| Church of St. Monica | |
|---|---|
 Photographed in 2008 | |
 Church of St. Monica | |
| Location | New York, New York |
| Country | United States of America |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Website | https://www.stelmo79.org/ |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Schickel & Ditmars (for church);[1] Thomas Dunn of 37 West 57th Street (for 1926 school and convent);[2] Brown-Guenther-Booss of 1860 Broadway (for 1955 convent)[2] |
| Style | Gothic Revival |
| Groundbreaking | 1926 (school and convent) 1955 (convent)[2] |
| Construction cost | $120,000 (1926 school and convent) $275,000 (1955 convent)[2] |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Archdiocese of New York |
TheChurch of St. Monica, commonly referred to asSt. Monica's, is a parish church in theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 413 East 79th Street,Manhattan, New York City. The parish was established in 1879 and in 2015 merged with nearbySt. Elizabeth of Hungary andSt. Stephen of Hungary churches.[3]
The fourth Catholic parish on theUpper East Side, St. Monica's was founded by John Treanor, pastor of the Church of St. Lawrence O'Toole (now theChurch of St. Ignatius Loyola). James J. Dougherty was appointed the first pastor, and in 1880 he began conductingMass over a feed store at 404 East 78th Street. The following year, he purchased land for the construction of the church and school. Construction of the first church building was completed in 1883.[4] In 1892, the address was listed as 409 East 79th Street.[5]
John J. Boyle served as acting rector at St. Monica's before becoming the founding pastor ofSt. Luke's Church (Bronx, New York) in 1897.[6]
In 2015, theArchdiocese of New York ordered St. Monica's merged with St. Elizabeth's and St. Stephen's to better serve 21st century Yorkville. The merged parish, which holds services at St. Monica's, is known as The Roman Catholic Parish of St. Monica, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Stephen of Hungary.[7][8] As a result of the merger, St. Monica's parish boundaries shifted slightly.[9]
Theparish school opened in 1883, operated by theSisters of Charity of New York. TheSisters of St. Francis assumed operations in 1944. After several years of declining enrollment, the school was closed in 1974.
The Parish school is now St. Stephen of Hungary School, located just a few blocks away on 408 E 82 St.[10]
The current Gothic Revival church building was erected in 1906 to the designs ofSchickel & Ditmars, prominent church architects.[1]
In 1926, the rector Arthur J. Kenny had a three- and four-story brick school andconvent with tile roof built at 410 East 80th Street, to designs ofThomas Dunn for $120,000 ($2,130,000 in current dollar terms). A three-story convent at 405–413 East 79th Street was built in 1955 to designs byBrown-Guenther-Booss for $275,000 ($3,230,000 in current dollar terms).[2]
40°46′20.16″N73°57′6.74″W / 40.7722667°N 73.9518722°W /40.7722667; -73.9518722
