Some images of the Requiem Mass yesterday at St. Gabriel, Stamford.

(Courtesy of Denis DeVito)

Photographs of the Requiem Mass at Holy Innocents, New York on Saturday, November 2nd.

Buried in a corner of the parish bulletin of St. Stephen’s/ Our Lady of the Scapular parish we read the following:

“The Church will be closed until further notice for safety reason, as we are still awaiting an answer from the Archdiocese as to the outcome of the testing of the structural issues. All Sunday Masses will be in the Chapel. The 8 am weekday Mass is temporarily cancelled; you are encouraged to attend the 7:45 am Mass at Our Saviour’s. Thank you for your patience.”

Apparently St Stephen’s – one of the most magnificent Catholic churches on the island of Manhattan – has been closed since late September. That is disheartening news. For often “structural problems” are cited as an excuse for the demolition of churches – especially where historical significance, artistic value or landmark status would otherwise get in the way. Consider, for example, the saga of St. Brigid’s church or of St. Vibiana – the old cathedral of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. We have said it before and say it again – this is a church that would be the ideal location for any of the traditional communities.

Original can be found HERE.

A description of St.Stephen’s can be found HERE.

Please join us as we remember the Holy Souls in Purgatory during November with
a Solemn High Mass for the Dead on Monday, November 4 at 7:30 in the evening.

The choir will sing the Requiem Mass by Tomas Luis de Victoria
The Homily will be given by Father John Perricone.

Church of Saint Gabriel
914 Newfield Avenue
Stamford, Connecticut

A benefit concert for the St Cecilia society which supports the schola.

David Hughes, director (above).

From the October 27 bulletin of St. Paul the Apostle church:

“In the Making All Things New process all parishes in the archdiocese will be involved in working with neighboring parishes to assess their strengths, name their concerns, and explore how they can work together to bet- ter serve the People of God. While understanding that change is inevitable, and that in some cases parishes and building will close, they will be asked to suggest a future model or models of parish life. Models might include parishes sharing a pastor or pastoral administrator; 2 or more parishes working closely together; or, 2 or more par- ishes joining together to form a new parish.
In Manhattan, the model will be parish closings. Manhattan currently has 89 parishes. The goal is to re- duce the number of parishes to 62. With parishes sometimes only several blocks apart to the north, south, east, and west, it is less easy to conclude where the majority of the faithful will worship when parishes are consolidated.”

(By the way I had heard this figure of “60” mentioned some two years ago in connection with the Archdiocesan plans for church closings in Manhattan, but in a different context.)

In the basement chapel.

Statue of El Cid in the plaza in front of the Hispanic Society.

We are happy to announce that on Saturday, November 16 at 11 AM our society will sponsor the celebration of a Solemn High Mass at the church of Our Lady of Esperanza, 624 W. 156th St., New York,  as part of our second annual Hispanic Heritage Pilgrimage. Music of the Spanish renaissance will be sung by a professional schola. Afterwards, we will visit the magnificent museum of the Hispanic Society of America – the most complete collection of art of the Iberian peninsula in North America.

The Mass. It will be a rare opportunity to participate in the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in its most ceremonial form – as it would have been experienced in 17th century Spain or at Our Lady of Esperanza upon completion of the church in 1910. It will also be a chance to hear the polyphonic music of the Spanish renaissance in the liturgical setting for which it was intended.

The music promises to be extraordinary. Mr. David Hughes will direct a professional schola.  The music will include:
Missa Sancta et Immaculata Virginitas (Guerrero)

Gregorian Mass of Our Lady: Salve sancta Parens

The Church of Our Lady of Esperanza, the second Spanish-speaking parish in New York City, is a splendid jewel built as part of Audubon Terrace –  the complex of buildings including the Hispanic Society. For a full description of  this historic church see HERE.

Church address:  624 West 156th St., New York (between Broadway and Riverside Drive).

This church features many precious furnishings – such as the sanctuary lamp, the gift of King Alfonso XIII of Spain (above).

Mr. Archer Huntington was the founder of the Hispanic Society Museum. He had the vision of a sanctuary for Iberian culture in the United States – in the wake of the defamatory caricatures generated by the Spanish-American war. He recognized that an essential part of that vision had to be the provision of a church for the Catholic faith – even though he was not Catholic himself.

Miss Maria de Barril was a major early patron. The names of other benefactors include Vanderbilt, JP Morgan and King Alfonso of Spain.

The Museum. After the Mass and lunch we will visit the Museum of the Hispanic Society for a guided tour at 1:30. This extraordinary collection ranges from Roman times to the early twentieth century. The museum’s greatest glory is its collection of paintings: El Greco, Velasquez, Zurbaran and Goya are all represented by masterpieces. But in addition the visitor will encounter a superabundance of works in every kind every kind of medium – sculpture, metalwork,ironwork, textiles, pottery, tiles.

For more information on the Hispanic Society see HERE.

Transportation

The church of Our Lady of Esperanza is located at 624 West 156th Street. The Hispanic Society of America is located on Broadway between West 155th and 156th Streets.

Buses: M4 or M5 to Broadway and 155th Street

Subway: Number 1 to Broadway and 157th Street,
or the C to 155th Street

Parking: (From the Hispanic Society) There is parking garage between Broadway and Riverside Drive at West 153rd Street.

Monday at Holy Innocents: Pontifical Mass celebrated by Most Rev. Teodoro de Faria, Bishop emeritus of Funchal, Portugal. A large congregation was in attendance.

Fr. George Rutler, now administrator of Holy Innocents, preached…