A rally on Monday, August 31, on East 3rd Street to protest the continued closing of Most Holy Redeemer church, to demand its reopening and to support its designation as a landmark. The crowd was addressed by local politicians and activists, both Catholic and non-Catholic. Those who showed up seemed to be overwhelmingly from the immediate neighborhood of the church. There were familiar faces – I was greeted warmly by members of this parish who I had not seen in years. It is tragic that this “marginalized” and definitely not well-off community has been deprived of their parish church by the Archdiocese without any explanation. For some of them, this is the second or third parish they have lost.(For just one example, in this very vicinity Nativity parish was an earlier casualty, folded into Most Holy Redeemer). As is usual in such events, both in New York and elsewhere, Catholic clergy were conspicuous by their absence.

(Above) Some mixed messages visible in front of the old parish office.

In December 2023, on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cardinal Dolan came to bless the restored, illuminated clock tower and bells of Most Holy Redeemer church.

“When they see their beloved parish, my God, it goes back to 1851, it’s still alive and still confident,” Dolan said.  “When we illuminate the clock and repair the tower and ring out the bells with Christmas coming up, this is the place to be.” Rodriguez, Ashley, Most Holy Redeemer Church bell tower shines anew, lighting Up Alphabet City after decades of darkness, fox5ny.com (12/24/2023)

For the repair of the tower, clock and bells symbolized the restoration of the parish and attracted favorable attention in the secular media. But perhaps in retrospect this episcopal visit was not for the best. For in short order, in 2024 the pastor was tranferred out to “bigger and better things”and in 2025 the parish was closed. See: “Bohemians, the Traditional Mass and Most Holy Redeeemer Church,” The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny (8/29/2024)

Some pictures of Most Holy Redeemer Church on East 3rd Street, New York, taken over the course of two decades. Since August of last year, the Archdiocese has locked this magnificent church. As of today its fate is unknown.

(Above and below): The chapel of relics with the “entire body” of St. Datian.

(Above) The New York shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

(Above) The tower of the church of St. John the Baptist.

Thanks to an attentive reader, we recently learned that the Capuchin order had left Midtown Manhattan, effective June 30, 2026,  after 174 years. Their original mission at St. John the Baptist church had been expanded in 2013/15 to take over Holy Cross church on 42^nd St. Like many aspects of Making all Things New this merger didn’t make obvious sense: there are two other parishes located in between the parish’s two “worship spaces.”  As could be foreseen,  the experiment did not last long.

On its website the order has posted  a not very encouraging  statement from the “Provincial Minister” explaining the reasoning for the Capuchins’ departure:

There are many factors that went into our decision to withdraw from your parish, none of which might adequately satisfy your disappointment. One of the most evident challenges we face as a Church is the shortage of priestly and religious vocations, especially in northeastern part of the United States. This challenge has given us opportunities as Capuchins to reflect upon and renew our way of life that will inspire young men to live the Gospel in the spirit of St. Francis as a Capuchin. However, it has also demanded that we make difficult choices in the ministerial commitments we have as a Province.

Farewells are never easy, especially when the reasons don’t seem fair. We have left several parish communities over the last decades, and none have made this any easier, not only for the parishioners, but also for the friars who served so diligently those communities.

…

 Despite this challenge, I hope you will hear my sending-forth encouragement for you all: please don’t let our departure diminish your faith in Jesus Christ.

The Provincial Minister could not attend the “Farewell Mass” (the “Mass of Thanksgiving for the Capuchin Franciscans”)at St. John the Baptist. 1)

Regarding the move:

On June 30, 2026, a history came to an end. A history which began on June 28, 1840, when Rev. Zacharaia Kunz, OSF celebrated the first Mass at the Roman Catholic Church of St. John. A history which entrusted the church to the ministry of the Capuchin Province of Hungary in 1852 and subsequently  in 1870 to the American Capuchin Order. A history which survived two fires, too many wars, economic upheavals, financial instability .

