
A. Sacred Heart of Jesus Church (457 West 51st Street)
The parish of Sacred Heart was once prominent in the Archdiocese: “The Queen of Hell’s Kitchen.” To believe the sources, its intricate facade of brickwork and terra cotta was widely admired when new in the 1880’s. In the 1960’s the church “benefitted” from the first postconciliar “renovation” in the Archdiocese. It was all eventually to no avail. On January 1, 2024 the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was merged into St. Malachy parish to the south. St Malachy becanme the surviving parish church, with Sacred Heart’s church surviving as a “worship space.” 1)
On recent visits, regardless of the published opening times, I found the church padlocked. The current church bulletin reports a morning weekday mass three days a week as well as masses on the weekends – presumably the church is still open at these times. And through the doors I did see a bank of (electric) candles burning….

(Above and below) The elaborate decoration of the facade. Regardless of the poster, Sacred Heart church was closed on recent visits.



(Above) the rectory; (Below) the former parochial school. The building, apparently in excellent condition, is still an active Catholic school, the “upper school” associated with Blessed Sacrament Parish. But what will happen if the Archdiocese gets into deeper financial difficulty?

B. Centro Maria –the former Parish Church of St. Ambrose (539 West 54th Street)
Originally the parish church of St. Ambrose – really an all-inclusive parish center – the building on 539 West 54th Street had served a variety of religious purposes since 1938. In recent decades it had housed a residence for women, the Centro Maria, administered by the Sisters of Mary Immaculate. In 2022 the residents (and the sisters) were evicted and the building sold by the Archdiocese. in 2023 the building was demolished. Instead of completing the planned construction, however, the developer apparently is now seeking to resell the property. In 2024 Centro Maria reopened on a smaller scale at a former church property in the Bronx.

(Above) The site of the former Centro Maria. (Below) The view through a peep-hole in the billboard.


C. St. Benedict the Moor (342 West 53rd Street)
The historic black, and later Hispanic, church of St. Benedict the Moor, closed in 2014, was sold by the Archdiocese to a developer in 2023 for $16M. More recently it has been reported that the developer will preserve the church itself as some kind of “house of worship” in the new project – but no longer affiliated with the Catholic Church. 2) As of October, 2024, construction has not yet started.

(Above) The former church of St Benedict the Moor. (Below) The former rectory.


(Above and below) Relics of the past still on display in the windows of St. Benedict the Moor. Somebody, however, inserted the notice of the festival of “Senor de los Milagros” quite recently – but it now takes place at Sacred Heart of Jesus church instead of St. Benedict.

All photos 10/2024. For our previously posted descriptions of these churches/buildings see:
- Decree on the Merger of the Parishes of St. Malachy and Sacred Heart Of Jesus, Manhattan (1/1/2024)
- “The End of the Churches: St. Benedict the Moor,“ The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny (2/22/2023); Tanner-Williams, Nate,”St. Benedict the Moor in Manhattan sold to Taiwanese billionaire,“ Black Catholic Messenger (1/17/2023) (including valuable details on the parish’s history); Chen, Chia-Ten Nicole “New Apts to Rise Next to Chelsea Site that was First Black Catholic Church in NYC,” West Side Spirit (10/10/2023)
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