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.

Our Lady of Grace, Bronxwood Ave, Wakefield

In mid-2015, the archbishop announced that Mass would no longer be offered in Our Lady of Grace church on a regular basis.  The parish is merged with that of St. Frances of Rome.  The school remains open.

This sculpture of Mary and Jesus, created by Sister Angelica Ballan, was originally outside Misericordia Hospital on East 233rd Street.

Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

The photo above shows the school, rectory, and church.


See pages 478 and 479 for the parish of Our Lady of Grace, founded as an Italian parish in 1924. The present church, at Bronxwood Avenue and East 226 St., dates from 1968.  This is two blocks east of White Plains Road. The school, rectory, and church occupy the west side of Bronxwood Avenue from 225th St to 226th St. 
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The parish school is at 3981 Bronxwood Avenue. A March, 2009, message from the principal would seem to indicate one room per grade.  Please see the school website HERE, current as of November, 2015.

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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St Francis Xavier, Van Nest Ave., Morris Park

See 484 and 486 for St Francis Xavier, founded in Morris Park in 1928. The parish patron, Francis Xavier, was born in Spain in 1506. He became one of the first Jesuits and a missionary to India and Japan, dying on route to China in 1552. Brief biographies of St. Francis Xavier are linked here and here.
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The present church at Lurting and Van Nest Avenues dates from 1951. The parish has several substantial buildings, including what appear to be two schools. A convent was refurbished for the Franciscan sisters sponsored by Fr. Benedict Groeschel. The rectory address is 1703 Lurting Ave., Bronx NY 10461, telephone 718-892-3330. The parish website is linked here. Thanks to Tom, who provided the link.
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The parish school is at 1711 Haight Avenue, telephone 718-863-0531. With about 370 students, it appears that some grades have two sections, other grades one.
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Lurting Avenue and some parallel avenues to the west carry the names of former mayors of New York City. According to "History in Asphalt" by John McNamara, Robert Lurting was mayor from 1726 to 1735. Stephan Haight was a local landowner.

Sacred Heart, Highbridge

The address of Sacred Heart parish is 1253 Shakespeare Ave., Bronx NY 10452, telephone 718-293-2766. As the above photo shows, the church faces the intersection of Woodycrest Avenue and Shakespeare Avenue.  Bus route Bx11 comes past the door.  Clicking on a photo will enlarge it.
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The address of the parish school is 95 East 168th St., Bronx, NY 10452.
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Please note that the church of St. Francis of Assisi, on Shakespeare Avenue less than a mile north, has been merged with Sacred Heart parish.

  

Regarding the above photo, Sacred Heart provides primary education in the newer building in the center, and middle school education in the older building to the left.  As of January, 2015, the school's website is here and its Facebook page is here.

This door at the back of this photo is to a chapel accommodating about 28 faithful. The large church is to the right. The rectory is to the left.


The Highbridge Community Life Center operated from seven buildings in Highbridge, but in 2014 it suffered from woefully inadequate funding and ceased all or most work. For years, the Brothers teaching at the school lived here at 1252 Nelson Avenue.
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See page 292 of Msgr. Shelley's book for the establishment of Sacred Heart parish in 1875. In 1877, the pastor purchased a wooden church from St. Rose of Lima parish, Cannon Street, Manhattan, and had it disassembled and transported to Highbridge. See page 392 for the visitation by coadjutor archbishop Corrigan on August 15, 1883. The present church dates from 1912. See page 294 for photos. See page 475 for a photo of St. Eugene's chapel on Odgen Avenue. See page 585 for Sacred Heart parishioners affected by fires and destruction in the 1970's. The neighborhood has been rebuilt, and it is alive with residents.
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For decades the Sisters of Mercy and, from 1926, the Brothers of the Christian Schools staffed the school.

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A lengthy and excellent history of Highbridge and Sacred Heart parish is linked HERE.

St Francis of Assisi, Highbridge

The church is in the short block of Shakespeare Avenue between Featherbed Lane (to the left of the photo) and the canyon of the Cross Bronx Expressway (to the right of this photo).
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See page 475 for the 1928 establishment of the parish of Saint Francis of Assisi in a predominantly Jewish part of High Bridge. With rather small territory carved from the thriving Sacred Heart parish, St. Francis could afford neither a school nor a large church. It has recently become part of Sacred Heart parish again. The postal address is Post Office Box 520013. Bronx NY 10452, telephone 718-731-6840. The Sunday received offering at Sacred Heart in January, 2009, was about $2,700 a week, and at St Francis about $1,700.
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Thanks for the comments below.  Please note that there is a time lag of several hours between writing a comment and seeing it appear, because comments are moderated.  On 9.9.2016, a person, apparently frustrated, kept submitting the same long comment repeatedly because he did not see it immediately appear. The time delay helps weed out spam.

