View source for Church of Our Lady of the Scapular–St. Stephen

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox Historic building
|image= Our Lady of the Scapular-St. Stephen 28th Street facade.jpg
|caption= (2011)
|name=The Church of Our Lady of the Scapular–St. Stephen
|location_town=[[Manhattan]], New York City
|location_country= U.S.
|website=[http://oursaviournyc.org/ Our Lady of the Scapular–St. Stephen, Manhattan]
|architect='''church:'''<br>[[James Renwick Jr.]]<br>'''extension:'''<br>[[Patrick Charles Keely]]<br>'''school:'''<br>[[Elliott Lynch]]<br>'''rectory:'''<br>Knappe & Johnson
|client=[[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York]]
|engineer=
|construction_start_date='''school:''' c.1897
|completion_date='''church:''' 1854<br>'''extension:''' 1865<br>'''school:''' c.1902<br>'''renovation:''' 1949<br>'''rectory:''' 1954
|date_demolished=
|cost=
|structural_system=
|style=[[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]]
|coordinates={{Coord|40|44|33|N|73|58|52.7|W|display=it}}
|embedded={{Infobox historic site
|embed=yes
|designation1=NYCL
|designation1_number=2259
|designation1_date=October 28, 2008
}}
}}

The '''Church of Our Lady of the Scapular–St. Stephen''' is a [[Roman Catholic]] parish church in the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York]], located at 149 [[28th Street (Manhattan)|East 28th Street]]<ref>''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qO0bAAAAIAAJ&dq=San+Salvatore%2BChurch%2BManhattan&pg=PA390 The World Almanac 1892 and Book of Facts]'' (New York: Press Publishing, 1892), p.390.</ref> between [[Third Avenue (Manhattan)|Third]] and [[Lexington Avenue|Lexington]] Avenues in the [[Rose Hill (Manhattan)|Rose Hill]] neighborhood of [[Manhattan]], New York City. It was established in the 1980s when the parish of the [[Church of Our Lady of the Scapular of Mount Carmel]] was merged into the parish of the '''Church of St. Stephen the Martyr'''.<ref name=fromatoz /> In January 2007, it was announced by the [[Archdiocese of New York]] that the [[Church of the Sacred Hearts of Mary and Jesus (New York City)|Church of the Sacred Hearts of Mary and Jesus]], located at 307 East 33rd Street, was to be merged into Our Lady of the Scapular–St. Stephen,<ref>[http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/OurLadyScapularStStephen.html "Our Lady of the Scapular–St. Stephen (Roman Catholic)"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110420134655/http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/OurLadyScapularStStephen.html |date=April 20, 2011 }} on the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists website</ref> then, in November 2014, the Archdiocese announced that the Church of Our Lady of the Scapular–St. Stephen was one of 31 neighborhood parishes which would be merged into other parishes.<ref>{{cite news |last=Otterman |first=Sharon |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/03/nyregion/new-york-catholics-are-set-to-learn-fate-of-their-parishes.html |title=Tears and Heartache for New York's Catholics as Cardinal Shuts Churches |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 2, 2014}}</ref> Our Lady of the Scapular–St. Stephen was to be merged into the [[Our Saviour Church (Manhattan)|Church of Our Saviour]] at 59 Park Avenue.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/03/nyregion/03churches-merge-list-close.html |title=List of Merging Churches and Those That Will Cease Regular Services |work=The New York Times |date=November 2, 2014}}</ref>

==St. Stephen the Martyr==
The parish of St. Stephen the Martyr was formed in 1848 and was originally located on [[Madison Avenue]]. A temporary church was erected and dedicated by then Bishop [[John Hughes (archbishop of New York)|John Hughes]] on December 23, 1849. In 1853 the property was purchased by the [[New York and Harlem Railroad]] and a new church was built on 28th Street and opened March 5, 1854. The first pastor was Rev. [[Jeremiah Williams Cummings|Jeremiah W. Cummings]]. One of the parishioners around that time was [[Orestes Brownson]]. In an article on "Vocations to the Priesthood" that the plain spoken Cummings contributed to "Brownson's Review" of October 1860, he severely criticized the management and mode of instruction in Catholic colleges and seminaries which he styled "cheap priest-factories". This aroused a bitter controversy, and brought out one of the noted essays by Archbishop Hughes, his "Reflections on the Catholic Press". "Under the administration of Dr. Cummings St. Stephen's, which he had completed in March, 1854, became the most fashionable and most frequented church in New York, its sermons and music making it a local attraction."<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04567a.htm Meehan, Thomas. "Jeremiah Williams Cummings." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908. December 15, 2017</ref> During the 1860s St. Stephen's was one of the largest and most influential Catholic congregations in New York.<ref name=lpc>[http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/2008StStephensChurch.pdf St. Stephen's Church", Landmarks Preservation Commission, October 8, 2008]</ref>

Cummings died in January 1866 after a long illness that incapacitated him for active service. He was succeeded by assistant pastor Rev. [[Edward McGlynn]]. Future Bishop of Buffalo, [[Charles H. Colton]]'s first assignment after his ordination in 1876 was as a curate at Stephen's. He remained there for ten years, his duties including the chaplaincy at [[Bellevue Hospital|Bellevue]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1915/05/10/archives/bishop-ch-colton-of-buffalo-is-dead-prelate-expected-to-consecrate.html |title=Bishop C.H. Colton of Buffalo is Dead |work=The New York Times |date=May 10, 1915}}</ref> In 1879, [[Charles Edward McDonnell]], (later Bishop of Brooklyn) was also curate at St. Stephen's.

