“Hotelier Jeffrey Dagowitz has snapped up three Chelsea properties for $50.4 million, including the Church of St. Vincent de Paul.
The Archdiocese of New York sold the three parcels — 123 West 23rd Street, 116 West 24th Street and 120 West 24th Street — to Dagowitz earlier this month, according to documents filed with the city on Monday. Together, the church-owned buildings span 32,600 square feet.”

Source: Therealdeal

The former French national parish of New York. Built in 1869, and the witness of many historic events. Closed by the Archdiocese after a heroic struggle over the years by parishioners – who in recent decades were mainly from Haiti and African French-speaking countries.

See our description of this church.

(above) Window in the church of St. Cecilia, East Harlem

On Tuesday, November 22, the parish of St. Mary, Greenwich will celebrate the feast of Saint Cecilia with a Sung Mass at 7:30 in the evening.

A solemn Dominican Rite mass was celebrated at Holy Innocents church yesterday evening. The sacred ministers are members of the Fraternity of St. Vincent Ferrer, who are visiting North America.

(Above) The founder of the Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer, Fr Louis-Marie de Blignières, was the celebrant and preached at the mass. He focussed on St. Vincent Ferrer as very much a saint for our time – now, as then, a period of crisis for the Church. St Vincent practiced both contemplation and a preaching apostolate.

(Above) The “Pax Instrument” as used in the Dominican Rite.

(Above and below) A lively presentation followed.

The Fraternity is dedicated to the Dominican way of life. What is emphasized is contemplation, the Traditional liturgy and Thomistic philosophy. Their house in France is unique fro these features – certainly among the various orders of friars today.

The fraternity, with 23 members and growing steadily, is building a large church and monastery complex in France and needs $370,000 to complete this work.

At its foundation in 1979 associated with Archbishop Lefebvre, since 1988 the Fraternity of St Vincent Ferrer has been recognized by the Vatican. It is separate from the Dominican order even if it maintains cordial relations with some Dominican Friars. This “regular” status does not at all preclude critical commentary of aspects of the Church today: liturgy, moral theology , ecumenism…..

Attendance at Monday evening’s traditional Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

photo courtesy of Arrys Ortanez.

(Above) Examples of calligraphy in the exhibition correspond more closely to traditional “Islamic” art.

We have seen that the glorious heritage of Catholic religious art, music and architecture has largely fallen to the care of secular institutions: The Cloisters, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Frick collection, the Pierpont Morgan Library – to name just a few in the New York area. After the Second Vatican Council, the Church itself repudiated this heritage along with the Traditional liturgy. Indeed, generally speaking, Church patronage of the arts all but ceased. Yet, certain institutions of the Church continue involvement with the arts – but more in the sense of importing outside developments into the Church or at least maintaining contact with the “art” patronized by the secular establishment.

Such are the Paulists, “whose mission statement is in part to ‘build bridges of respect and collaboration with people of other world religions.’” They have organized “the first exhibition ever of contemporary Islamic Art in a Catholic place of worship” at St Paul the Apostle church in New York. The “Islamic” art ( a hodgepodge of traditional Islamic calligraphy and Western modern ideas)is interspersed among three side chapels dedicated to Our Lady, St. Theresa and St. Agnes. Verbose descriptions of the exhibits are provided. Never mind that some of this art, to the extent it attempts to formulate some kind of spiritual vision, directly contradicts Christianity. So we read that the first man may have been androgynous. The coran is quoted for the proposition that the birth of Jesus was painful. Or syncretistic links are attempted, such as between the worship of Krishna and of Allah, or where an Islamic gate is juxtaposed with a nearby statue of the Virgin Mary. Note that the Church of St Paul the Apostle is not just employed as a secular exhibition space (as is often the case, for example, with the Cathedral of St John the Divine) but “the Islamic work (is placed)side by side with the permanent Christian frescoes and statuary, creating extraordinary visual and ideological dialogs between the two traditions’ expressions of faith.”

And of course the secular political agenda of Pope Francis and progressive Catholicism is on display as well:

“This exhibit derives its title (“Brothers and Sisters: Islamic Art/Christian Space” – SC) from Pope Francis’s visit to war-torn parts of Africa in November 2015, in which he told the warring Christian and Islamic factions that “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters.” Seeing tensions in the U.S. (and Europe) being exacerbated by political voices eager to spread dissent and distrust, Openings (an “artists’ collective” supported by the Paulists  that organized this exhibition – SC) makes a proud statement of peace and solidarity among Americans of different faiths and backgrounds with this timely exhibition this election season.”

It’s very clear at whom this is aimed!

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) today, November 15 was the last day of the exhibition.
Source for quotes:Brothers and Sisters: Islamic Art/Christian Space

(Above and Below) Much of the art (including an “installation” – a video show) bears little or no resemblance to Moslem traditions. I am sure it would be well received in Saudi Arabia or Afghanistan.

Thanks to Jim Morlino and the Catholic Artists Society, we offer you this video of last Monday’s Solemn Requiem Mass at St. Vincent Ferrer Church, NY, featuring the music of Manuel Cardoso and sermon by Fr. Innocent Smith OP.

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Solemn Requiem Mass 2016 – Manuel Cardoso à 6 from Catholic Artists

Missa cantata – votive Mass of Our Lady of Ransom (or Mercy) – Fr. Leonard Villa, celebrant.

The congregation filled the cathedral.

Mr Pedro D’Aquino, choirmaster and organist.

Fr. Stephen Saffron, Chaplain of the Regina Caeli council of the Knights of Columbus, homilist.