-4044.
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The parish maintains an elementary school at 2380 East Tremont Avenue, adjacent to the church, a girls' high school, St. Raymond Academy at 1725 Castle Hill Avenue, and St. Raymond High School for Boys, at 2151 St. Raymond Avenue, Bronx NY 10462, main entrance on Purdy St. The De La Salle Christian Brothers were 1909 to 2018. The 2008 edition of the Official Catholic Directory gave these enrollment figures: 654 students in the elementary school, 351 students in the girls' academy, and 714 students in the boys' high school.
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Above is St. Raymond High School for Boys at the corner of St. Raymond Avenue and Purdy Street.

In the fall of 2011, a new entrance and addition was constructed along Purdy Street.

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An 1924 aerial view of St. Raymond's parish may be viewed here, courtesy of the New York Public Library.

Our Lady of Solace, Morris Park Avenue, Van Nest

The church faces busy Morris Park Avenue. To the right is the intersection with Holland Avenue.

The parish schools of Our Lady of Solace parish and St. Dominic have closed. The religious education program of both parishes is apparently conducted in this building at the corner of Morris Park Avenue and Holland Avenue.
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See page 481 for the establishment of Our Lady of Solace in 1903. The rectory address is 731 Morris Park Ave., Bronx NY 10462, telephone 718-863-3282. Morris Park was the name of nearby race track, and Van Nest a nearby railroad station that gave its name to a housing subdivision west of Morris Park. The present church was dedicated in 1929. For years, the Sisters of the Presentation staffed the parish school.
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In 2023, the parish of Our Lady of Solace is staffed by Misioneros Idente, also known as Institute Id of Christ.

St Dominic, Unionport Road, Van Nest

Above the entrance, "Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuae." Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house (Psalm 26). A allusion to the name Dominic may be intended. You may click on any photo to enlarge it.
The above photo looks north on Unionport Road to Morris Park Avenue.
See pages 482 and 483 for St Dominic's parish, established in 1924. The church on Unionport Road south of Morris Park Avenue dates from 1927. The rectory address is 1739 Unionport Road, Bronx NY 10462, telephone 718-828-2424.
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St. Dominic's parish school is a few blocks south at 1684 White Plains Road.  On January 11, 2011, the archdiocese announced that the school would close in June.  An article in the Bronx Times is linked here.   The staff of the school may include six Sisters of the Congregation of St. John the Baptist, CSJB, also known as the Baptistines.
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From the website of the Misioneros Idente, it would seem that this congregation provides some of the staff for St. Dominic parish.

St Clare, Rhinelander Ave., Morris Park

Effective September 1, 2018, the records of the parish of St. Francis Xavier will be brought to this parish.  The merger is effective today, and both churches will remain in use.
Clicking on any photo enlarges it.
In the above photo, the church and school are seen on Rhinelander Avenue. The one-way-southbound street to the left is Paulding Avenue. To the right of the school is Hone Avenue, one-way-northbound.
An outdoor statue of St. Clare faces Paulding Avenue. For a biography, click here.
Note that the craftsmen who built this church did not present us with a flat brick wall, but they knew how to ornament it with designs.


See page 484 for the 1929 creation of the Italian parish of St Clare of Assisi at Paulding and Rhinelander Avenue, Morris Park or Williamsbridge. The present church dates from 1931. The parish website is linked here. The rectory address is 1918 Paulding Ave., Bronx NY 10462, and the phone number is 718-863-8974.
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The parish school is located at 1911 Hone Avenue, Bronx NY 10461. The school and rectory are back-to-back on parallel avenues (Hone and Paulding), but they seem to be in different zip codes or post office branches. With more than 500 students, the school appears to have two sections per grade.
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Santa Maria, St. Raymond Ave., Westchester Square

Above, Santa Maria church on St. Raymond Avenue.  Parker Street is at the right side of the building. Zerega Avenue and the school is to the left.  For the Mass schedule, please see the parish website.

See pages 484 and 485 for the 1926 foundation of the parish of Santa Maria at St. Raymond Avenue and Parker Street, east of Castle Hill Avenue and Parkchester. The present church was remodeled in 1936. The rectory address is 2352 St. Raymond Ave., Bronx NY 10462, telephone 718-828-2380.
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Three blocks from the church is the Santa Maria parish school, located at 1510 Zerega Avenue, Bronx NY 10462, filling the block from Glebe Avenue to Frisby Ave. The school was created in 1951, and is staffed, in part, by religious sisters, the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The website for Santa Maria parish school is here.  The school also has a Facebook page.
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From the website of the Misioneros Idente, it would seem that three parishes near to each other (Santa Maria, Our Lady of Solace, St. Dominic) are staffed by this congregation, founded by Dr. Fernando Rielo. The Catholic Directory would seem to indicate that they live at Santa Maria rectory.

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The October 22, 2020, issue of Catholic New York has a front page story of the dedication of a shrine to Blessed Clelia Merioni, foundress of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The shrine was dedicated at Immaculate Conception church, Tuckahoe, on October 17, 2002. The article mentions the now-closed Sacred Heart Private School on Zerega Avenue. It also mentions the ASCJ provincialate in Hamden, Connecticut. In March, 2025, the Bronx Times HERE reports on the NYC Board of Education with plans to build a new school where Sacred Heart was.