Parishioners at St. John’s were privileged to have been brought into the Franciscan family of noted saints and ordinary friars. Over the years they have worshipped and interacted with some of the most extraordinary friars of the province , each  in his own unique way, touching  both parishioners and the many commuters who seek solace at St. John’s. The parish record books, some written in German script, bear testimony to all those connected to this special church. 2)

The parish is now under direct Archdiocesan administration. One immediate consequence of the change in management has been a reduction in the number of masses at Holy Cross church:

Please note that beginning September 7, there will no longer be a 12:15pm Mass on Mondays, and no Masses on Tuesdays at Holy Cross. 3)

(Above) Holy Cross church (2011).

We do not know whether the exit of the Capuchins is a prelude to the closing and sale of one or both churches. Consider the effects of the abandonment in 2019 of Most Holy Redeemer church (East 3^rd Street) by the Redemptorists. And despite its architectural merit- and the presence of the shrine to Padre Pio –  the church of St John the Baptist has been rumored for years now to be a likely candidate for closing.  It is a tregedy – for generations churches like St. John’s which had long ago lost their resident populations sustained themselves by the many commuters who stopped by for devotions or the sacraments. But the need Catholics once felt for these “commuter churches” in the city has dimished as the general practice of the faith has declined.

(Above) St. Mary’s, Grand St. (Photo 2009).

The Capuchins, however, retain a foothold in the city at their parish of Our Lady of Sorrows on Stanton St. on the Lower East Side. Indeed,  in 2024 they even expanded their presence by assuming responsibility for the nearby historic –  by New York standards – parish of Saint Mary on Grand St.  How secure Is, however, the continued existence of these two poor churches – given the dire financial situation of the Archdiocese – and the declining numbers of Capuchins? Neighborhood activists have tried to assure preservation of the more ancient of the two churches by obtaining on 4/7/2026 the landmarking of St. Mary’s by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission – a struggle now in progress for Most Holy Redeemer church.

For our most recent post on St. John the Baptist church, see:   https://sthughofcluny.org/2025/09/the-fate-of-the-churches-around-penn-station-ii.html The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny (9/26/2025); for St. Mary’s see:  “The Churches of New York XXIV: In the Beginning,” The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny(4/26/2012)

1. “Capuchins conclude 174 years in Midtown,” capuchins-ofm.solutionsoftware.com (6/2026 with statement of Provincial Minister Br. James Peterson and photo gallery of Farewell Mass)
2. Brandes, Barbara, “A Church says Goodbye,” christinthecity.nyc ( 2026 – parish website)
3.  “Holy Cross- St. John the Baptist, christinthecity.nyc  (2026 – parish website)
4. “Our Lady of Sorrows brings St. Mary’s Church into the Fold,” capuchins-ofm.solutionsoftware.com  (2024)
5. Livak, Ed, “Landmarks Preservation Commission Designates Church of Saint Mary as an Individual Landmark,” thelowdownny.com ( 4/7/2026)

(All accessed 8/27/2026)

Join Village Preservation, parishioners, and fellow East Village and preservation organizations for a rally on Monday, August 31 at 6 pm in front of the Most Holy Redeemer Church at 173 East 3rd Street (east of Avenue A). The church was closed to parishioners one year ago. The rally is being organized to call for the historic church to be preserved and reopened.  The archdiocese has made several moves indicating they intend to permanently shut down the church, which would likely lead to its sale and demolition. A petition has been filed with the New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee to landmark the structure.

We have been following this issue on this blog. For more information about the closure of Most Holy Redeemer Church see our post.

(Above) The former church of Our Lady of Guadalupe today. Sometime after 2012 an elaborate repainting of the facade was carried out. (photo 8/19/2026)

(We continue our discussion of the church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, now threatened with destruction:

The Sale of Our Lady of Guadalupe, etc. (8/18/2026)

For our description of this parish in its old and new homes: 

The Churches of New York XXX: A Tale of Two Churches (12/14/2012))

The former church of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Founded in 1902, it quickly had to be expanded, a second townhouse (left) was acquired for a rectory and in 1921 a Spanish-style facade was added.

