| Immaculate Conception St. Mary's Church | |
|---|---|
| Church of the Immaculate Conception | |
 Front façade of the church | |
 Immaculate Conception St. Mary's Church | |
| 40°55′49.8″N73°53′54.4″W / 40.930500°N 73.898444°W /40.930500; -73.898444 | |
| Location | 103 S Broadway, Yonkers, New York |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Website | icmary |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 1848 |
| Dedication | Immaculate Conception |
| Dedicated | November 16, 1851 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect | Lawrence J. O'Connor |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Style | Richardsonian Romanesque |
| Administration | |
| Archdiocese | Archdiocese of New York |
TheChurch of the Immaculate Conception, commonly known asImmaculate Conception St. Mary's Church, or simplySt. Mary's Church, is aCatholic parish and church located inYonkers, New York. It is the oldest Catholic parish in Yonkers.[1]
St. Mary's Church, as it was then named, was founded in 1848 as a parish consisting mostly ofIrish immigrants to the United States. The first recorded baptisms in the parish occurred in October 1847. Land for the construction of achurch building was donated byWilliam W. Woodworth, Josiah Rich, and James Scrymser in the summer of that year, andThomas Cornell, who was instrumental in the founding of the parish, had the street on which the land bordered to be renamed St. Mary's Street from South Street.[2]
At its founding, theJesuits played an active role in the administration of the parish. The first pastor was Fr. John Ryan, a Jesuit of St. John's College (the antecedent ofFordham University), who canonically established the parish and requested that it be named the Church of the Immaculate Conception, which it took as its official name by 1848, although it continued to be frequently referred to as St. Mary's. The original church was designed byPatrick Keely; it is now the parish hall.
The first mass was celebrated in the church on December 25, 1848, and the church was dedicated to theImmaculate Conception on November 16, 1851, making it the first church in the United States to be dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.[note 1]
In 1852, a school was established, and in 1855, the St. Mary's Cemetery was opened. Beginning in 1857, this school was staffed by nuns of theSisters of Charity, who were later replaced by theLasallian Christian Brothers in 1861.[3]
Immaculate Conception was designed byLawrence J. O'Connor in theRichardsonian Romanesque style.[1] The main entrance is topped by a rounded arch supported by columns. It is built of rough-hewn brownstone and trimmed with red stone.[4]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
