Our Lady of Pompeii Church (Manhattan)
Our Lady of Pompeii Church | ||
---|---|---|
Shrine Church of Our Lady of Pompeii | ||
Style Romanesque Revival | | |
Groundbreaking | 1926 | |
Completed | September 1928 | |
Administration | ||
Archdiocese | Archdiocese of New York |
Our Lady of Pompeii Church, or more formally, the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Pompeii,
The church was founded in 1892 as a national parish to serve Italian-American immigrants who settled in Greenwich Village, eventually becoming the American counterpart to the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompei in Italy and a shrine in its own right. The church has resided at its present location since 1926, when construction on its current edifice began. While it has remained a largely Italian American parish, the church has come to incorporate many other immigrant groups.
History
Origins
The parish of Our Lady of Pompeii was founded in 1892. The origins of the parish lie in the arrival of Father
The chapel was established within the territorial parish boundaries of St. Joseph's Church, whose pastor was Fr. Denis O'Flynn. He vehemently protested the establishment of another church near his, several having already been erected, that might draw parishioners away from his congregation. However, he also refused to allow Italians admittance to his church, which was mostly Irish in composition. To allay O'Flynn's fears of poaching parishioners, Bandini posted a notice on the entrance to his chapel that it was to serve only Italian Catholics. O'Flynn, nonetheless, accused Bandini of stealing parishioners before the archdiocese's chancery office within three months of the chapel's establishment.[7]
Many immigrants who arrived from the northwestern Italian town of
Bandini was succeeded as pastor of the church by Father Francesco Zaboglio in 1896, who held the role for only a year. In 1897, he was badly injured in a gas explosion in the church basement, which killed two other men employed by the parish and damaged the church building. With Zaboglio's retirement and return to Italy,[4] Father Antonio Demo, a man prominent in the Italian-American community became the next pastor; he would serve in this position until 1935.[9] While at the time of its founding, more than 80 percent of the church's parishioners hailed from Northern Italy, many of whom came specifically from the region of Liguria, by 1898 Southern Italians constituted a plurality of the congregation.[10] On March 7, 1898, the parish of Our Lady of Pompeii was legally incorporated.[11]
The church on Sullivan Street was subsequently destroyed by fire, and the congregation relocated to a Greek Revival building at 210 Bleecker Street on May 8, 1898.[4] The building had been originally commissioned in 1836 by a Unitarian Universalist church. Since 1883 it had been occupied by St. Benedict the Moor Catholic Church whose African American parish was moving north in Manhattan.[6] Around this time, the parish received permission from Bartolo Longo, the founder of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pomepi in Italy, to promote itself as the American shrine to Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii.[12] There is some indication that by around 1899 tension had begun to build between Our Lady of Pompeii and St. Anthony of Padua Church. While the latter was the older of the two Italian national parishes in the area, the Italians took a liking to the Scalabrinians over the Franciscans (who ran St. Anthony's). For this reason, Our Lady of Pompeii's membership equaled that of St. Anthony of Padua within ten years of the former's founding.[7]
The parish was impacted by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in 1911, which took place nearby. Father Demo was active in consoling the mourning families.[6] By 1917, the number of parishioners had grown to more than 20,000.[4] For a time, Mother Cabrini taught at Our Lady of Pompeii.[9]
Present church
In 1923, the City of New York decided to extend
The existing buildings on the land were cleared, and ground was broken for the new church in 1926. On New Year's Day 1928, during construction, a 3-year-old girl named Zita Triglia was killed when a 10-foot-long beam fell from the belfry scaffolding, knocking her from her father's arms. The church was completed in September of that year. It was dedicated on October 7, 1928,[13] the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary, in a solemn mass said by Cardinal Patrick Hayes with more than 2,000 worshipers in attendance.[9]
Father Demo was recalled to
Today, the church stands at 25 Carmine Street,
Architecture
Del Gaudio's façade facing Carmine Street is built of
Interior furnishings
The interior of the church was decorated in the
The marble
To the left of the mural in the apsidal dome is a depiction of the Church Penitent, represented by souls in purgatory awaiting salvation. To the right is a depiction of the Church Triumphant, specifically the saints in heaven.[12] Beneath the mural in the apse is another frieze that bears the Latin inscription:[13]
NON ARMA · NON DUCES · SED VIRGO MARIA ROSARII FECIT NOS VICTORES
(Neither arms nor leaders, but the Virgin Mary of the Rosary made us victors)
