(Above) St. Brigid (Bridget) school in January 2013. Closed in 2019 and now to be sold.

The Archdiocese and secular media have now disclosed the magnitude of the settlement of sex abuse cases. The question now is how this money is to be obtained. One obvious source is the sale of Catholic schools and parishes. This is particularly so for Manhattan where the real estate values are the highest. This has been a process going on for many years which we have chronicled on this site. But now we may be coming to a climax.

(Above and below) Holy Name of Jesus parish’s former parochial school (with centennial plaque). Photo from 2014.

Media report that at this moment two properties are being actively worked.1) The former school building (and convent) of Holy Name of Jesus parish at 200 W. 97th St. is being sold to the Rockefeller Group and Atlas Capital for $96 million. 2) The former parochial school of Saint Brigid on Tompkins Square is being marketed to luxury housing developers. The school was closed as recently as 2019. 3)

Regarding Holy Name of Jesus parish and its school, I wrote in 2014:

 But you soon notice that the church is just the center of a complex of buildings occupying a full block facing Amsterdam Avenue. …Then there is the impressive school building of 1904, with a former convent attached. A metal plaque commemorates the school’s 100th anniversary in 2005. Holy Name of Jesus School did not survive another ten years; it was closed in 2013. A ”De La Salle Academy” occupying several floors of the school also moved out to Holy Cross parish this year. Given the real estate values in the greater Upper West Side area, I would expect that this fine school building is not long for this world. 

Additional school closures have been announced, freeing up more buildings for sale. The Archdiocesan explanations for school closures are Orwellian: 

The Superintendent of Schools Office for the Archdiocese of New York on Monday provided an update on its ongoing School Renewal Plan process, a faith-filled initiative aimed at sustaining and strengthening Catholic education across the archdiocese….

“Just as Christ calls us to turn toward Him in faith, this season invites us to see God at work in our schools, creating new opportunities for growth and learning, and bringing hope to our students and communities.” Sr. Mary Grace Walsh wrote. The renewal plan follows a school viability study conducted during the 2024-2025 academic year and is part of an ongoing process to ensure Catholic education remains vibrant, accessible, and life-giving for generations to come….As part of the ongoing plan, three schools will close at the end of the 2025–2026 academic year: Incarnation School in Manhattan, Sacred Heart School in Hartsdale, and Most Precious Blood School in Walden.4) 

Cathedral High School, that, in September 2023, had to move out of the Archdiocesan headquarters building when that was sold,  is itself now being shut down. 5)  That frees up a building for sale that I believe was originally the parochial school of St. Francis de Sales parish. Second , Incarnation school in Washington Heights will be closing. 6) And even the successful school of Transfiguration parish (which includes the former parochial school of Saint James where Governor Al Smith received his education) is now being reduced from three buildings to two.7)

Certainly, this is just the beginning. I could think of other parishes with dual “worship spaces,”  or superfluous schools, convents or rectories, that may well be next. St. Michael’s parish with its surrounding complex of buildings next to the Hudson Yards, and currently closed, seems to me an obvious target. Most Holy Redeemer on East 3rd Street is already the subject of animated discussion. Another candidate that comes to mind is Sacred Heart parish in Hell’s Kitchen, merged with St. Malachi’s parish (perhaps including its school building, currently used by the active Blessed Sacrament school?).  I might also mention, among others, the parishes of St. Thomas More and Our Lady of Good Counsel, or Corpus Christi, now combined with Notre Dame.

Then there are the parishes targeted in previous waves of closures that for one reason or another were spared, such as  the above-mentioned St. Thomas More or Holy Innocents.  But really any parish or school is potentially at risk – regardless of how successful it may be. Remember the fight over the Archdiocese’s attempt to close St Thomas More – surely not an impoverished parish! 

And all of these actions are just the developments in the borough of Manhattan! Judging from the reaction so far, other than aggrieved locals, no one in the Catholic community seems to care.