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Father John Flynn was pastor of this parish in the mid-1970's. Please see this article in America magazine. The article focuses on his later work at St. Martin of Tours, but does mention his being pastor at St. Francis of Assissi, where we knew him.

Christ the King, Grand Concourse

See pages 472 and for the 1929 creation of the parish of Christ the King, at the Grand Concourse and Marcy Place. This is on the west side of the Grand Concourse two blocks south of East 170 Street,. The rectory address is 141 Marcy Place, Bronx NY 10452, telephone 718-538-5546. The school entrance is at the southwest corner of the intersection, 1345 Grand Concourse. The church entrance is downhill west on Marcy Place, underneath the school.

Christ the King School is at 1345 Grand Concourse, corner of Marcy Place, as in the above photo. The school's website is linked HERE. The school's Facebook page, nicely kept up-to-date, is linked HERE.

A helpful person forwarded this explanation as a comment:
"A building fundraising drive was initiated in 1962, and ended on November 16th with $275,000 pledged by parishioners. This was added to another $200,000 that the parish had already set aside for building.

"The new school building was dedicated on September 12, 1965. The school was constructed over the old church. Only the lower portion of the church had originally been constructed before the Depression put a halt to building plans. (Information obtained from the Dedication Album for Christ the King, printed in 1965.)"

St Angela Merici, East 163 St, Melrose

East 163rd Street is at the right. The church entrance can be seen in the center of the school. Please continue reading below the next two photos.

See page 295 for the creation of St Angela Merici parish, at Morris Avenue and East 163 St., Melrose, in 1899. The present church dates from 1923. For many years, Ursuline Sisters taught in the school of this parish named after their foundress. See page 606 for parishioners from Nigeria. The parish website is linked here. The rectory's address is 917 Morris Ave., Bronx NY 10451, and the telephone is 718-293-0984. In January, 2024, the school's function is unclear. It may have discontinued grades 1-8 a few years ago.
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The third photo is taken from East 162nd Street, looking at the altar end of the church. Anytime you are reading such a blog as this one, a click on the photo will bring an enlargement. For example, if you wish to read what is written above the door of the church entrance in the second photo above, just click on that photo.

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In January, 2023, the two priests are members of the Apostles of Jesus Missionary Congregation founded in Uganda fifty years ago.

St Rita of Cascia & St Pius V, Mott Haven

As of August 1, 2015, the parish of St. Rita of Cascia parish has absorbed the parish of St. Pius V. The parish website is linked here. The two photos below are from 2009.





See page 231 for the foundation of the parish of St Rita of Cascia in 1900. The present church was built in 1904 at College Avenue and East 145 Street. The rectory address is 448 College Ave., Bronx NY 10451, telephone 718-585-5900.
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On May 24, 1900, Leo XIII canonized two saints: Rita of Cascia and Jean Baptiste de la Salle. Archbishop Michael Corrigan immediately named a new parish for each: Rita here in The Bronx, and John Baptiste de la Salle on Staten Island.
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Clicking on any photo will enlarge it.

The parish website shows parishioners painting the church exterior. They did  a masterful job.

The Missionaries of Charity live, work, and pray in this parish. 

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The pastor or administrator is now the pastor or administrator of the merged parish of St. Rita and St. Pius V.  However, in neither location could I find a sign acknowledging the merger.  The 2016 Official Catholic Directory lists Fr. Pablo Gonzales Maestre as administrator (or pastor?).  In turn, he is listed as a priest of the Archdiocese of Madrid as a missionary in The Bronx.  His service appears to be with the O.M.P., Obras Misionales Pontificias.
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Please see my post for the parish of St. Pius V, which has no regular religious services.
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There are seven comments, which may be read when you click on "Comments" below.
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Immaculate Conception elementary school is a half-mile away at East 151st Street and Melrose Ave.

Villa Maria Academy private elementary school

The Villa Maria Academy, a private elementary school, is located at 3335 Country Club Road (near Campbell Drive), Bronx NY 10465, telephone 718-824-3260. From privateschoolsreport.com it would appear that Villa Maria Academy has two sections per grade and almost 500 students. The academy seems to be run by the Sisters of the Congregation de Notre-Dame, C.N.D., of Wilton, Connecticut.