| Church of St. Vincent Ferrer | |
|---|---|
 2009 | |
 Church of St. Vincent Ferrer | |
| 40°45′58″N73°57′53″W / 40.766239°N 73.964738°W /40.766239; -73.964738 | |
| Location | 869 Lexington Avenue Manhattan,NY |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Religious order | Dominican Order |
| Website | www |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 1867 (chapel) |
| Dedicated | May 5, 1918 (church) |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Architect(s) | J. William Schickel,Bertram Goodhue[1] |
| Style | Late Gothic Revival (withRomanesque influences) |
| Years built | 1914-18 |
| Construction cost | $1.5 million |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Limestone |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | New York |
| Deanery | South Manhattan |
| Parish | St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena |
| Clergy | |
| Pastor(s) | Rev. Peter Martyr Yungwirth,OP |
| Laity | |
| Organist/Director of music | James D. Wetzel[2] |
St. Vincent Ferrer Church and Priory | |
| NRHP reference No. | 84002800[3] |
| NYSRHP No. | 06101.000075 |
| NYCL No. | 0416 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | June 14, 1984 |
| Designated NYSRHP | May 7, 1984 |
| Designated NYCL | February 28, 1967[4] |
TheChurch of St. Vincent Ferrer is aCatholic parish on theUpper East Side ofManhattan,New York City. It was built in 1918 by theDominicans; the attachedpriory serves as the headquarters of the Eastern United States Province of the order. Its architecture has some unusual features: above the front entrance is one of the few statues of theCrucifixion on the exterior of an American Catholic church; and inside, theStations of the Cross depict Christ with oil paintings instead of statuary or carvings. It has twoSchantzpipe organs. Thechurch building, at the corner ofLexington Avenue and East 66th Street in theLenox Hill section of the Upper East Side, has been called "one of New York's greatest architectural adornments."[5]
The church is under thepatronage of SaintVincent Ferrer, a Dominicanpreacher fromValencia,Spain. It was made aNew York City designated landmark in 1967. Seventeen years later, in 1984, the church andpriory, designed in 1881 byWilliam Schickel, were listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.[3]
St. Vincent Ferrer High School for girls is on its grounds and is administered by resident Dominican Sisters. Members also work in charitable efforts like local shelters andfood pantries. They are also involved ininterfaith lobbying foraffordable housing in Manhattan.
The church complex comprises four buildings, all on theblock between East 65th and 66th on the east side of Lexington. Across the street are lowrowhouses; just to the north are theSeventh Regiment Armory, aNational Historic Landmark, and the apartment building at 131–35 East 66th Street, also a city landmark. The entire site is less than 1 acre (4,000 m2)[1] The address of the church, as listed in 1892, was 871 Lexington Avenue.[6] Within the site, four buildings – the church, priory,Holy Name Society building andSt. Vincent Ferrer High School — are connected by adjoining walls. All are architecturally compatible, but only the church and priory are consideredcontributing properties due to their age and simpler architecture.
Thecruciform church is built of limestone laid in a randomashlar pattern on three sides. The east (rear) elevation, barely visible from the street, is faced in brick. On the west, facing Lexington Avenue, is the five-bay[7] tower. It has two engaged octagonal towers flanking the largerose window, with stonetracery forming conjoinedtrefoils, in the center of the upper stage. Below the window is a tall round-arched entryway and stone steps topped with a carving of theCrucifixion. On the north and south the bays are divided bybuttresses supporting the steeplypitchedcopper roof[1]
Inside, the entirenave is finished in the exterior limestone. In addition to the rose window, all the side windows are filled withstained glass. Pews and choir stalls are in ornatecarved wood, and thealtar is set off by a carved stonereredos.[1] At the rear the oakpulpit is decorated with carvings in medieval Gothic style. TheStations of the Cross are represented by oil paintings.[8] A large four-manualconsole in the choir controls the twoSchantzpipe organs, Opus 2145 in the choir and Opus 2224 in the west gallery.[9] The interior also features tworelics of St. Vincent Ferrer in the church and the only example of a hangingpyx that is not in a museum.
Thepriory, at the northeast corner of 65th and Lexington, is a five-story brick building on abrownstonefoundation. Its facades are decorated with alternating stone and brickvoussoirs, arched openings, stone bands at theimposts,pilasters and buttresses. The roofline is lined with stone and brickcorbels below the cornice, with elongated stone corbels on the projectinggabled entrance tower in the center of the east (front) facade. A high brownstonestoop withcast ironnewels and rails leads from the street to a deeply recessed, arched first floor entrance with clustered colonnettes. The mix of the brick and stone with the slate tiling on thedormer-piercedmansard roof gives the building apolychromatic effect.[1]
TheHoly Name Society building and school are both similar structures of brick and stone. Much of their detailing andornament, such as their buttresses and tracery, echoes or mirrors that found on the church and priory. The Society building and school date to 1930 and 1948 respectively and are not considered sufficiently historic to be included in the National Register listing with the church and priory at this time.[1]
In the 1860s, a Dominican priest from France, Father Thomas Martin, was sent to theDiocese of New York and took up residence in abrownstone on Lexington Avenue and 62nd Street. Others followed, and the Dominicans became popular among the city's Catholic population.John McCloskey, the archbishop of theDiocese of New York and the first American cardinal, asked them to establish a parish on what is now theUpper East Side. Father Martin and the other priests borrowed $10,000 ($225,000 in contemporary dollars[10]), bought 18lots totaling 45,000 square feet (4,200 m2) at the present location[1] and began to construct a chapel on the northeast corner of 65th Street. The firstMass was offered in this chapel on July 2, 1867.[8][11]
By 1879 the construction was expanded and on December 12, a second church was dedicated. Its first Mass was celebrated on the feast day ofSt. Vincent Ferrer, September 8, 1879. At the same time the order decided to build apriory at the church to serve as itsprovincial headquarters. It commissionedWilliam Schickel, aGerman-born architect who had recently completed his first major work in New York, the John Crimmins House at 40 East 68th Street. The priory's intricate use of materials and its overallpolychromy, characteristics of the High Victorian Gothic style popular in the late 19th century, reflect Schickel's training inBavaria and the strong influence there ofFriedrich von Gärtner. It was the first of many buildings Schickel would design for the New York diocese.[1] Five years later, in 1884, the first school was built.