1. Kelly, Keith J.,” Pastors Worry as Archdiocese Pushes $800 Million Sex Abuse Settlement,” ourtownny.com (5/5/2026)
2.  Ibid. See also Saltonstall, Gus and Muha, Laura, Upper West Side Church to sell for $96M  and become Housing,” westsiderag.com (2.2/2026) (As the latter article states, the church and rectory in fact were not sold)
3. Kelly, Keith J., “St. Brigid School in East Village Put on Block by Archdiocese,” ourtownny.com (5/3/2026).
4. Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York continue renewal, announce Key Changes, thegoodnewsroom.org ( 3/16/2026).
5. “Cathedral High School to close following the 2025-26 Academic Year,thegoodnewsroom.org (9/19/2025).
6. Kelly, Keith J., “Another Manhattan School to Close: Archdiocese,”  ourtownny.com (3/24/2026) In his informative report,  Kelly points out that the Archdiocesan claims of relocating students to other Catholic schools are unrealistic, given the distances involved.
7.  Ibid. Also,  Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New York, supra Note 4.

The Wall Street Journal today returns to the theme of young Catholics attending Mass at Saint Joseph’s in the Village and at Saint Patrick’s basilica.

Bhutani, Anvee, “Gen. Z finds a home in Sunday Mass,” Page A3, The Wall Street Journal, (Monday 5/4/2026).

As in the case of the Epstein saga,  this report continues the trend of the mainstream news publications  –  and specifically the WSJ  – of simply commenting on news previously reported in online sources. 1)

The reporter describes a 6:00 PM Sunday Mass – certainly a welcome time for college students! And it seems that a number of them have come to this Mass after a pizza dinner an hour earlier. The reporter is struck by the fact that all the pews were filled, folded chairs had to be provided, the balconies were utilized and even then, some had to stand for the 90-minute service. The reporter, who seems unfamiliar with the Catholic Church, could not know that prior to Vatican II that seating situation was routine at the main Sunday Masses in ordinary parish churches. And also, that Our Lady of Pompeii,  a much larger Catholic church,  is located a little way down the Avenue and seems to be, relatively speaking, empty.

The reporter also makes the point that socializing seems to be a main benefit and even objective for those who attend Mass here. From the pulpit,  the priest says that he has heard that some attend Mass at St. Joseph’s not only to worship God:

“There is great excitement about falling in love with a pretty girl.” 

Now in today’s society that’s perhaps a sentiment to be commended!  But isn’t the evident interest in socializing expressed by the members of the congregation interviewed for this article more characteristic of a Protestant denomination?

Yet otherwise, all is not healthy in the Archdiocese of New York. Last week we learned from the secular media of the proposed amount of the settlement of sex abuse claims: $800 million. On May 1st, Archbishop Hicks issued a “message” in which he stated that he is “cautiously optimistic” the settlement will materialize. For Archbishop Hicks makes clear what the alternative is:

If a truly global settlement can be achieved, compensation will become available to victim survivors in the fastest, most comprehensive manner possible, without the need for lengthy painful litigation for victim-survivors or bankruptcy proceedings for the Archdiocese.2)

UPDATE:

A reader of this blog familiar with St. Jiseph’s shares some observations:

Hello Mr. Chessman, I’m a native New Yorker who has for the past few years regularly read your essays, book reviews, and blog posts on the Society’s website. While I don’t consider myself a capital-T traditionalist Catholic and I have not always agreed with the website’s perspective, I have my sympathies and I like to take in different points of view. It also helps that your website is among the few that regularly covers Catholicism in New York City besides the official archdiocesan channels. 

I’ve noticed that you’ve mentioned in quite a few recent posts the church I attend, St. Joseph’s in Greenwich Village, understandably so considering the media attention it has gotten this past year, coverage that shows no signs of letting up; a camera crew from PBS was over at the parish this past Sunday. I thought that you may be interested in a somewhat different perspective than what has been covered in most of the news articles.

