40°45′52.81″N73°59′11.61″W / 40.7646694°N 73.9865583°W /40.7646694; -73.9865583
| St. Benedict the Moor Church | |
|---|---|
 St. Benedict the Moor Church at 342 West 53rd Street (to right) and the rectory at 338–342 West 53rd Street (to left), which was built in 1965 to the designs of architect Joseph Mitchell | |
 Interactive map of St. Benedict the Moor Church | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Italianate (church) |
| Location | 342 W53rd Street,Hell's Kitchen / Clinton, Manhattan, New York City, United States |
| Completed | 1869 (church)[2] 1965 (for rectory)[1] |
| Cost | $220,000 (for 1965 rectory)[1] |
| Client | Archdiocese of New York |
| Design and construction | |
| Architects | 1965 rectory: Joseph Mitchell[1] |
St. Benedict the Moor Church was aBlack Catholic parish church in theArchdiocese of New York, located at 342 West53rd Street,Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan (Clinton),New York City. The property was sold to a developer in 2023.[3]
In 1883 a Black Catholic mission parish named after St.Benedict the Moor was established, based on a $5,000 bequest by Fr Thomas Farrell to serve theAfrican-American community inLower Manhattan; his will and testament specified that if the Catholic Church was unable to spend funds for this purpose, it would instead go to the ProtestantColored Orphan Asylum.[4][5][6] It was the first church in the city for black Catholics[7] and the first north of theMason–Dixon line.[2]
In 1892, the parish took over the former ThirdUniversalist Church at 210Bleecker Street, at a time when many African Americans lived in southern Manhattan.[8] It renamed that church for its parish. Upon leaving the church on Bleecker Street, the building became occupied byOur Lady of Pompeii Church.[9]
FrAugustus Tolton, the first openly-Black Catholic priest in the United States, celebrated his firstMass in America at this parish in 1886. A little over a decade later, the first openly-Black Catholic seminarian,William Augustine Williams (who entered the seminary in Rome in 1853 and departed in 1862), became the parishsacristan.
As the black population moved north, in 1898 the parish took over the former Second German Church of theEvangelical Association at 342 W. 53rd Street in Hell's Kitchen, renaming it as St. Benedict the Moor Church.[2] More change came by the end of the next two decades. In the 1920s, many of the parishioners moved with other African Americans toHarlem,[2] which became a center of African-American life.
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After 1953, the church was staffed by Spanish friars of theThird Order of Saint Francis and was rededicated in 1954. The parish was later reduced to mission status, and is maintained by members of the new Lumen Christi congregation. Although recommended for closure during an initial review, the Archdiocese announced on January 19, 2007, that the church would retain its parish status.[10]
On June 30, 2017, the church wasdeconsecrated.[11] It was sold to a developer in 2023.[3]
TheItalianate-style red brickpedimented church was built in 1869, designed by R.C. McLane & Sons for the Second German Church of the Evangelical Association.[2] A three-storeyrectory at 338–342 West 53rd Street was built in 1965 to the designs ofJoseph Mitchell, of 355 West54th Street, for $220,000. That rectory reused the statue of theVirgin Mary with outstretched arms from the church.
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