Yesterday evening a Solemn Votive Mass of St. Nicholas was celebrated atMost Holy Redeemer Church in Manhattan.by the pastor, Father William Elder. The Mass was sponsored by the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny.

This year during Advent, there are opportunities to attend a Rorate Mass—or even a few Rorate Masses. (Deo gratias!)

“Rorate” comes from the Introit of the day: “Drop down ye heavens from above…” This is a Mass celebrated in honor of our Lady on a Saturday in Advent. This Mass is always done in darkness with only candlelight. Ideally the sun should begin to rise at the Consecration.

Here is our schedule. Please let us know about other Rorate Masses that we can add:

St. John Fisher Seminary of the Diocese of Bridgeport at St. Gabriel Church, Stamford, CT, Saturday, December 7, 6:30 am, Father Paul Check, celebrant and homilisit; David Hughes directs the choir.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Harlem, NY, Saturday, December 7 at 9 am, followed by an Advent retreat in the church hall.

St. Mary Church, Greenwich, CT, Saturday, December 14 at 6:30 am.

St. Patrick Church, Bridgeport, CT, Saturday, December 14 at 6:30 am.

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, Saturday, December 21 at 6 am.

St. Josaphat Church, Bayside, Queens, NY, sung Rorate Masses at 6:35 am:

Wednesday December 4

Thursday, December 5

Tuesday December 10

Wednesday December 11

Thursday December 12

Friday December 13

Saturday December 14

Monday December 16

(from December 17 to 24 at 6:35 am there will be regular Advent weekday Low Masses)

Church of the Holy Innocents, New York at 6 am:

Monday, December 2 
Tuesday, December 3 
Wednesday, December 4 
Thursday, December 5 
Friday, December 6 
Saturday, December 7 
Monday, December 9 
Tuesday, December 10 
Wednesday, December 11 
Friday, December 13 
Saturday, December 14   Monday December 16

This Thursday, at 6:00 PM, the Society of St Hugh of Cluny will be sponsoring a Solemn High Mass at the church of the Most Holy Redeemer on East 3rd Street in New York. A reception will follow. Music will include the St Nicholas Mass by Haydn. It will also be an opportunity for you to acquaint (or reacquaint) yourself with one of the grandest Catholic churches in Manhattan.

Most Holy Redeemer was the New York home of the Redemptorist order from the 1840’s to this year. The present church was built in the early 1850’s and its size aroused the wonder of contemporaries. It was one of the two churches that served the German population of the city, at that time centered in what later would be called called the East Village. The other church, the nearby archdiocesan parish of St. Nicholas – was razed in 1960 under Cardinal Spellman – only the rectory survives. The exterior and interior of the Most Holy Redeemer, however, obviously reflect extensive subsequent renovations.

Most Holy Redeemer enjoyed great prominence in the 19th century. But after 1900 the city’s German population started to migrate north, to Yorkville. By 1940 this parish was already experiencing challenges.

In this year the Redemptorists left. There was no publicity, no mention in Catholic New York, for the end of a 180-year apostolate. Of the former proprietors all that remains, presumably, are the many deceased Redemptorists buried in this church. The parish is now in Archdiocesan administration.

Most Holy Redeemer’s interior is a stark contrast to the (current) exterior. It is an incredible decorative display of marble, stained glass, paintings sculptures and mosaics. Despite some damage from the elements and ghastly renovations, much remains in relatively good condition.

(Above) Most Holy Redeemer also displays objects, decidedly less successful artistically than the rest of the decor of this church, inherited from the nearby shuttered parish of the Nativity. Most Holy Redeemer is also the successor to that ancient parish – housed after 1970 in perhaps the most undistinguished Catholic church building on the island of Manhattan. A dispute is continuing regarding the use of the Nativity parish site.

(Above and below) Special mention must be made of two of the chapels. Cardinal Spellman in 1966 designated Most Holy Redeemer church as the “pilgrimage shrine” of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. A magnificent chapel surrounds this miraculous image – a special devotion of the Redemptorist order. Regrettably, as readers of our series on New York churches will know, such devotions appear to attract little interest from the laity nowadays. – and don’t save their churches from closure.

(Above) The second spectacular chapel contains over 100 relics – including the entire body of the martyr St. Datian – brought to this church amid scenes of indescribable rejoicing in the 1892. HIs wax effigy lies beneath the altar.

After 1945, Most Holy Redeemer seems to have dropped out of the consciousness of most New York Catholics. Unlike the otherwise similar Jesuit parish of St Francis Xavier, it had no high school still capable of attracting interest beyond its immediate neighborhood. Its parochial school kept going, with diminishing numbers, until 1985. One well known New York priest can still remember nuns – still German! A graduate in 1972 was Ursula Burns, until recently CEO of Xerox. In more recent years the parish has served mainly a “Hispanic” congregation.

So a visit to Most Holy Redeemer is like a journey to the past of Catholic New York. I hope, though, that the Solemn Mass we are sponsoring this Thursday will be the start of a new beginning. There are only three or four other churches in Manhattan that can rival Most Holy Redeemer as a splendid setting for the Traditional Mass. We also hope that Catholics will become more aware of this downtown treasure and join in assisting the clergy and congregation in the recovery of this venerable parish We hope you can make ti!

The Mass for this event is in the Extraordinary Form