For one thing, I attend the 11:30 A.M. Mass and have never attended the 6:00 P.M. Mass, which has gotten almost all of the news coverage. While the 6:00 Mass does have the highest attendance, the 11:30 Mass has been at or near full attendance as well. While attendees are still predominantly young adults, there are quite a few young families and even some older parishioners, including those who have been around since before the Dominicans took over. That mass has a choir that chants the propers and features polyphony from the likes of Byrd, Vivaldi, Lasso, etc. That same choir covers most of the Masses for non-Sunday solemnities, including the Triduum. I don’t have the finest ear so I can’t say if it’s better or worse than what I’ve heard at St. Vincent Ferrer or St. Josaphat’s, but I believe it’s quite beautiful and enriching to the solemnity of the Mass. 

I cannot comment on the feelings and inner convictions of every parishioner and I have been disappointed by some of the unnecessary comments made about traditionalist Catholics, but that’s thankfully not a sentiment I have personally witnessed and it’s not something I would tolerate nor something I believe the friars would encourage. I’ve met quite a few parishioners, including the guys I serve with, who are very sympathetic to tradition. 

I’m also aware that there may be some people who attend the 6:00 P.M. as an “event”, for lack of a better term. I would say that that kind is exceeded by those who are genuinely seeking to learn and grow in the faith. The Eucharistic devotion among the parishioners here is especially breathtaking. To give one example, the past couple of years the parish has hosted quarterly “NightFire” events, where the church is open all night to the public for Eucharistic adoration. The parish has produced at least two vocations to the priesthood and there are currently two former parishioners in formation for the Province of St. Joseph, alongside a couple of vocations to female religious life and several more parishioners presently discerning religious life.

It must also be said that the friars are truly exemplary and I think that the way they’ve been quoted by some of the secular media outlets have done them a disservice. They’re among the best preachers, confessors, and celebrants of the liturgy I’ve known, and the pastor Fr. Boniface deserves a lot of credit and has been very explicit in wanting to make St. Joseph’s a center of Catholic culture, as can be seen in its hosting of ArtHouse2B, the School of Sacred Music, and the Thomistic Institute, among other initiatives. 

Of course, it’s not like everything is perfect. I recognize the limitations that derive from the dominant liturgical/pastoral paradigm; as much as I believe eating pizza dinner before Mass is inappropriate, it’s likely those people are not violating the one hour fast before communion. Similar comments could be made regarding the contemporary music featured at the 6:00 P.M. Mass. But things are much improved from how they were two years ago, and are even more greatly improved than before the pandemic. I understand that there are aspects of the parish which will not be satisfying to traditionalists but I do believe that despite the hype, St. Joseph’s is a truly blessed place that I have been fortunate to participate in. That’s my two cents, anyway.

Thank you and God bless,

A Reader of the Society’s Website

1. See our previous report: “Looking for the ‘Catholic Revival.’” (5/26/2026) (summarizing earlier articles)
2.  “A Message from Archbishop Hicks,” thegoodnewsroom.org, (5/1/2026) . On the proposed settlement, see, e.g., DeGregory, Priscilla; Senzamici, Peter: and Troutman, Matt, “NY Archdiocese pitches $800M to settle child sex abuse claims — warns of bankruptcy if offer is rejected,” The New York Post (5/1/2026)

We read that the Archdiocese of New York convened an “emergency” meeting of the clergy, outlining to them the dire financial condition of the archdiocese confronted by sexual abuse claims. Parishes and schools will have to contribute to the settlement fund – or else the archdiocese willl have to file for bankruptcy.

Kelly, Keith J., “Archdiocese to Pastors: Raise Millions for Sexual Abuse Victims or Go Bankrupt,” ourtownny.com (4/25/2026).

Is it not characteristic of the Church that the archdiocese’s new awareness emerges only after a change in leadership? And that the new archbishop of New York was reportedly not in attendance at this meeting?

This article points out the real or potential impact of the financial crisis on the fate of historic churches in Manhattan. We have covered them in this blog : St. Columba, St. Michael, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Most Holy Redeemer… I fear that the archdiocese will put more and more properties on the market to stave off disaster.

(Above) St. Joseph’s in the Village.

