| Church of St. John the Baptist | |
|---|---|
 30th Street facade of church and interior (2011) | |
 Interactive map of Church of St. John the Baptist | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style |
|
| Location | Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 40°44′56″N73°59′35″W / 40.748885°N 73.992953°W /40.748885; -73.992953 |
| Construction started | |
| Completed | |
| Demolished | 1847 (for first church fire)[3] |
| Cost | $175,000 (for 1871–1872 church)[1] |
| Client | Archdiocese of New York |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Sandstone masonry |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Napoleon Le Brun (for 1871–1872 church)[1][2] |
| Website | |
| christinthecity | |
TheChurch of St. John the Baptist is aCatholic parish church in theArchdiocese of New York, at 211West 30th Street betweenSeventh andEighth Avenues in the Fur District[2] of theChelsea neighborhood ofManhattan in New York City. To the church's rear is theCapuchin Monastery of St. John the Baptist, located at 210West 31st Street across fromNew York Penn Station andMadison Square Garden.
In 2015, the parish of St. John the Baptist Church merged with the parish ofHoly Cross Church on West42nd Street.[4]
The parish was established in 1840 as the second parish to serve German Catholics in New York City, afterSt. Nicholas' Church, on East 2nd Street, which was established in 1833.[3][5] A historian noted: "Both German parishes hadlaytrustees that were so overbearing that they drove out several pastors."[1]
The first church erected was a small timber structure.[1] It was dedicated on September 20, 1840.[3] The first pastor was the Rev. Zachary Kunze,O.F.M., who, following disharmony with the lay board of trustees, resigned in 1844.[3] Kunze left with a portion of the congregation and founded the nearbyChurch of St. Francis of Assisi.[3] The problems were so great with the board of trustees that, following the resignation of Kunze, the parish of St. John the Baptist was underinterdict until 1845 when the Rev. J. A. Jakob became its second pastor. More disagreements ensued and the church was again closed in June 1846. It variously reopened with different pastors, but burned down on January 10, 1847.[1][3]
ArchbishopJohn Hughes laid the cornerstone for a new brick church on the site on March 14, 1847. Until 1851, pastorship of the parish was assumed by theChurch of the Nativity until the Rev. Joseph Lutz was appointed pastor. Four months later, the parish was again underinterdiction. Lutz explained: "On account of the obstinacy of the parishioners this church was closed and the administration of the Sacraments prohibited by order of His Grace, November 24, 1851." The Rev. P. J. Matschejewski arrived as pastor on March 7, 1852 but remained only two weeks. Father Augustine Danter,O.M.Cap., was appointed as pastor in 1852 and remained until 1869, when he was obliged to retire, after which the church remained closed for some months.[3]
In response to the many disputes,Archbishop of New YorkCardinal John McCloskey, suppressed St. John the Baptist in 1870 and requested that the newly founded Americanprovince of theCapuchin Friars assume complete control of the resurrected parish.[1] Under the Capuchins, especially its second Capuchin pastor, the Swiss-born Father Bonventura Frey, O.M.Cap., parish animosity dissipated. Under Frey, the German congregation began to erect the present substantial church.[1] Frey left in 1879 to serve as theMinister Provincial of the Capuchins friars in the United States, and moved to their headquarters inCalvary, Wisconsin.[3] He returned from 1888 to 1891 to prepare the parish for its Golden Jubilee.[3] In 1914 the membership of the parish was 1,500.[3]
In the early 20th century one of the parish's priests was the (now) BlessedSolanus Casey.
The presentFrench Gothic-style stone church was built between 1871 and 1872 to the designs of the prolific ecclesiastical architectNapoleon LeBrun,[1] architect of several New York Catholic churches as well as thecathedral in Philadelphia.[2] The cornerstone was laid by Fr. Frey on Pentecost Sunday, June 4[1] or June 11[3] of 1871. The church is 165 feet long and 67 feet wide, originally accommodating 1,200 people, and costing $175,000 to construct.[1]
Fr. Frey returned to the parish in 1888 and built the central bell tower in preparation for the church'sGolden Jubilee held on January 18–19, 1891 and marked byArchbishop Michael Corrigan, Bishop Wigger of Newark, Archbishop-elect Katzer of Milwaukee and Abbott H. Pfraengle of Newark.[3] The tower has a carillon of five swinging bells cast by the J.G. Stuckstede & Brothers Foundry inSt. Louis, Missouri.[1] The peal still rings each day. The church was dedicated on June 23, 1872, by Archbishop John Cardinal McClosky, the first American cardinal.[1]
In preparation for the church's 125th anniversary, it underwent a complete renovation, which lasted several years. The church was re-dedicated on June 24, 1996, thefeast day of itspatron saint, byCardinalJohn Joseph O'Connor,Archbishop of New York. The church's organ and choir gallery, as well as a number of statues and stained-glass windows, were destroyed in a fire on January 10, 1997.[6] The damage was eventually repaired and the organ was replaced with an electronic one.[1]
According to bronze memorial plaques affixed to the wall of the narthex, for the 160th anniversary of the parish and the Great Jubilee Year of 2000, the bell tower was restored by funds provided by Antonio D'Urso and his wife Giovanna Parpo in 2000. The rededication of the St. Joseph, Ave Maria, St. Clare, St. Fidelis Bells were the gift of Kevin Ward, blessed November 30, 1890 by Archbishop McClosky and rededicated November 7, 1998, by Father Bernard Smith, O.F.M, Cap., the Provincial of the Capuchins.
TheAIA Guide to New York City (2010) described the church as "a Roman CatholicTrinity. The interior of white, radiates light. Worth a special visit."[2] In January 2020, an expansion ofNew York Penn Station, to be called Penn South, was proposed..[7] The proposal would require demolition of the entire block between Eighth and Seventh Avenues, West 31st to 30th Streets.[8]
The brown brickCapuchin Monastery of St. John the Baptist was built in 1974[9] in theBrutalist style. It was sold to a retail property developer in 2016.[10]
Fr. Frey had opened a school in a hotel on Sixth Avenue with 50 children during the winter of 1870–1871.[3] An additional floor was added to the rectory to accommodate the school and theMarist Brothers who were in charge of the boys.[3] TheSisters of St. Dominic were in charge of the girls. A four-storey-over-basementCollegiate Gothic monastery block of four bays wide and two bays deep was built behind the church, opening April 19, 1872.[3] The school for young men was opened April 7, 1893.[3] In 1914, the school had 160 boys 200 girls, in the charge of four Marist Brothers and six Dominican Sisters, respectively.[3]
