Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard's Church (Manhattan)

Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Bernard's Church

Facade elevation and interior view from nave to altar sanctuary (Photographed February 2011)
General information
Architectural style English and French Gothic Revival[1]
Ruskinian Gothic[2]
Town or city Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, New York
Country United States of America
Construction started May 1873[3][1]
Completed 1875[3]
Client Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Design and construction
Architect Patrick Charles Keely (1816—1896)[3][1][2]
Website
Our Lady of Guadalupe @ St. Bernard's, Manhattan

The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Bernard is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 328-332 West 14th Street, Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City, New York.[4] It was established in 2003 as a result of a parish merger of the Manhattan parishes of Our Lady of Guadalupe's Church (New York City) and St. Bernard's Church (New York City).

St. Bernard's Parish (1868-2003)

The parish of St. Bernard was established in 1868[5] for a congregation of mostly Irish immigrants and their descendants, which influenced the decision to hire the Irish-born prolific ecclesiastical architect of Roman Catholic churches and cathedrals, Patrick Keely. It was once considered one of the most important Catholic parishes in the city. The parish closed in 2003 after it merged with Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, which was located a block east on the same street, to create the parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard's Church.

In the autumn of 1868 Mary Catherine Dannat Starr started a sewing school for girls at St. Bernard's to teach them skills in order to better their condition. She later went on to found the Sisters of the Divine Compassion.[6]

Building

Photographed December 2010

The church was built 1873-1875 to the designs of Patrick C. Keely and was the first church consecrated by an American Cardinal, Archbishop of New York John McCloskey.[3] Once considered one of the most important parishes in the city, the congregation at the time of erection consisted of mostly Irish immigrants and their descendants. Irish-born architect Patrick Charles Keely's design of "twin towers, triple-portal entrance, and rose window inset into a pointed arch reveal a masterful blending of French and English influences."[1] Also referenced as Ruskinian Gothic by the AIA Guide to NYC (2010)[2] The interior features a prominent U-shaped gallery and many figurative stained-glass windows in the style of Mayers of Munich. The church has at least one Tiffany window. Presumably since the 2003 merger, the interior has been significantly redecorated and painted with many of the transferable art objects of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish moved here. The reredos has been painted with many scenes of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Blessed Juan Diego, and the modern Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 [Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation], "14TH STREET AND UNION SQUARE, PRESERVATION PLAN" (New York City: HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAM GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, PLANNING AND PRESERVATION, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, 2006), p.7. (Accessed 13 Jan 2011)
  2. 1 2 3 White, Norval; Willensky, Elliot; Leadon, Fran (2010). AIA Guide to New York City. American Institute of Architects New York Chapter (Fifth ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 209. ISBN 978-0-19-538386-7.
  3. 1 2 3 4 David W. Dunlap, From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. (New York City: Columbia University Press, 2004.)
  4. ↑ The World Almanac 1892 and Book of Facts (New York: Press Publishing, 1892), p.390.
  5. ↑ Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg Together with some Supplementary Articles on Religious Communities of Women.. (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.317.
  6. ↑ Heuser, Herman Joseph. Mother Mary Veronica, Foundress of the Sisterhood of the Divine Compassion, P. J. Kenedy, 1915

Coordinates: 40°44′24.7″N 74°0′15″W / 40.740194°N 74.00417°W / 40.740194; -74.00417

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