I recently decided to check out for myself the recently reported Catholic revival downtown. First, I visited  one of the epicenters – St. Joseph in the Village  – around 2:00 in the afternoon on a weekday.  I found it padlocked. The much-publicized  perpetual adoration chapel of 2023 is accessible through the rectory. Exposition of the blessed sacrament in this chapel is  8 AM – 6 PM Monday through Friday. However, a key card is necessary to enter. That can be obtained two or three days after registering for an account  and requires the presentation of “a state ID and proof of address (no exceptions).” 1) An article on this church indicates that key cards will be given to parishioners and NYU students. 2) So, I doubt if I will ever be able to see the inside of this chapel!  (This concern for security may relate to one terrible incident some twelve years ago).

St. Joseph’s, of course is open at Mass times and for confessions. But, as the archdiocese stated at the time it sold the original NYU Catholic Chapel,  St. Joseph’s parish has taken over the role of a university chapel. I applaud the good work the Dominicans seem to be doing here. Yet attending a somewhat exclusive chapel with restricted hours and access has not really been the historic Catholic parish experience. 

(Above and below) Our Lady of Pompeii.

I headed further south to Our Lady of Pompeii. It is archdiocesan  – even if in the care of the Scalabrini fathers – and open. Our Lady of Pompeii remains a fantastic example of Italian-American architecture and decoration. It is literally crammed with images, statues and devotions. And this is how it should be! Because this church invites Catholics and non-Catholics, even outside of scheduled Masses, to stay and linger for quiet prayer, contemplation and devotion. People do go in and out of the church,  although I found only two or three remaining in the church at any one time.

(Above) Shrine to St. Frances Cabrini, who had contacts with this parish. ((Below) Window commemorating her mission to the US. In contrast to the recent movie on Cabrini’s life, the window correctly emphasizes the role of the Scalabrinian order (whose founder, Giovanni Battista Scalabrini – now also a saint – is somwehat incongruously vested in pontificals).

(Above) Some more recently canonized or beatified holy men and women are also commemorated at Our Lady of Pompeii: at top, Clelia Merloni (1861-1930) (Beatified 2018).

Years ago,  I had even looked upon Our Lady of Pompeii as a potential basis of a future Catholic revival. 3) But that apparently is not to be. The stirrings of orthodoxy one could find ten years ago in the  bulletin of Our Lady of Pompeii have disappeared  – indeed, online I cannot find a bulletin at all. The archdiocese closed the  parochial school in 2020.  As these images show, even the dominant artwork of the church -the fresco in the apse, completed as recently as 1985 –  has now suffered significant damage.

(Above) Immaculate Conception Church.

Heading north to East 14th St., I came to Immaculate Conception parish. Now Immaculate Conception parish has not only survived but it (or its pastor) has absorbed or taken over the direction of six or so other east Village parishes – most recently,  Most Holy Redeemer. Until not too long ago,   the neighborhood of this parish (Stuyvesant Town)  was one of the last remnants of middle-class Catholicism on the island of Manhattan. Perhaps because of this heritage – and the closing of other parishes – the statistics for collections as set forth in the parish bulletin seem respectable by the standards of New York Catholic churches. However, just as at Our Lady of Pompeii, the parochial school recently(2023)has been closed. When I visited, Immaculate Conception church was open but only a handful of worshippers was present. 

(Above) Immaculate Conception church with “Catholic” altars and statues added.

(Above) One of the fine “Protestant” windows ( this church was constructed for an affiliate of Grace Church (Episcopal). (Below) An example of the much more recent inept “art” of the archdiocese.

Thus, my initial report on the revival is mixed. Two archdiocesan parishes are impressive artistically, remain open for prayer – but unfortunately, at least on weekdays, seem to frequented by relatively few faithful and otherwise show signs of decline. In contrast, St. Joseph’s, currently under the guidance of the Dominicans,  is achieving noteworthy growth – and garnering media attention. Yet is a relatively closed, chapel-like environment really representative of Catholicism? Perhaps the solution is to head north to the parish of St. Vincent Ferrer – combining the evangelism of the Dominicans with the most beautiful church in New York!

(Above) A noteworthy feature of the exterior of the church is this water fountain – dry as long as I can remember. (Below) A quote ( Isaiah 55:1) above the fountain.

(Below) The fountain commemorates a little girl who died in 1894.

