St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, New York
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Saint Peter Catholic Church, New York
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| Location: | 22 Barclay Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York |
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| Built: | 1836-1840[1] |
| Architect: | John R. Haggerty and Thomas Thomas |
| Architectural style: | Greek Revival |
| NRHP Reference#: | 80002721 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | April 23, 1980 |
| Designated NYCL: | December 21, 1965 |
Saint Peter Catholic Church is the oldest parish of the Catholic Church in New York City and part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York. Catholics laid the cornerstone of the original church in 1785 and celebrated the first solemn Mass in 1786.
Architects Thomas Thomas and John R. Hagarty designed the present church building in Greek Revival architecture. Catholics laid its cornerstone in 1836, and constructors completed the extant church in 1840.[2]
The address is 22 Barclay Street.[3]
New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission listed the church building as a landmark in 1965.[4]
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[edit] History
A gift of 1,000 silver pieces from King Charles III of Spain topped off donations to start the construction of the church.[5] Catholics constructing the original church initially tried to locate it on Broad Street (Manhattan), then in the heart of New York City. Due to anti-Catholic sentiments, however, New York City officials implored them to change the location to a site at Barclay and Church Streets, then outside the city limits. The builders relented and accepted the present location. Catholics laid the cornerstone of the original church in 1785 and celebrated the first solemn Mass in 1786.
Venerable Pierre Toussaint, a black Haitian born into slavery, arrived in New York in 1787 and joined the parish.
Mexican artist Jose Vallejo painted an icon of the Crucifixion, and the archbishop of Mexico City gifted it to Saint Peter parish in 1789; it hung above the main altar.[6] On 14 March 1805 at Saint Peter Church, Saint Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton converted from the Episcopal Church (United States) to Catholicism. She thereafter often prayed before this painting of the Crucifixion above the main altar . The Catholic Church later canonized her, the first United States citizen so honored.
On 24 December 1806, Catholics celebrated the Christmas Eve vigil inside the church building. This Catholic celebration still infuriated some Protestants who viewed it as an exercise in “popish superstition.” Protesters tried to disrupt the Mass. The ensuing melee injured dozens, and a policeman was killed.[7]
Architects Thomas Thomas and John R. Hagarty designed the present church building in Greek Revival architecture. Catholics laid its cornerstone in 1836, and constructors completed the extant church in 1840.[8]
Venerable Pierre Toussaint, a parishioner known for his great generosity to the poor and piety, died in 1853.
[edit] September 11
A portion of the landing gear of an airplane impacted the Saint Peter Catholic Church building during the September 11 attacks in 2001.[9][10] Flying debris struck and killed Father Mychal Judge OFM, chaplain for the New York City Fire Department, the first publicly identified casualty of the attacks. Surviving firemen laid his body before the altar at Saint Peter Catholic Church. The parish also served as a staging ground for rescue and recovery operations. "We were the first place they were bringing all the emergency equipment. Everything was in disarray," pastor Father Madigan stated. "Stuff was piled six feet high all over the pews—bandages, gas masks, boots, hoses and cans of food for the workers and the volunteers, many of whom were sleeping in the church on bedrolls." The same also occurred in the downstairs church.
Authorities also blocked public access to the parish and imposed martial law. The church celebrated Masses occasionally only for the rescue workers and those with credentials to enter. On 28 October 2001, authorities lifted martial law in the area. "That was when we officially celebrated our first Mass after September 11," says Father Madigan. The parish quickly cut the number of Masses from that before the attacks "because the number of people coming was way down. Many who had been coming to mass at St. Peter's or St. Joseph's from the World Trade Center, of course, were not around anymore."[11]
The World Trade Center cross temporarily sat on the Church Street side until it was moved to the World Trade Center Memorial.[12][13] A new custom cross was commissioned to stand in place, installed on 11 August 2011.[14]
[edit] Real estate
The real estate the church sits on has a market value of $4,670,000 as of 2006.[15]
[edit] References
- ^ "AIA Guide to New York City", 4th Edition, pg 67
- ^ [1]
- ^ The World Almanac 1892 and Book of Facts (New York: Press Publishing, 1892), p.390.
- ^ [2]
- ^ National Catholic Register: "9/11's Church: St. Peter Catholic Church Has Witnessed Pivotal Points of U.S. History" September 2, 2011
- ^ [3]
- ^ Paul Vitello, "In Fierce Opposition to a Muslim Center, Echoes of an Old Fight: First Catholic Church in the City Stirred Fear and Suspicion, in 1785," The New York Times, October 8, 2010, p. A19. Found at New York Times website. Accessed October 12, 2010.
- ^ [4]
- ^ NYC-Architecture.com
- ^ The American Catholic: “St. Peter's Parish: Death and Resurrection at Ground Zero”.
- ^ The American Catholic: “St. Peter's Parish: Death and Resurrection at Ground Zero”
- ^ New York Times: “Brief Journey for an Icon of the Attack on New York” October 6, 2006.
- ^ "World Trade Center Cross Moves To 9/11 Memorial On Saturday". CBS New York. July 22, 2011. Access: September 12, 2011
- ^ "Saint Peter 9-11 Cross" (Official Blog). Posted August 11, 2011. Jon Krawczyk, Artist and Sculptor. Accessed September 12, 2011.
- ^ Independent valuations
[edit] External links
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Coordinates: 40°42′45″N 74°00′34″W / 40.712488°N 74.009501°W
