If our visitor leaves St. John the Baptist and heads east on West 31st Street he encounters our second tower of Penn Station: St Francis of Assisi. A quick glance at the exterior reveals that this church is, artistically, an altogether lesser affair that its older cousin up the street. Instead of the finely articulated spire of St. John’s, the tower of St. Francis is a Victorian medley of all kinds of elements; mosaics, statues, and gargoyles. Like its sister, however, this façade today is imprisoned among monstrous high-rise structures that deprive it of any effect.
These initial impressions are confirmed by the obscure interior of the upper church: it follows a kind of standard renaissance style encountered in many New York parish churches of that era. It reveals that in 1892 St. Francis of Assisi was still a moderately sized ethnic parish church. Instead of admiring the whole one feels drawn more to the details of the decoration. There are, for example, some small but fine windows from Innsbruck. But the most striking feature of the church is the large-scale mosaic decoration of which this parish is proud. The great mosaic covering the upper part of the apse shows the Virgin in the company of the Franciscan saints. This massive work was commissioned from an Austrian studio and was dedicated in 1925. 1) Presumably the other mosaic decoration also dates from this era – when St Francis of Assisi was flourishing as a church of the commuters, workers and shoppers.
I must confess that I find these mosaics, however lavish in execution and large in scale, not totally successful artistically – what with their combination of the mosaic medium and an imitation baroque/renaissance style. I have always preferred the smaller-scale mosaics in the chapels located in the front of the church: such as those of the poor souls or of the pieta.
This church has recently been subject to a thorough restoration. In that regard, I should add that the sanctuary was already in an undistinguished state by the 1970’s (reminiscent of the uninspiring work (of the 1950’s?) one still finds today at the Franciscans’ downtown church of St. Anthony of Padua). Now, a small altar and reredos – situated in the midst of a void – has replaced this. This too falls short of being a masterpiece – even if the reredos is lavishly appointed with gold like a 12th century Mosan reliquary. At least the tabernacle has returned to its proper place. Of course, some girders have been set up for a 9/11 shrine.
(Above) the 9/11 shrine.(Below) the new Sanctuary.
(Above and below) Artworks in various media in the spaces outside the church. The mosaic is a copy of the German “Ravensburger Madonna” statue of 1480.
Downstairs is the wood paneled lower church – the center of this parish’s apostolates of the sacrament of penance and devotions. The style and the parish history lead one to the conclusion that most of what we see here dates from the 1930’s. The statues, paintings and dioramas seem innumerable: Our Lady of Lourdes, St Pascal Baylon, Christ the King, a nativity scene and, of course, St Anthony of Padua of which this church is the national shrine. Again it is aesthetically a mixed bag but there is no stronger center of devotion in New York! This is truly a Catholic place.
How often have we visited this church over the decades! Yet it seems the chill that has overtaken the faith in the Archdiocese has made itself felt here as well. In the recent restorations the number of confessionals has been reduced and the size of the lower church as well. It seems the opportunities for confession have become more restricted too compared to the past. St. Francis has been able to sell off some of its property to finance its continuing operations. And we hear that the current “Making All Things New“ project envisions its survival. Yet how can even St. Francis of Assisi, the most outstanding example of a “commuter church“ in New York City, survive in the long term when the sacramental and devotional life that sustained it for generations grows increasingly brittle?
St. Francis of Assisi has a very informative website with many photographs of the church. The site of St. John the Baptist focuses on Padre Pio.
1) http://www.stfrancisnyc.org/great-mosaic/
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