1. “Sign up to be an Adorer.” 
2. Caldwell, Zelda, “The Holy Spirit is Moving in Manhattan,” National Catholic Register (4/5/2026)
3.  The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny, The Churches of New York LXXVIII: “The Italians of Greenwich Village…”

(All accessed 4/26/2026)

Great News from the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative (LESPI)- the historic church of St. Mary’s has been landmarked! There had been rumors that the Archdiocese was closing it.

Wonderful news! On Tuesday, the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) Commissioners voted unanimously to designate the Church of St. Mary on Grand Street an Individual Landmark. Although public testimony was not allowed — the Commissioners heard public testimony at the March 9 public hearing — a crowd of supporters was there to witness the vote. Once the church’s landmark designation was declared final, the crowd broke out in enthusiastic applause.Constructed in 1833, St. Mary’s has served its Lower East Side congregation — first Irish immigrants, then Germans, Latinos, Asians and others — continuously for almost 200 years.

News from Lespi (4/9/2026). See also:

LItvak, Ed, “Landmarks Preservation Commission Designates Church of Saint Mary as an Individual Landmark,” The Lo-Down: News from the Lower East Side (4/7/2026)

St. Mary’s is one of the oldest Catholic parishes – and one of the oldest Catholic church buildings – in New York City. We previously described it here:

“The Churches of New York XXIV: In the Beginning,” The Society of St.Hugh of Cluny (4/26/2012)

The Terence Cardinal Cooke Building/ Church of St. John the Evangelist in its former “glory.” (2010)

The former archdiocesan headquarters/parish/ school now being reconstructed. For the parish’s former appearance see “The Restoration of Christian Culture.” The facade has by now been largely stripped of its stone “Catholic” cladding. (Photos from March 26, 2026)

The church in the corner of this notice is definitely not Old St Patrick’s Basilica.

Very Good! But will the subject be raised of a prior significant interaction of the Basilica with one of the Byzantine rite churches? The Russian Catholic chapel of St. Michael had been present in a building of this parish – formerly the chancery of the (arch)diocese of New York – since the 1930’s. St. Michael’s congregation was tiny but its liturgical heritage and renown great – at least one Patriarch of a Byzantine Cathollic church celebrated the Divine Liturgy there. In 2019, the Archdiocese and the Basilica summarily evicted the congregation of St. Michael’s and repurposed their chapel as a gift shop.

We received this update from the Committee to Save Most Holy Redeemer. The source of our report

“The doors of our historic church and crypt remain closed to the faithful, with one recent exception: the Funeral Mass of Sacristan +Robert Keck on January 17. Parishioners embraced the opportunity to honor Mr. Keck for his many years of service to Most Holy Redeemer, and to attend the Mass for him inside the church. 

“The Committee had not expected this service to be held at Most Holy Redeemer, after receiving a late December letter from Timothy Cardinal Dolan in which His Eminence stated that the church had to be shuttered by the parish administrator due to safety concerns. The Committee’s request for a Mass on the 173rd anniversary of the church’s consecration was also denied for safety reasons.

“These decisions were difficult to accept, as services continued to be held last summer for several weeks after a small chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling above the sacristy. Now they are even more so. 

“As reported by EV Grieve, NYC Department of Buildings issued a violation on January 13th for failure to maintain the premises, citing cosmetic (not structural) issues. Photos and details are included in the article. 

“Parishioners have repeatedly been told in public meetings that funds from the sale of Nativity Church, whose demolition many of us still mourn, are more than adequate to take care of properly maintaining Most Holy Redeemer. 

“It can take time to assess conditions and plan repairs, but no work has been observed, no plans or permits have been filed, and parishioners have received no updates on the status of any assessments that may have taken place. The parish council and finance committee have not been called to meet, and the faithful whose parents raised funds for the renovation for the 150th Anniversary of the church in the 1990s have been completely cut out of the decision-making process. 

