Catholic Charities has received approval for two apartment houses on Villa Avenue, the street that runs behind the church and school of St. Philip Neri. Please see this January, 2020, article in New York Yimby.
Old photos of St. Philip Neri parish are in this blog at St. Philip Neri.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Superintendent of Schools Michael Deegan
Since September, 2019, the Superintendent of the Schools of the Archdiocese of New York has been Michael J. Deegan.
Bronx CCD or religious education
Fifty-five Bronx parishes reported enrollment numbers for their religious education classes to the Official Catholic Directory 2019. However, about half the numbers were exact repeats of older numbers, therefore incredible.
Using such poor data, I counted 10,492 in parish religious ed programs, in addition to the 12,883 enrolled in Catholic elementary schools.
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The five programs reporting the largest enrollment with reliable numbers were St. Barnabas (590 plus school), St. Joan of Arc (439, no school, a parish serving the Bronx River Houses on East 174th Street). St. Lucy (318 plus school), St. Nicholas of Tolentine (296), and Immaculate Conception Melrose (285, plus school). The median parish enrollment was 163 at St. Athanasius. The five lowest religious ed enrollments were at Nativity of Our Blessed Lady, Dyer Avenue (25 plus school, in a parish the archbishop attempted to close in 2015), 31 at St. Michael in vast Co-op City (43,700 residents), 34 at Sts. Philip and James, 36 at St. John Nam, 40 at Our Lady of Grace (plus school).
Using such poor data, I counted 10,492 in parish religious ed programs, in addition to the 12,883 enrolled in Catholic elementary schools.
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The five programs reporting the largest enrollment with reliable numbers were St. Barnabas (590 plus school), St. Joan of Arc (439, no school, a parish serving the Bronx River Houses on East 174th Street). St. Lucy (318 plus school), St. Nicholas of Tolentine (296), and Immaculate Conception Melrose (285, plus school). The median parish enrollment was 163 at St. Athanasius. The five lowest religious ed enrollments were at Nativity of Our Blessed Lady, Dyer Avenue (25 plus school, in a parish the archbishop attempted to close in 2015), 31 at St. Michael in vast Co-op City (43,700 residents), 34 at Sts. Philip and James, 36 at St. John Nam, 40 at Our Lady of Grace (plus school).
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Bronx elementary school statistics
The Bethpage NY public library has just purchased a copy of the Official Catholic Directory 2019. This analysis is based on the figures reported to the OCD, with two caveats. Some figures are unreliable, as the same enrollment appears yearly, and is obviously not updated. Also, if the enrollment numbers are bloated by Pre-K 3 and Universal Pre-Kindergarten, city-funded programs, I have yet to learn how many students are being added to the enrollment. Thirty-one of thirty-nine Catholic elementary schools participate, so there is a chance the bloat averages out.
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When the count was made (now two years stale?), there were about 12,883 students in the Bronx Catholic elementary schools. The top five schools were St. Raymond (802), Immaculate Conception Melrose (510), St. Lucy (480), St. Theresa (471) and St. Clare of Assisi (466). The median was St. John Chrysostom at 319.
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The lowest enrollments were at St. Thomas Aquinas (188), Nativity of Our Blessed Lady, Dyer Avenue (194), Sts. Philip and James (225 pupils, on East 213th Street near Boston Road), St. Luke, East 139th Street (232), and St. Margaret Mary (234).
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When the count was made (now two years stale?), there were about 12,883 students in the Bronx Catholic elementary schools. The top five schools were St. Raymond (802), Immaculate Conception Melrose (510), St. Lucy (480), St. Theresa (471) and St. Clare of Assisi (466). The median was St. John Chrysostom at 319.
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The lowest enrollments were at St. Thomas Aquinas (188), Nativity of Our Blessed Lady, Dyer Avenue (194), Sts. Philip and James (225 pupils, on East 213th Street near Boston Road), St. Luke, East 139th Street (232), and St. Margaret Mary (234).
Friday, August 30, 2019
Bronx parish closures & mergers, 2015 in 2019
It is four years since Cardinal Timothy Dolan closed or merged many parishes in the seven counties of the Archdiocese of New York. This post will attempt to review the status of the changes in The Bronx. Remarkably, some parishes clearly mark their merger. In others, the merger is ignored, and little information is available on the closed parish. None that I know of have been sold.
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I begin with recent appointments at some parishes.
Fr. Stephen Malanga, A. J., was appointed pastor of Holy Family - St. John Vianney - Blessed Sacrament near the Unionport neighborhood along Bruckner Boulevard. He joins two other priests from Africa residing in the Holy Family rectory on Watson Avenue. There are five weekend Masses at Blessed Sacrament, four at Holy Family, none at St. John Vianney. The large building of St. John Vianney parish school now carries the name of a charter school. For the Apostles of Jesus, please see this link.
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Father Michael Kissane is back at St. Simon Stock as pastor, appointed July, 2019. St. Simon Stock lists four weekend Masses, and St. Joseph on Bathgate Avenue one bilingual (presumably Spanish and English) and one for the Catholic Ghana Community. However, the Ghana Catholics may have moved to St. Luke, East 138th Street.
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St. Pius V parish was merged with St. Rita of Cascia, but the St. Rita website does not mention the closed church.
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Visitation church and school are closed. In 2018, the yard seemed to have been rented to a fleet of medical vans. Visitation appears on St. John's website.
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The merger of two Riverdale parishes means one pastor, two or three assistants, but two churches with worship, two schools of maybe 300 students (counting Universal Pre-Kindergarten), and two schools of religion. The parish website is https://stmargaretofcortona-stgabriel.com/
St. Gabriel's church, inside its school, is two miles south of St. Margaret of Cortona. It appears that the priests reside at St. Margaret.
