Church of St. Ignatius Loyola
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New York State Register of Historic Places
New York City Landmark No. 0431
St. Ignatius Loyola complex, April 2021
Show map of New York City Show map of New York Show map of the United States
Location	980 Park Avenue,New York City,New York
Coordinates	40°46′44″N73°57′31″W / 40.77889°N 73.95861°W /40.77889; -73.95861
Area	3.5 acres (1.4 ha)
Built	1895-1900[2][3]
Architect	Schickel & Ditmars[2]
Architectural style	German Baroque; Classical Revival
Website	Official website
NRHP reference No.	80002679[1]
NYSRHP No.	06101.002473
NYCL No.	0431
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	July 24, 1980
Designated NYSRHP	June 23, 1980
Designated NYCL	March 4, 1969

TheChurch of St. Ignatius of Loyola is aCatholicparish church located on theUpper East Side ofManhattan,New York City, administered by theSociety of Jesus (Jesuits). The parish is under the authority of theArchdiocese of New York, and was established in 1851 asSt. Lawrence O'Toole's Church. In 1898, permission to change thepatron saint of the parish fromSt. Lawrence O'Toole toSt. Ignatius of Loyola was granted byRome.^[2] The address is 980 Park Avenue, New York City, New York 10028. The church on the southwest corner ofPark Avenue and 84th Street is part of a Jesuitcomplex on the block that includesWallace Hall, theparish hall beneath the church, therectory at the midblock location on Park Avenue, the grade school ofSt. Ignatius's School on the north midblock location of 84th Street behind the church and the high school ofLoyola School (also 980 Park Avenue) at the northwest corner of Park Avenue and 83rd Street. In addition, another Jesuit high school,Regis High School (55 E 84th Street), occupies the midblock location on the north side of 84th Street. The church was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1980.^[1][4]

The parish was established in 1851.^[2][5] It occupies "the site of the former St. Lawrence O'Toole Church, founded in 1851, and named for a twelfth-centurybishop of Dublin by the parish's first pastor, the Rev. Eugene O'Reilly from Ireland.^[6] The parish was entrusted to the care of theSociety of Jesus in 1886 and marked the Jesuits' first major apostolate in theYorkville area of New York.^[6] Late-nineteenth-century directories listed the address of St. Lawrence at the corner of Park Avenue and East 84th Street.^[7]

The present grand limestone edifice stands as testimony to both the growing affluence and confidence of the Catholic community on New York's Upper East Side near the start of the 20th century as well as the ambitious determination of Fr. Neil McKinnon, S.J., pastor of the parish from 1893 to 1907.^[6] During his time,Martin J. Scott, later a noted author of novels and controversial literature, worked as assistant priest among the young (1902-1915) and built a day nursery in 1910.

The church was declared a New York City Landmark on March 4, 1969.^[2] The church was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1980.^[1]

The church was used as the setting for the funeral of Logan Roy, a central character in theHBO television seriesSuccession. Filming for the episode, which aired in May 2023, took place over two and a half days.^[8]

• Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, First Lady – May 1994^[9]
• Aaliyah, singer and actress – August 2001^[9]
• Patricia Kennedy Lawford – September 2006
• Lena Horne, singer and actress – May 2010^[9]
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, actor – February 2014^[9]
• Oscar de la Renta, fashion designer – November 2014^[9]
• Mario Cuomo, governor of New York – January 2015^[10]
• Ann Mara, co-owner of N.Y. Giants Football Team – February 2015
• David Carr, N.Y. Times media columnist – February 2015

A wooden church was erected in 1852, which was replaced in 1853 by a modest brick structure through the hard work and fund raising by the Rev.Walter Quarter^[6]

The church's present foundation was built 1884-1886 as the foundations to a planned Gothic design. The parish was transferred to Jesuit control in 1886.^[2] The present church was built 1895 to 1900 to the designs of architectJ. William Schickel ofSchickel & Ditmars, and dedicated on December 11, 1898, by the Most ReverendMichael Corrigan, thirdArchbishop of New York.^[2][11][12]

St. Ignatius Loyola, A Pictorial History and Walking Guide of New York City's Church of St. Ignatius Loyola (1999) includes an exemplary description of the exterior and interior of the church:

Two unbroken vertical orders, aPalladian arched window, and a tri-part horizontal division suggesting the central nave and side aisles beyond, lend a Classical balance to the Park Avenue exterior. Yet St. Ignatius' façade is not static; the central division raised in slight relief beyond the side divisions and the varying intervals between the symmetrically positioned pilasters (columns that are not free standing) create a subtly undulating dynamism that introduces a note of syncopated rhythm reminiscent of the exterior ofIl Gesù, the Jesuits'mother church in Rome. The original plans for the street front of St. Ignatius, presently 90 feet high and 87 feel wide, included a pair of towers designed to reach 210 feet above the ground, but this feature of the project was abandoned early, leaving only the two copper-capped tower bases on either side of the central pediment as hints of the grander scheme. Located directly beneath this pediment are the motto of the Society of Jesus,Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God) and the Great Seal of the Society, composed of a cross, three nails, and the letters I H S (the first three letters of Jesus' name in Greek which later became a Latin acronym denoting Jesus the Savior of Humankind); together they proclaim to all who pass by that St. Ignatius is a Jesuit Parish.^[6]

The church is constructed of American, European, and African marbles, including pink Tennessee, red-veined Numidian, yellow Siena, pink Algerian marble, whiteCarrara marble, and veinedPavonazzo marble; most of the intricate marble work was executed by the firm of James G. Batterson Jr., and John Eisele of New York.^[6]

The marble mosaicStations of the Cross panels were designed by Professor Paoletti for Salviati & Company ofVenice; some were publicly exhibited inTurin before installation.