“This is an all-too-familiar and very concerning pattern. Since 2000, the number of parishes in the Catholic Archdiocese of New York has decreased from 412 to 287 as a result of parish mergers. Parish mergers have led to the closing of churches, rectories, convents and schools, leading to the sale of parish property to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars — but this path is not inevitable. “

The Committee is organizing a public event in a few weeks:

Register on Eventbrite for a Screening and Panel Discussion of Foreclosing on Faith, Saturday Feb. 21 at 6 pm at Maryhouse 55 East 3rd Street.

Join us for a screening of a documentary highlighting the power of the faithful, followed by a panel discussion and Q & A with documentarian Viktoria Somogyi and attorney Brody Hale, who has guided parishes nationwide to defend their canonical rights and save their churches! Please register!

The event is free, but donations to help us and other Catholics who are fighting to keep our churches open are welcome. You can donate via check on the evening of the event, or via PayPal Giving Fund. Visit Save Rome of the West for more information, including resources to help keep your church open!

We have all heard by now of the replacement of Cardinal Dolan. It is fitting, therefore, to take a look at two projects, launched at his initiative,and currently underway involving historic parishes of New York City

(Above) St Elizabeth of Hungary being demolished. (12/17/2025).

We have often covered on this site the parish of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, formerly one of the loveliest churches in Yorkville/the Upper East Side. Most recently, we published The End of the Churches: St. Elizabeth of Hungary (8/19/2024)(with links to earlier posts)

The parish was closed by Cardinal Dolan in 2014 and sold to a developer for $11.8M in 2024. It will be replaced by a building offering eight luxury condominiums, each with its own outdoor space. Now, demolition has begun. See Young, Michael and Pruznick, Matt, “Preliminary Rendering Revealed For 213 East 83rd Street On Manhattan’s Upper East Side,” New York Yimby (7/15/2025)

(Above and below) St. Elizabeth church and tower in happier days. (7/12/2005)

(Below) as it is today.

(Above) The main entrance today.

(Above) The cornerstone has been (ritually?) defaced. (Below) As it appeared in 2005.

Almost inevitably, when I take such pictures – and again last Thursday – a bystander speaks up. Whether he or she is a former parishioner, a neighbor or simply a passerby I usually don’t learn. They always express their sorrow at the loss – and sometimes indignation at the cardinal and the archdiocese. The clergy, however, have long ago ceased to care about such people and their opinions. What counts now is the immediate realization of cash.

Moving south and west to far-off Chelsea, we see that demolition has begun on the complex of buildings of the parish of St. Columba on 343 West 25th Street. One of the oldest Catholic churches on Manhattan island, St. Columba’s name and architecture reflect its beginnings in the 1840’s, as the Irish flocked to New York fleeing the great potato famine. For whatever reason, the original parish church built at that time of poverty – resembling a shed – was retained, although later impressive windows and furnishings were added. In 1909 a splendid new school was built. By 2013, the parish was predominantly “Hispanic.” In those years I had friendly dealings with the 1-woman “IT department” of the parish (they had a avery nice website).

For our report on this parish in 2013, see: The Churches of New York XXXVIII: a Survivor in Chelsea (6/24/2013)

Under Cardinals Egan and Dolan things unwound with ever increasing speed. In 2006 the school was closed. On 11/2/2014 the parish was merged with Guardian Angel parish, with the latter parish being the main “worship site.” In 2015 the pastor of St. Columba’s since 2011 was removed for, the archdiocese stated, “violations of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.” 1) On 7/12/2022 the pastor found that a canopy over the altar had collapsed ( also tearing down with it a recent work of “art” on the wall behind the sanctuary). Immediately thereafter the church was closed – permanently. 2) 0n 1/1/2023 the church was “relegated to secular purposes” (= offered for sale). In January, 2025 the properties of St. Columba parish – the church and rectory, a school building and convent – .were sold to a developer for $48M. It was subsequently announced that 197 residential rental units in two towers would be built on the site. Demolition has now begun.

(Above) St. Columba Church (12/17/2025)

(Above and Below) The former school covered with netting and scaffolding.

(Above and below) The former convent.