(Above) From these small beginnings… Perhaps surprisingly, in those early days the nascent “Spanish-American” apostolate in New York enjoyed significant institutional and financial backing. The Assumptionist order, which founded the church, was French, but their initial leadership in New York had had years of experience in Latin America. Their second church, and the second “Hispanic” church in Manhattan, Our Lady of Esperanza far to the north on West 156th Street, was financed by gifts from wealthy individuals (many non-Catholic) and the Spanish royal family and aristocracy. The 1921 addition to Our Lady of Guadalupe was the work of Gustave Steinback, one of the most important architects of Catholic churches in the interwar period. Let us also remember that this church was founded in the aftermath of the 1898 Spanish-American War, in which the American press (if only briefly) had demonized the Spanish (like the Germans later and the Russians today).

(Above) The desolate parish announcement board. The Assumptionists left the parish in 1998. (photo 8/19/2026)

(Above) Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard’s. (photo 8/19/2026)

But what of the parish itself, now “Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard’s”? In 2003 the Archdiocese had moved it ino the church of St. Bernard. This parish, once grand, had by that date only an aging handful of parishioners – the effects of demographic change, economic troubles – and 40 years of Vatican II. In connection with this move, a thorough repainting and redecoration of the interior – of remarkable incompetence – was carried out. This was superimposed on the remnants of an earlier decor – mosaics, marble, statues and murals – which seems to date primarily to the years 1890-1920. Since 2012 work has continued and an attempt, if inadequate, made to remedy some of the worst features of this “restoration.”

(Above) The chancel or sanctuary today (8/19/2026): (below) on 3/2/2011. Note that some murals have been repainted and a tabernacle, a sanctuary lamp and a large, suspended crucifix added. As recently as 2012 the Blessed Sacrament was reserved – disgracefully – in a room in the rear of the church (the former baptistry?)

In addition to restoring a tabernacle, angels were removed. (Above) Photo 2/23/2012); (below) 8/19/2026)

(Below) I cannot say the new murals are more than a marginal improvement over their predecessors – despite the unusual subject.

The church, like St. Paul in East Harlem, is a treasury of Hispanic devotions. Below are some of them.

(Above) This image, I believe, was in the old church of Our Lady of Guadalupe

(Above and below) Our Lady of Quinche from Ecuador. As church after church has been closed in the Archdiocese, the Ecuadorians have had to repeatedly move their Madonna – from St. Ann on East 12th Street to St.Veronica and now to St. Bernard’s.

(Above) This fine reproduction – in contrast to what is seen on the reredos – may be the original image displayed in the old Church. Today it is in the back of the church. (photo 8/19/2026)

UPDATE: I now very much doubt this- the original image was a painting sent by a bishop in Mexico to the church shortly after it opened.

The aesthetic shortcomings of the recent art of St Bernard’s are particularly glaring in the context of three outstanding windows of the transept and chancel, installed after a disastrous fire in 1890. The 1910 catalogue of the Tiffany Campany lists among its products the above window of the Resurrection and notes it was in place by 1891. But the company’s catalogue also clearly states the same of the windows of the Crucifixion and the Nativity (below). But the latter two windows, although of exceptional quality, are executed in a syle completely different from Tiffany’s – they remind me of later stained-glass from England. How can this be explained? Does the 1910 catalogue reflect an order that was in fact never completed – or did the editors simply make a mistake? Did the church later replace the original Tiffany windows? Or did Tiffany on occasion produce glass to the designs of other artists? I leave it up to the connoisseurs to decide!

Has the fusion of the two parishes of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Bernard’s been a success?  The jury is still out, even after more than 20 years.  The merger involved the loss of the historic sanctuary (which, in addition, was not at all badly decorated!). A painful loss which is now being felt once again by the Spanish-speaking community. Too, the post-merger redecoration of Saint Bernard’s has been an abysmal failure. On the other hand, in contrast to the past, St. Bernard’s is now generally open. That seems characteristic of Latin American churches in the city today, with their many devotions inviting passersby to prayer. A visitor will generally find one or two people at prayer.  To that extent, we can be grateful.

Last week another successful Chant Camp took place at St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, CT, led by Charles Weaver, Elizabeth Weaver and Nicholas Botkins. The children sang a Missa Cantata every day at 12:10. The picture here is courtesy of Mark Bertotti.