The great twelve-panel bronze doors located at the sanctuary end of the side aisles… were designed by the Rev. Patrick O'Gorman, S.J., pastor from 1924 to 1929... [and were] crafted by theLong Island Bronze Company….

The Jesuit statues, includingSt. Francis Xavier andSt. John Francis Regis were carved by the Joseph Sibbel Studio of New York in Carrara marble.

The church is notable for its organ, dedicated in 1993 and built by English organ builderNoel Mander. The instrument "is New York City's largest mechanical action (tracker) pipe organ, and the largest mechanical action pipe organ ever to have been built in the British Isles."^[6]

The semi-circular wrought-ironbaptistery screen in the Chapel of John the Baptist of gilt flaming swords was wrought by Mr. John Williams to the designs ofWilliam Schickel. The baptistery font is ofCarrara marble set above marble pavement designed "byHeaton, Butler & Bayne of London, with slight modifications made by Mr. John Buck of the Ecclesiastical Department of theGorham Company of New York; the Gorham Company was also responsible for cutting and installing the mosaic'stesserae (the pieces comprising the mosaic)." The baptistery's altar and surround curved walls are ofPavonazzo marble inlaid with mosaics, "designed and executed under the direction of Mr.Caryl Coleman of the Ecclesiastical Department of theTiffany Glass and Decorating Company. These mosaics, composed of that company's justly famous opalescentFavrile glass, are as delicate as the Venetian glass mosaics above are bold." Tiffany also executed the baptistery's semi-dome.^[6]

• 1. Rev. Eugene O'Reilly, rector 1851-August 5, 1852^[13]
• 2. Rev. Thomas Ouellet, S.J., rector 1852-^[13]
• 3. Rev. Walter J. Quarter, rector, Oct.1852 –1863^[14]
• 4. Rev.Samuel Mulledy (1811–1866), rector 1863–1866^[14]
• 5. Rev. Victor Beaudevin, S.J., rector 1866–^[14]
• 10. Rev. John Treanor, S.J., rector (–1880)^[15]
• 11. Rev.Robert J. Fulton, S.J.(1826-1895), rector November 1, 1880-^[13]
• 12. Rev. David Merrick, S.J. (rector 1880–)^[16]

• 13. Rev. Neil McKinnon, S.J., rector July 31, 1893 – 1907 (parish rededicated on December 11, 1898, with new upper church dedicated toSt. Ignatius Loyola and lower church dedicated toSt. Lawrence O'Toole)^[13]
• 14. William O'Brien Pardow, S.J., rector 1907-1909^[17]
• 15. David Hearn, S.J., rector 1909-1915^[17]
• 16.Cowles Havens Richards, S.J., rector 1915-1919^[18]
• 17. James J. Kilrowy, S.J., rector 1919-1924^[18]
• 18. Patrick F. O'Gorman, S.J., rector 1924-1929^[18]
• 19. Edward J. Sweeney, S.J., rector 1930-1933^[18]
• 20.William J. Devlin, S.J., rector 1933-1935^[18]
• 21.W. Coleman Nevils, S.J., rector 1935-1940^[18]
• 22. Francis A. McQuade, S.J., rector 1940-1945^[18]
• 23. John Edwards Gratton, S.J., rector 1945-1949^[18]
• 24. C. Justin Hanley, S.J., rector 1949-1952^[18]
• 25. Robert I. Gannon, S.J., rector 1952-1958^[18]
• 26. John J. McGinty, S.J., rector 1958-1960^[18]
• 27. William T. Wood, S.J., rector 1960-1966^[18]
• 28. Charles T. Taylor, S.J., rector 1966-1970^[18]
• 29. Robert J. Haskins, S.J., rector 1970-1979^[19]
• 30. Victor R. Yanitelli, S.J., rector 1980-1986^[20]
• 31. Walter F. Modrys, S.J., rector 1986-2005^[21]
• 32. Gerald R. Blaszczak, S.J., rector 2005-2008^[18]
• 33. William J. Bergen, S.J., acting rector June–August 2008^[18]
• 34. George M. Witt, S.J., rector 2008-2015^[18]
• 35. Thomas H. Feely, S.J., parish administrator 2015–2016^[18]
• 36. Dennis J. Yesalonia, S.J., rector 2016–Present^[22]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Manhattan below 14th Street
• List of Jesuit sites
• List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan below 14th Street

Notes

Further reading

• Dooley, Patrick Joseph (1917).Fifty Years in Yorkville; Or, Annals of the Parish of St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Lawrence O'Toole. New York: Parish House. p. 45.OCLC 680497244. RetrievedJune 26, 2019 – viaInternet Archive.
• Dunlap, David W.From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004).
• St. Ignatius Loyola,A Pictorial History and Walking Guide of New York City's Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, 1999. Photos by Laurie Lambrech.

• Media related toChurch of St. Ignatius Loyola Complex at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website

• Italianate architecture in New York City
• Properties of religious function on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan
• Neoclassical architecture in New York City
• Roman Catholic churches completed in 1898
• 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States
• Italian-American culture in New York City
• Roman Catholic churches in Manhattan
• Jesuit churches in the United States
• New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan
• Park Avenue
• Schickel & Ditmars church buildings
• Baroque Revival architecture in New York City
• Yorkville, Manhattan
• 1851 establishments in New York (state)
• Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state)
• Italianate church buildings in the United States
• Neoclassical church buildings in the United States
• Society of Jesus in New York (state)
• New York State Register of Historic Places in New York County

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Articles using NRISref without a reference number
• Webarchive template wayback links
• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from February 2022
• All articles with bare URLs for citations
• Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022
• Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Commons category link is on Wikidata