(Above) The former parochial school. It was rented out until quite recently to a non-Catholic school which has moved on to the premisses of another closed Catholic parochial school in Manhattan. (Based on my own experiences in Brooklyn, I doubt if in its last decades of operation St. Columba school actually used the separate boys’ and girls’ entrances as such.)

(Above and below) The collapsed canopy in 2022 ( From the website of Guardian Angel/St. Columba parish – see footnote 2)

1. Fr. Keith Hennesy, bishopaccountability.org (accessed 12/19/2025)
2. “Photo Album, St. Columba’s Collapsed Canopy – July 12, 2022,” guardianangelstcolumba.org. This site still has many other pictures of the church (including its appearance in a 1976 Kojak episode). See also Rosenstock, Bonnie, “Uncertainty Builds, After St. Columba Church Canopy Collapse,” chelseacommunitynews.com, (9/19/2022) on the circumstances (and controversy)surrounding the canopy incident.
3. “Timber Equities Preps 197-Unit Residential Project on Former St. Columba Church Site in Chelsea”, Traded.co (11/14/2025).

(All accessed 12/19/2025)

(Above) The Memorial to 9/11 (and Fr. Mychal Judge) at St. Francis of Assisi Church in 2012. I note that in this and other pictures the “gold-plated rose” is not yet present.

In regard to St. Francis of Assisi, a well-informed reader has kindly pointed out that the opening times of the lower church were restricted after a monstrance was stolen in 2018. (It was later recovered – I note a gentleman once frequently encountered at the TLM in New York was involved in the recovery). In 2018 the church made this announcement:

For Your Safety and Our Security

The New Year didn’t start very happily for us because on Tuesday morning, January 2nd, at approximately 7:20 AM, a monstrance was stolen from the altar in the lower church. The Blessed Sacrament was not in the monstrance at the time. The police were called and they are investigating the theft.

As you are probably aware, security issues have risen over the past few years. We having been working hard to enhance the security and safety of our buildings and property with video surveillance and other measures. However, incidents like this are almost impossible to prevent because we cannot patrol every inch of the property at every moment.

We have decided to try to limit access to parts of the church when they are not in use.

Effective immediately, the lower church will be open only during the following hours:

Monday to Friday: 7:30 to 8:30 AM; 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM; 4:00 to 5:30 PM

Saturday: 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM and 3:30 to 5:30 PM

Sunday: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM and 4:00 to 5:30 PM

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will take place in the upper church Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 11:30 AM and 1:00 and 4:30 PM.

We regret having to put these measures into effect, but we are concerned about your safety as well as the security of our church and buildings. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, and remember, if you see something, say something.

“New Safety Measures- St Francis of Assisi”

I do not know if these exact times are still in force. Even AI is stumped when asked about the current opening times at St. Francis. And the dire security situation does not seem to have improved since 2018:

 New York City police are searching for a man accused of stealing a gold-plated rose from a Manhattan church memorial honoring the victims of 9/11.

The metal flower had served as the centerpiece of a memorial at the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, whose long-time pastor, Father Mychal Judge, was crushed by falling rubble while praying for victims and rescuers on the morning of the attack. …

The memorial, which rests on a base of twisted steel leftover from the wreckage of the World Trade Center, arrived at the church 22 years ago, he said, through a donation coordinated by a local ironworkers union. …

It was dedicated to the former pastor, Judge, as well as a parishioner, Carole LaPlante, who was also killed in the attacks.

Following his death, the priest’s admirers urged the Catholic Church to grant him sainthood, pointing to his efforts in pushing the church to be more welcoming to LGBTQ people. (my bolding)

Offenhartz, Jake, “Gold-plated rose stolen from NYC 9/11 memorial honoring influential pastor,” apnews.com (November 21, 2024)

Perhaps these events have discouraged visitors. Perhaps some are not “on board” with the recent direction of the parish as compared with its traditional role as an all-purpose Catholic devotional center for those traveling in and out of Manhattan. And is there the same demand for such a “commuter church” at a time where Catholic devotional life is in overall decline? Our reader also pointed out that the declining number of clergy has also contributed to the reduction of both opening times and hours of the sacrament of penance. In any case, St. Francis of Assisi today is a less active place than it was in the 1980’s.