Inside, St. Vincent’s offers a dark, mystical atmosphere. There is immensity and strength in the many powerful arches that create the interior. It is a place of prayer at any time of the day – what contrast to the non-stop chaos further south on Fifth Avenue and East 50th. In the obscurity glow the magnificent, predominantly blue windows – mostly the work of Charles Connick. The stained glass tells in extraordinary detail of the Faith and especially of the Dominican order. Careful examination of the architecture reveals that the architect has simulated here and there the appearance of slightly irregular, organic growth.
The stained glass fills almost every corner: a small window of St. Agnes of Montepulciano (above): St Augustine in the narthex(below)
The decoration in stone and wood – above all, the splendid reredos – perfectly compliments the architecture. Although the totality of sculpture and painting is overwhelming, all is planned and carefully designed. Every devotion has its place in St. Vincent’s. Yet all these statues and altars take a supporting role in the vastness of Goodhue’s space. Once again the artful symmetry and planning are disguised. One has the impression of an accumulation of items assembled over the ages – although the bulk of the decoration was finished according to the original plan by 1940, And where extraneous items of décor have appeared they do not disturb the grandeur of the surroundings.
St. Vincent Ferrer. The pre-conciliar Church did not mind that he backed the “wrong” side in the Great Western Schism. Th post-conciliar Church studiously avoids mentioning his contemporary fame for converting Moslems and Jews.
Every devotion can be found at St. Vincent’s, both familiar -a very original image of Our Lady of Lourdes (above) – and obscure – “St. Vincent’s Bell” (below).
The dedication of the church in 1918, in the midst of the World War, was a grand affair recorded in great detail in the Guide. The mass was celebrated by the apostolic delegate, Archbishop Bonzano, in the presence of Cardinal Farley (what liturgical complexity that must have entailed!). The future Cardinal Hayes gave the sermon – he succeeded Cardinal Farley as Archbishop of New York in 1919. The music was provided by an orchestra of 45 musicians, a choir of 85 (20 men and 65 boys) and tenor Giovanni Martinelli and baritone Mario Laurenti of the Metropolitan Opera. These forces were lead by Constantino Yon. As in the case of St. Patrick’s cathedral, New York at that time seems to have been as yet unaffected by Pius X’s strictures against orchestral music. 5)
The coat of arms of the Dominicans above the chapel of the friars (below). The great window of the chapel of the friars (last image).
St. Vincent’s since its completion has continued to preside over a well-to-do corner of New York City. It is is surrounded by other buildings of the Dominican Order- the priory, schools – built both before and after the church. There is comparatively little to report of the long history of this parish other than the overwhelming fact of the building of the church itself. 6) Cardinal Pacelli – the future Pius XII – visited St Vincent’s in the 1930’s. Andy Warhol is reported to have attended services here – Wikipedia describes him as “devout.” Hildreth Meiere, who worked with Goodhue on the Nebraska State Capitol, and went on to decorate innumerable buildings, secular and ecclesiastical, had her requiem mass here in 1961.
The Dominican Fathers in their 1944 Guide could look back with justifiable pride on the grand edifice that had been built and decorated. In the midst of a terrible conflict they had told the story of the premiere Catholic church of Manhattan, built in the midst of an earlier worldwide catastrophe. Amid these terrible tragedies St. Vincent’s stood as an amazing recreation of the spirit of the European cathedrals, erected with the talents and resources of the New World. How could they have foreseen that in just 20 years new forces would arise in the Church that called into question the artistic and theological basis upon which St. Vincent’s rested? The Dominican rite for the celebration of which St Vincent’s was expressly designed, was abandoned; a subsequent generation even laid hands on Goodhue’s magnificent sanctuary. But fortunately most remained intact. And it seems that the Dominicans are at last beginning to rediscover the liturgical riches of their rite for the celebration of which this church was, after all, built.
5) Guide at 31-33. On Yon and New York Catholic church music of this era see Salvatore Basile, Fifth Avenue Famous: The Extraordinary Story of Music at St Patrick’s Cathedral (Fordham University Press, New York, 2010)(specifically mentioning this mass at 77)
6) A Dominican parish had been present at this site since 1867. Two churches had preceded Goodhue’s structure. Guide at 11-16.
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