A Vigil for Most Holy Redeemer Church

A vigil on Saturday morning, September 20! Before St. Patrick’s cathedral. The participants are mainly parishioners of Most Holy Redeemer Church, summarily closed by the Archdiocese on September 1.

(Above and below) The placard summarizes the historical artistic, spiritual and German ethnic heritage of this parish – and this list is not exhaustive. The current church building has a direct connection with one saint:

The consecration ceremony (of this church) was performed by Most Reverend Archbishop Hughes, and the celebrant of the Pontifical Mass was the Most Reverend Bishop John Neumann CSSR of Philadelphia (now Saint John Neumann). 

A History of Most Holy Redeemer at stbrigidstemeric.org; “The Churches of New York IX: Vierzehnheiligen on the East River,” The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny ( March 27, 2011)

Most Holy Redeemer parish, until its closure this month, had an active parish life. As the poster below states, in December 2023 Cardinal Dolan himself praised the parish as he dedicated a bell there as part of a restoration of the church’s tower. And by June 2024 a report in the secular press praised this parish and its succcesssful “outreach” to those on the “margins.” Soon thereafter, however, the pastor was transferred out and a quasi-caretaker administration established. These developments are summarized here:

“Bohemians, the Traditional Mass and Most Holy Redeemer Church,” The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny (August 29, 2024)

Yes, it was a small band standing yesterday before the cathedral. But the number of parishioners and friends of this parish is much larger. And the threatened loss of Most Holy Redeemer has attracted attention well beyond Catholic circles. A campaign to landmark the building is underway.

(Below) Strangely enough, as a demonstration protested the threat to one of the last significant relics of 19th century German-American culture, participants in the “Steuben Day” parade emerged from St. Patrick’s cathedral. Bands played on the cathedral steps, costumed groups marched past and flag bearers took up position briefly before those conducting the vigil. It is rather surrealist – the contrast between the public display on the church steps midtown and what is unfolding now further downtown regarding an authentic monument of the German heritage.

So the struggle for the preservation of Most Holy Redeemer has begun. What will be the outcome? I do not know – but after similar encounters between parishioners and the archdiocese the churches of Holy Innocents and St. Thomas More are still with us today. And compared to these New York churches (and almost all others), Most Holy Redeemer parish has a unique combination of historical, spiritual and artistic significance.

(Regarding St Patrick’s cathedral itself, Cardinal Dolan had on September 17 unveiled a new work of art described here:

“No comment comes to mind except, perhaps, “ungodly,” The Taos Tatler (September 18, 2025)

Again, the contrast is shocking: the Church jeopardizing real works of art in its care while spending freely on kitsch.)

Addendum:

We are including two videos from the two final Sunday Masses at the Communionion at Most Holy Redeemer on August 31, courtesy of parishioner Jennifer Kellow-Fiorini. The videos show that the church’s Masses were well-attended.

The Spanish Mass:

The English Mass: