The End Of The Churches: St. Elizabeth of Hungary

On 6/17/12017 Cardinal Dolan decreed that the parish of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, already closed in 2014, would be “relegated to secular use” (in other words, sold). Now Ephemeral New York reports that the parish property has been sold for $11.8M. The church has been stripped of all its stained glass, bell and decorations and is facing imminent demolition.1) The New York Post has reported on the process of destruction – which it describes as hellish- and provides ghastly and tragic images of the exterior and interior of St. Elizabeth’s. 2) A dedicated group is still continuing the struggle to prevent the final elimination of the church. The Ephemeral New York article provides contact information for these groups.

These developments and these images are truly nightmarish for those of us who over the years have gotten to know and love this small but beautiful church. We have reported several times on this parish and its demise. 3) A couple of years ago, while walking by St. Elizabeth of Hungary on East 83rd Street, I noticed a gentlemen stop and make the sign of the cross in front of the now shuttered church. I asked him about his thoughts on the situation. I forget if he had been a former parishioner or was just a neighbor – but he expressed his profound sadness at what had taken place.

(Above) The interior in 2015. (Below) A noteworthy feature of the church was the stained glass windows by the Rambusch company. All the glass has been ripped out by now.

UPDATE:

1. “A boarded-up Gothic church hangs on in what was once Manhattan’s Hungarian immigrant enclave,” Ephemeral New York (8/19/2024) (Accessed 8/19/2024). The article included valuable references and photographs. However, the author seems to mistakenly believe St. Elizabeth was an ethnic Hungarian parish (it was Slovakian).
2. Schram, Lauren Elkes, and Harris, Chris, “Hellish NYC church demolition breaks noise rules, works overnight without permit,” The New York Post (6/15/2024) (Accessed 8/19/2024)
3. E.g., The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny, “The Churches of New York LXXIII; “For when a Church dies…” (7/19/2015); “The Churches of New York V: Yorkville Jewel” (11/26/2010). For this parish’s original church on East 4th Street see: “The Churches of New York:Losses III” (5/27/2013)