The largest painted accent in the interior is the mural in the semi-dome above the altar, which was created in 1937 and illustrates the Church Militant. The mural depicts the Virgin Mary and Jesus as a child in her lap, as she stands on a cloud, in front of the Sun. Mary is presenting St. Dominic, who is holding and contemplating the cross, with a rosary. St. Catherine of Siena looks on from the distance, as angels fly about them. The lower right corner of the mural, against a background of sky and sea, depicts a galleon in the naval Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571. The miraculous Spanish victory was attributed to divine intercession in response to prayer to Our Lady of the Rosary. One of the angels is handing a rosary to a soldier, which is depicted as the decisive weapon in the battle. Imagery of the Shrine of Our lady of the Rosary in Pompei, Italy is present above the battle, including the shrine's campanile. The religious are tending to poor immigrants, and a woman receives a rosary from a Franciscan friar, symbolizing that the Franciscans from St. Anthony of Padua Church were the first ministers to the Italian immigrants in New York. The mural also depicts St. Charles Borromeo in red, who is the patron saint of the Scalabrinians, and Blessed Giovanni Battista Scalabrini, their founder, as a bishop in white, their founder. Also visible is St. Martin de Porres holding a basket of roses, acknowledging the African American community that worshiped at Our Lady of Pompeii's previous church. This mural was removed in the 1970s, and replaced with less dramatic imagery consistent with the persuasion of the Second Vatican Council.[20] It was later recreated by Antonio D'Ambrosio's son, Anthony D'Ambrosio, based on his father's original drawings.[12][13]
Work on the stained glass windows that enclose either aisle began in 1928 and continued into the 1940s.[12] They show scenes from the lives of the saints, the catechism, and the Gospel; in particular, the saints are shown in such a way that illustrates each of the Beatitudes with which they are associated. Individuals depicted in the windows include: St. Stephen, St. Catherine of Siena, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter, St. Paul, the Four Evangelists, and Pope Leo XIII with Mother Cabrini. Additional stained glass windows were added over the narthex in 1986. They depict the Exodus from Egypt, the Holy Family,[13] Christopher Columbus giving thanks for reaching America, and Ellis Island, symbolizing the parish's immigrant and Italian heritage.[12]
In addition to architectural furnishings, the interior also contains a significant amount of statuary. To one side of the entrance is a shrine to Mother Cabrini, the patron saint of immigrants, and a statue of Jesus Nazareno, which is revered by
The
Pastors
The following priests, in chronological order, served as pastor of the church:[4]
- S.J.(1892–1896)
- Francesco Zaboglio (1896–1897)
- C.S.(1897–1935)
- John Marchegiani (1935–1937)
- Ugo Cavicchi (1937–1946)
- Joseph Bernardi (1946–1952)
- Mario Albanesi (1952–1964)
- Anthony Del Bacon (1964–1967)
- Guido Caverzan (1967–1970)
- James Abbarno (1970–1975)
- Edward Marino (1975–1980)
- Charles Zanoni (1980–1989)
- Tarcisius Bagatin (1989–1993)
- Ralph Bove, C.S. (1993–unknown)
- John Massari, C.S. (unknown–2013)
- Walter Tonelotto, C.S. (2013[update]–present)[22]
See also
- Anti-Italianism
- Catholic Church in the United States
- History of New York City (1898–1945)
- Italian Americans in New York City
References
Citations
- ^ "The Holy Mass". Our Lady of Pompeii Church. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture. Archivedfrom the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ Carmody, Deirdre (September 26, 1975). "'Immigrants' Church Flights to Survive". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Del Giudice 1986, p. 4
- ^ a b "Directions to Our Lady of Pompeii Church". Our Lady of Pompeii Church. Archived from the original on September 23, 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "History – Our Lady of Pompeii NYC". Our Lady of Pompeii Church. Archived from the original on April 17, 2016. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- ^ a b c Shelley 2003, pp. 137–139
- ^ Shelley 2003, pp. 122–123
- ^ a b c d e f Miller, Tom (January 5, 2011). "Our Lady of Pompeii Church -- Carmine and Bleecker Streets". Daytonian in Manhattan. Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ a b Brown 2007, pp. 10–11
- ^ a b Brown 2007, p. 51
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "History of Pompeii Church: A Self-Guided Tour of Our Lady of Pompeii". eCatholic.com. Archived from the original on September 2, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Pronechen, Joseph (October 6, 2013). "New York's Marian Marvel". National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
- ^ "Our Lady of Pompeii Parish". TheCatholicDirectory.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ a b "Our Lady of Pompeii Church". Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
- ^ "Father Demo Square: NYC Parks". NYC Parks. New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ "Greenwich Village Historic District Extension II" (PDF). NYC.gov. New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 18, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- .
- ^ Chessman, Stuart (July 2, 2016). "The Churches of New York LXXVIII: "The Italians of Greenwich Village…"". Society of St. Hugh of Cluny. Archived from the original on September 3, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
- ^ "Church of Our Lady of Pompeii". nycago.org. New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Archived from the original on June 7, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
- ^ "Religious Order Priests Appointed Pastors of Six Parishes". Catholic New York. Archdiocese of New York. August 27, 2013. Archived from the original on May 15, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
Sources
- Brown, Mary Elizabeth (October 2007). Fierro, Rafaele (ed.). The Italians of the South Village (PDF). New York, New York: Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 15, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
- Del Giudice, Richard (December 1986). Guide to the Church of Our Lady of Pompei, New York, New York Records CMS.037 (PDF). New York, New York: Center for Migration Studies of New York. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
- Shelley, Thomas J. (2003). Greenwich Village Catholics: St. Joseph's Church and the Evolution of an Urban Faith Community, 1829-2002. Washington, D.C.: .
External links
- Official website
- Our Lady of Pompeii School Archived September 2, 2018, at the Wayback Machine