St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church
The Church of St. Malachy (The Actors' Chapel) | |
---|---|
General information | |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
Location | 239 W 49th St, New York, NY 10019, USA |
Coordinates | 40°45′41″N 73°59′08″W / 40.761484°N 73.985602°W |
Construction started | 1910[2] |
Completed | 1920[2] |
Client | Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Joseph Hubert McGuire, Thomas J. Duff, Robert J. Reiley[1] |
Website | |
actorschapel |
St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church is a parish church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located in Manhattan on West 49th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue. The parish has served the theatre community in a special way since 1920, and its parishioners have included many actors, such as Bob Hope and Gregory Peck.[3]
Founding
Due to an influx of Irish immigrants to the nearby
The Actors' Parish
Around 1920 the
Leonard sought the special permission of the
St. Malachy soon became a primary place of worship for the entertainment community.[2] It gained worldwide attention when the church was the setting for the funeral of Rudolph Valentino, as well as of the wedding of Douglas Fairbanks Jr. to Joan Crawford.[2] Celebrity worshipers were often in attendance, as well as theater goers, and the nearby location of Madison Square Garden during that time helped to provide a steady stream of visitors. Robert J. Reiley designed an additional wing on the west side of the church in 1930.[1] Until the late 1960s average monthly attendance at Sunday services totaled some 16,000 people.[6] The church's chimes would play "There's No Business Like Show Business."[2] "It is a Broadway tradition to light a candle at the Actors' Chapel for the success of a show on opening night."[1]
Changing neighborhoods
By 1968, the neighborhood was undergoing a drastic change as the theatre community started to move out and the area became home to a community plagued by poverty and drugs. Madison Square Garden moved away. Most who stayed were elderly and poor. Many were held virtually under siege in decaying
List of pastors
- The Rev.William G. B. Daly (1902–1906)
- Msgr. Joseph Francis Delany (1906–1917)[10]
- The Rev. Lawrence E. Murray III (1917–1920)[11]
- The Rt. Rev. Msgr. James B. O'Reilly (1941–1960)[14]
- The Rev. Msgr. Thomas J. O'Brien (1966–1976)[15]
- The Rev. George W. Moore (1976–1991)[2]
- The Rev. Michael C. Crimmins (1991–2001)[16]
- The Rev. Erno Diaz (2001–2003)
- The Rev. Richard D. Baker (2003–2015)[17]
- The Rev. Peter M. Colapietro (2015–2018)[18][19]
- The Rev. John Fraser (2018-) Parish Administrator [18]
Notable ceremonies
- Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., married Joan Crawford[20]
- Walter O'Malley married Katherine Hanson[21]
- Rudolph Valentino's funeral[22]
- Tennessee Williams' funeral[23]
- Bunny Berigan's funeral[24]
Noted attendees
- Fred Allen[2]
- Don Ameche[2]
- George M. Cohan[1]
- Perry Como[2]
- Irene Dunne[2]
- altar boythere
- Chris Farley[2]
- Alec Guinness[2]
- Florence Henderson.[2]
- Hildegarde[2]
- Bob Hope[2]
- Ricardo Montalbán[2]
- Pat O'Brien[2]
- Carroll O'Connor[2]
- Gregory Peck[3]
- Cyril Ritchard[2]
- Rosalind Russell[2]
- Elaine Stritch[citation needed]
- Danny Thomas[2]
- Spencer Tracy[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e Thagard, Gavin and Sara, Marian. "St. Malachy's: The Actors' Chapel." Clio: Your Guide to History. May 5, 2017
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z David W. Dunlap, From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. (New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.) p. 224.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
Its fame may be eclipsed by the Actors' Chapel, a Roman Catholic church a few blocks away that was attended by Gregory Peck and Bob Hope, among others.
- ^ Remigius Lafort, S.T.D., Censor, The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Volume 3: The Province of Baltimore and the Province of New York, Section 1: Comprising the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn, Buffalo and Ogdensburg.... (New York City: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914), p.344.
- ISBN 978-1-892145-08-6.
- ^ "History". St. Malachy.
- ^ "St. Malachy Roman Catholic Church - New York City". www.nycago.org.
- ^ "A Half Block Off Broadway, Father George Moore Oversees the Miracle of 49th Street". people.com.
- ^ "Rev. George W. Moore, 64, Pastor Who Invigorated 'Actors' Chapel'". The New York Times. May 4, 1991.
- New York Times. September 25, 1906. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
- ^ "St. Malachy's Pastor dies". New York Times. August 8, 1920. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
The Rev. Lawrence E. Murray III, Two Weeks of Pneumonia
- New York Times. November 22, 1937. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
Theatrical celebrities will participate in a testimonial dinner to be given in honor of Mgr. Edward F. Leonard, pastor of St. Malachy's Roman Catholic Church, known as the Actors Church, next Sunday evening in the Hotel Astor.
- New York Times. November 28, 1937. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
Pastor of St. Malachy's for 20 Years Revered by Stage Folk
- ^ "Mgr. O'Reilly named St. Malachy Pastor". New York Times. June 13, 1941. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
- intravenously, and declared that he should be allowed to die. The Catholic nursing home where he was being cared for went to court to require that he accept treatment. Against the judgment of four psychiatrists, the judge declared him incompetent and ordered that a feeding tube be inserted into his stomach. He died a month later, at age 84.Johnson, Kirk (November 8, 1986). "Sick Priest ruled incompetent". New York Times. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
- ^ Howe, Marvine (November 7, 1993). "Neighborhood Report: Midtown; The 'Miracle' at St. Malachy's". New York Times. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
- ^ McKinley, Jesse (December 23, 2005). "Finding God". New York Times "Theater". Retrieved December 26, 2011.
- ^ a b The Actors' Chapel, St. Malachy's Church
- ^ Fr. Fraser became administrator of the Parish in 2017 when Fr. Colapietro entered treatment for emphysema. He currently remains Parish Admistrator following the death of Fr. Colapietro Barron, James (February 9, 2018). "Peter Colapietro, 'saloon priest' who ministered to lowly and mighty; at 69". Boston Globe. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
- ^ "LA Times, 1929: Young Doug Weds Joan". www.joancrawfordbest.com.
- ^ "Walter O'Malley : Biography : This Day in Walter O'Malley History : September 5". www.walteromalley.com.
- ISBN 9780786483419– via Google Books.
- ^ "U-M SMTD - Tennessee Williams @ 100 - About TW". smtd.umich.edu.
- ^ "Billboard". Nielsen Business Media, Inc. June 13, 1942 – via Google Books.