The complex of the church of the Holy Agony seen from Third Avenue.
Church of the Holy Agony
1834 Third Avenue at 101st Street
Just a short walk away from St. Lucy’s is the church of the Holy Agony. It was founded in 1950 as a mission of the Church of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal – itself established in as one of the early Hispanic parishes in New York. Cardinal Spellman built the current church in 1952 primarily for the then – burgeoning Puerto Rican population of the area. Now Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal closed in the 1980’s – but Holy Agony parish has continued to the present day. Like its founding parish, Holy Agony always has been directed (I believe) by the Vincentians. 1)
Like the neighborhood around St. Lucy’s, the surroundings of Holy Agony – housing developments – are cold and depressing. Yet in the immediate vicinity of the parish are also signs of gentrification. Am I mistaken in seeing in this one reason that Holy Agony church is scheduled to be closed?
This church, occupying a corner lot, presents an austere, institutional face to the world both on Third Avenue and on East 101st Street. In this it is similar to the (now closed) church of St. Emeric near Stuyvesant town. But it also corresponds to the growing adoption of a stripped-down, “moderne” style, especially in the suburbs, as the Spellman era progressed. And even if it does not exactly look like a church, these facades with their red brick walls and white facings are light years removed from 1970’s – era junk like the current church of Nativity parish.
(Above)The entrance to the church;(below) the view across Third from the church (extreme left).
Inside, we find basically a long spacious auditorium. Yet all seems solidly built and tastefully decorated. In contrast to the disorder of St. Lucy’s, all has been maintained in in extremely fine condition as well. Yet it’s clear that the quality of individual items of the decoration – like the stained glass or statues – had drastically declined since the 1920’s. Only a few statues seem to have wandered in from another church.
We have little to report on the history of the parish – other than a debate a couple of decades ago on changing devotions as the population shifted from being entirely Puerto Rican to representing a much broader group of “Hispanic” peoples.2)
The English language Sunday liturgy shows the strengths and weaknesses of this parish. An elderly priest “presided” over a much younger congregation. Uniquely, little children acted as ushers. The director of these ushers and the celebrating priest were the only men involved in the entire ceremony. Everyone else – the “acolyte,” the lectors, the leader of the choir and the singers – was female.(even though men were well represented in the congregation). But the sermon was solid and the closing remarks of the pastor even better. The two things I dislike about Christmas in this country, said he, are “Happy Holidays!” and Santa Claus. It’s a sermon that should be given at every Catholic church.
It looks like Holy Agony parish – which appears to be active and “vibrant” – does not agree at all with the decision of the Archbishop to shut down their church in “Making all things New. ” They have reached out to various media. 3) I wish them luck in their uphill struggle! For it is hard to rally the necessary outside support for a small Hispanic parish that has carried on valiantly for so many decades under such trying conditions.
1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_Holy_Agony_(New_York_City)
2) Gonzalez, Juan, Cultures Clash at Church in el Barrio (New York Daily News, 1/10/1997)
3) Otterman, Sharon, Heartache for New York’s Catholics as Church Closings are Announced (The New York Times, 11/2/2014)
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