Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church

Church of the Holy Name of Jesus

Amsterdam Avenue and 96th Street
General information
Address 207 West 96th Street
Town or city New York City
Country United States of America
Client Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Website
Church of the Holy Name of Jesus, Manhattan (Upper West Side)

The Holy Name of Jesus Roman Catholic Church is a parish of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York located at 207 West 96th Street, at the corner of (Amsterdam Avenue) in New York City.

Since 1990, it has been under the administration of the Franciscans. The parish has an attached elementary and middle school, as well as a community center on West 97th Street.

The current Pastor of Holy Name Parish is Father Daniel Kenna, OFM, who replaced Father Francis X. Gunn, OFM. The associate friars or parochial vicars are Father Lawrence Ford, OFM, Father Michael McDonnell, OFM, and Father Gonzalo Torres, OFM.

History

Interior of the church
The church and school around 1914.

The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus was organized in 1868 in the area then known as Bloomingdale.[1] A wood-frame church was erected on the northwest corner of Bloomingdale Road (now called Broadway) and 97th Street.[2]

For many years the pastor was Most Reverend Stephen Donahue, auxiliary bishop of New York. In 1939, after the death of Cardinal Patrick Hayes he was considered a possible successor as archbishop of New York. However, Pope Pius XII appointed Bishop Francis Spellman, auxiliary bishop of Boston, to the See. Bishop Donahue died in 1982.

In 1997, the church suffered damage when the air compressor in the organ caught fire during a noon mass. The church took the opportunity to renovate, which was finished in 2000.

Architecture

Thomas Henry Poole designed the present Gothic Revival church, which was built in stages from 1891 to 1900. The steeple was added in 1918. The large interior is noted for its hammer-and-beam ceiling, stained glass windows, terrazzo floor, and beautiful marble altars.

M.P. Moller Pipe Organ Company's Opus 6570 was installed in the church in 1937. The instrument contains four-manuals with 68 stops and 76 ranks. As a result of the 1997 fire, the organ suffered smoke and water damage and portions are not operable.[3]

Community roles

Holy Name has taken a leading role in addressing social justice issues on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Under the direction of Fr. Mike Tyson, the church had sponsored numerous petitions and took a leading role in closing a zoning loophole that a land developer had exploited in order to build two large condominium towers. Holy Name also organizes an interfaith March for Peace every year on Martin Luther King, Jr Day, along with several Lutheran and Episcopal Churches and several synagogues and is the epicenter of the organization West Siders for Peace.

References

  1. ↑ Lafort, S.T.D., Remigius, ed. (1914). The Catholic Church in the United States of America. 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1. New York City: The Catholic Editing Company. p. 331.
  2. ↑ The World Almanac 1892 and Book of Facts. New York: Press Publishing. 1892. p. 390.
  3. ↑ "Church of the Holy Name of Jesus". New York City Chapter, American Guild of Organists. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
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Coordinates: 40°47′40″N 73°58′14.1″W / 40.79444°N 73.970583°W / 40.79444; -73.970583

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