The church would serve the congregation until 1914, when it was demolished in order to begin construction of a new one designed byBertram Grosvenor Goodhue, who had recently struck out on his own fromCram, Goodhue & Ferguson. While it was being built, the congregation worshipped in a temporary building at East 67th Street.[8]
The architect wrote to a friend that he considered St. Vincent Ferrer his best Gothic work; he designed theGothic Revival church in the style of 14th-century French Gothic, with echoes ofRomanesque.Lee Lawrie's carving of the Cross above the entrance was the first time one had been located on the exterior of an American Catholic church, and is still one of the few instances.Guastavino tile was used on the interior to provide for excellentacoustics;. Goodhue hadCharles Connick's stained glass windows positioned so that the colors complemented each other. He also decided that, reflecting theDominican Order's Spanish origins, the representations of Christ at each of theStations of the Cross would be oil paintings rather than the statuary or carvings more commonly used in American Catholic churches. The images were painted by Telford and Ethel Paullin in imitation of styles from different countries and eras, which accounts for the changing color of Christ's robe between them.[8]
As originally planned the church was to have a fifteen-storyflèche. As construction progressed that became unfeasible. A former stream that passed under the site, as well as the construction of theIRT Lexington Avenue Linesubway tunnels, made it impossible to lay a sufficient foundation. On October 22, 1916, the construction of the present incarnation of St. Vincent was completed, at a cost of $1.5 million ($43.3 million in contemporary dollars[10]). It was dedicated on May 5, 1918, when over 50,000 people attended.
In 1930 the Holy Name Society building was constructed. It was one of architectWilfred E. Anthony's many designs for the Catholic Church, and considered one of his best overall.[1] The oaken High Pulpit was installed in thesanctuary. Its 14th-century French Gothic detailings were consistent with the church's architecture.
The school building quickly outgrew its intended design, and a new one was built over it in 1948. Architects Elliott Chisling-Ferenz & Taylor designed a building with sympathetic Gothic motifs that help it blend into the older buildings. FollowingVatican II in the 1960s, the Dominican Order replacedtheir rite with the standardRoman RiteMass of Paul VI in most parishes. A new altar was installed at the front of the choir, while the original High Altar at the rear continues to be used for reserving theBlessed Sacrament,[8] special Solemn High Liturgies, and Dominican Rite Liturgies dedicated for the souls of Purgatory.
During the late 1960s and 1970sAndy Warhol, a devoutByzantine Catholic who lived nearby, attended Mass regularly at St. Vincent Ferrer. Father Sam Matarazzo, the priest at the time, remembers him sitting quietly in the back of the church, taking neithercommunion norconfession. He speculated that Warhol, one of many gay men who attended services at St. Vincent Ferrer despite Matarazzo's regular preaching ofCatholic doctrine opposing homosexuality, was perhaps afraid of being recognized. Warhol himself said he was self-conscious about being seencrossing himself "theOrthodox way."[12]
Later in the 20th century, contributions fromWilliam E. Simon and an anonymous donor allowed the church to purchase the newer of its two Schantz pipe organs.[13] In the early 2000s a capital campaign allowed the church to install new heating and cooling systems,[8] andrestore its exterior. That latter project was complete in 2009.
On May 8, 2015, the Archdiocese of New York announced the merger of parishes between St Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena Church. Both churches will remain open.
The church celebrates Mass three times a day and four times on Sunday.Vigils are observed on Saturday nights and the evenings beforeHoly Days of Obligation. TheSacrament of Reconciliation (confession) is offered all evenings except Sunday. TheLiturgy of the Hours is observed by the Dominican friars daily in the Friars' Chapel which is open to the public.[14]
Outside the church, the congregation's Social Concerns Committee coordinates involvement in charitable work in the area. Members host holiday parties andbingo games at the Women's Shelter in the neighboringPark Avenue Armory, staff theYorkvilleCommon Pantry and assist members of nearbyJan Hus Presbyterian Church in feeding the homeless on Tuesday nights. The congregation is also a member organization of East Congregations for Housing Justice, which advocates foraffordable housing in Manhattan.[14]
Andy Warhol regularly attendedMass at the church.
In 2000,Prince Maximilian of Liechtenstein andAngela Brown married at the church.[15]
Several notable funeral Masses have taken place at St. Vincent Ferrer.Dorothy Kilgallen's funeral Mass took place on November 11, 1965, with 2,600 people in attendance.[16] The funeral Mass of politicianGeraldine Ferraro took place on March 31, 2011; she and her husbandJohn Zaccaro had been married at the church in 1960.[17] The funeral Mass of businesswomanIvana Trump took place there on July 20, 2022.[18]
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The organ was paid for with two gifts, from the late William E. Simon and from an anonymous donor, Dr. Bani said.
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See also:National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan (Islands,Below 14th St.,14th–59th Sts.,59th–110th Sts.,Above 110th St.) andList of National Historic Landmarks in New York City Note: National Historic Landmarks are not listed separately. | |||||||||||||||
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| National | |