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On 9.7.2019 I drove by St. Ann's closed church-inside-school on Bainbridge Avenue. It appears that the nearby Montefiore hospital uses the corner playground as a parking lot. The church/school and the rectory continue north from the lot, but no change is obvious. A paper sign is on the front door. Clicking on the photo will enlarge it.
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I begin with recent appointments at some parishes.
Fr. Stephen Malanga, A. J., was appointed pastor of Holy Family - St. John Vianney - Blessed Sacrament near the Unionport neighborhood along Bruckner Boulevard. He joins two other priests from Africa residing in the Holy Family rectory on Watson Avenue. There are five weekend Masses at Blessed Sacrament, four at Holy Family, none at St. John Vianney. The large building of St. John Vianney parish school now carries the name of a charter school. For the Apostles of Jesus, please see this link.
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Father Michael Kissane is back at St. Simon Stock as pastor, appointed July, 2019. St. Simon Stock lists four weekend Masses, and St. Joseph on Bathgate Avenue one bilingual (presumably Spanish and English) and one for the Catholic Ghana Community. However, the Ghana Catholics may have moved to St. Luke, East 138th Street.
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St. Pius V parish was merged with St. Rita of Cascia, but the St. Rita website does not mention the closed church.
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Visitation church and school are closed. In 2018, the yard seemed to have been rented to a fleet of medical vans. Visitation appears on St. John's website.
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The merger of two Riverdale parishes means one pastor, two or three assistants, but two churches with worship, two schools of maybe 300 students (counting Universal Pre-Kindergarten), and two schools of religion. The parish website is https://stmargaretofcortona-stgabriel.com/
St. Gabriel's church, inside its school, is two miles south of St. Margaret of Cortona. It appears that the priests reside at St. Margaret.
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On 9.7.2019 I drove by St. Ann's closed church-inside-school on Bainbridge Avenue. It appears that the nearby Montefiore hospital uses the corner playground as a parking lot. The church/school and the rectory continue north from the lot, but no change is obvious. A paper sign is on the front door. Clicking on the photo will enlarge it.
On 9.21.2019, I found the sign below on the church of the Nativity of Our Blessed Lady on East 233rd Street. At that time, there were Sunday Masses in the church, but the elementary school, now closed, was also open.
On November 12, 2019, an anonymous reader informed me that he saw St. Joseph's on Bathgate Avenue being demolished.
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
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.
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For the official announcement from Dr. Timothy McNiff, please see THIS LINK. Seven schools in five counties are being closed.
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Merger of St. Clare of Assisi and St. Francis Xavier parishes
Effective today, September 1, 2018, is the merger of two parishes less than a half-mile apart on Hone and Haight Avenues in the Morris Park section of The Bronx. The records held at St. Francis Xavier parish will be moved to the rectory of St. Clare of Assisi. The merger is somewhat unusual because the territorial parish is St. Francis Xavier, which will set the boundaries, while St. Clare of Assisi is a personal parish (read: national or Italian). Judging from the bulletins, attendance and revenue at St. Clare may be a bit stronger than at St. Francis Xavier, but both parishes have schools. Until today, the pastor of St. Francis was also the administrator of St. Clare, so this merger has been in the works. Neither church will be closed.
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The merger decree is linked HERE.
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My photos from St. Clare are HERE.
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My photos from St. Francis Xavier are HERE.
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The merger decree is linked HERE.
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My photos from St. Clare are HERE.
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My photos from St. Francis Xavier are HERE.
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.
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.
Mergers 2018 with two or three churches open
St. Clare of Assisi and St. Francis Xavier in Morris Park, Bronx, effective 9.1.2018.
St. John the Evangelist, Pawling, and St. Charles Borromeo, Dover Plains, both in Dutchess County, effective 9.1.2018.
Sacred Heart and St. Francis of Assisi, Newburgh, effective July 1, 2018.
St. Mary, St. Joseph, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Poughkeepsie, with 3 churches open, effective July 1, 2018.
St. John the Evangelist, Pawling, and St. Charles Borromeo, Dover Plains, both in Dutchess County, effective 9.1.2018.
Sacred Heart and St. Francis of Assisi, Newburgh, effective July 1, 2018.
St. Mary, St. Joseph, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Poughkeepsie, with 3 churches open, effective July 1, 2018.
Saturday, September 1, 2018
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.
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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.
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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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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Thursday, May 17, 2018
Ursuline Academy, Grand Concourse
In the approximate years 1902-1959, a girls' school, Ursuline Academy, stood on high ground on the southeast corner of East 165th Street and the Grand Concourse. The same congregation of religious sisters that ran the Academy of Mount Saint Ursula in Bedford Park also taught in this school.
A photograph from the New York Public Library is linked HERE.
An excellent photo of the corner site is HERE. What a staircase! I used to think of it built atop a pile of rocks.
Pope Leo XIII urged religious congregations that shared a common founder to reunite as Rome-centered groups. The Sisters of various Ursuline houses were asked whether they wished to join such a Roman Union, and the Bronxites agreed. Apparently, they needed a location for a provincialate, bought the Grand Concourse rock and created thereupon a convent and school.
A photograph from the New York Public Library is linked HERE.
An excellent photo of the corner site is HERE. What a staircase! I used to think of it built atop a pile of rocks.
Pope Leo XIII urged religious congregations that shared a common founder to reunite as Rome-centered groups. The Sisters of various Ursuline houses were asked whether they wished to join such a Roman Union, and the Bronxites agreed. Apparently, they needed a location for a provincialate, bought the Grand Concourse rock and created thereupon a convent and school.
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