No less plain spoken than his predecessor, Rev. McGlynn was reprimanded by Archbishop [[John McCloskey]], who required McGlynn to refrain from defending in public the views of [[Henry George]], which some considered bordering on socialism. McGlynn subsequently ran afoul of Archbishop [[Michael Corrigan]] for McGlynn's open endorsement of George's mayoral campaign. In January 1877, Corrigan removed McGlynn from the pastorate of St. Stephen's for insubordination. Father Colton became pastor in February 1877 and founded the parish school. On June 10, 1903, Colton was appointed the fourth Bishop of Buffalo. He was succeeded by [[Thomas Cusack (bishop)|Thomas Francis Cusack]], auxiliary bishop of New York, who served as pastor of St. Stephen's Church from 1904 to July 5, 1915, when he was named Bishop of Albany. At that time, the parish maintained the Presentation Day Nursery on East 32nd St., which allowed mothers to work; and St. Stephen's Inn at East 31st St., an affordable residence for young working women.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=KL4YAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA396 Lafort, Remigius. ''The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X.'', Catholic editing Company, 1914, p. 374]{{PD-notice}}</ref> Fr. Francis Cummings became pastor in 1919; he installed electric lighting in the church.<ref name=lpc/>

The Carmelites took over administration of the parish in 1988. In 1990, the parish of Our Lady of the Scapular merged with the parish of St. Stephen the Martyr.<ref name=lpc/>

===Church of St. Stephen the Martyr===
The parish's current church, the [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]] style, was designed by noted architect [[James Renwick Jr.]],<ref name=fromatoz>{{cite fromatoz}}, p.168</ref> who also designed [[St. Patrick's Cathedral (New York)|St. Patrick's Cathedral]] and [[Grace Church (Manhattan)|Grace Church]]. The façade has rounded arches for the entrance and windows. The building was extended north to 142 [[29th Street (Manhattan)|East 29th Street]] in 1865 by architect [[Patrick Charles Keely]].<ref name=aia>{{cite AIA4}}, p.214</ref>   The church includes forty-three interior murals by the artist [[Constantine Brumidi]], who also provided murals in the U.S. Capitol, as well as a painting of the Crucifixion above the high altar, also by Brumidi. The stained glass windows are by Meyer of Munich.
[[File:Epiphany RC school 121 E28 jeh.jpg|thumb|230px|Epiphany School, 28th Street]]

On March 2, 1916, Spanish poets [[Juan Ramón Jiménez]] ([[Nobel Prize in Literature]] in 1956) and [[Zenobia Camprubí]] got married in this church. Their six-month stay in the United States is in the origin of Jiménez's book ''Diario de un poeta recién casado'' (1917), which was an inflection point for his poetry and for Spanish contemporary poetry.

The 29th Street facade is fully developed.<ref name=fromatoz /> The church underwent restoration in 1949.  The connected school building on 28th Street was built c.1902, designed by [[Elliot Lynch]],<ref name=aia /> and a rectory was built on the 29th Street side in 1956, designed by the firm of Knappe & Johnson.<ref name=met>[http://www.metrohistory.com/dbpages/NBresults.lasso "Manhattan NB Database 1900–1986"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215041150/http://www.metrohistory.com/dbpages/NBresults.lasso |date=February 15, 2013 }} on the Office for Metropolitan History website. (Accessed December 25, 2010).</ref>

This church is not operational since its merging in 2014.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Musumeci |first1=Natalie |last2=Prendergast |first2=Daniel |url=https://nypost.com/2014/11/04/churchs-closure-could-be-the-end-of-its-treasured-murals |title=Church's closure could be the end of its treasured murals |work=New York Post |date=November 4, 2014}}</ref>

===St. Stephen Parish School===
The St. Stephen Parish School on 28th Street was built from 1897 to around 1902 to the designs of [[Elliot Lynch]].<ref name=aia/><ref>Architectural League of New York [https://books.google.com/books?id=NKQDAAAAYAAJ&dq=Elliot+Lynch+architect&pg=PA47 ''Year book of the Architectural League of New York, and catalogue''. Vol 12] (New York, 1897), p.115.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2KQDAAAAYAAJ&dq=Elliot+Lynch+architect&pg=PA20 “St. Stephen’s Parish School, New York, NY”] ''The American Architect and Building News'' Vol. 84 (Boston: S.J. Parkhill & Co., Printers, 1904), p.20</ref> The [[Sisters of Charity of New York|Sisters of Charity]] staffed the school until 1967.

It is now the St. Stephen's campus of the '''Epiphany School''', one of their two facilities, the other being on East 20th Street near the [[Church of the Epiphany (Roman Catholic, Manhattan)|Epiphany Church]].<ref>[http://www.theepiphanyschool.org/ Epiphany School website]</ref>{{clear left}}

==Our Lady of the Scapular==
{{Main|Church of Our Lady of the Scapular of Mount Carmel}}
The parish of Our Lady of the Scapular of Mount Carmel was founded in 1889 by the Irish Carmelites.

==In popular culture==
The church briefly appears in the 1989 television movie ''[[Kojak]]: Fatal Flaw''.

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{commons category-inline|Church of Our Lady of the Scapular-St. Stephen}}

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{{Gramercy, Kips Bay, Stuyvesant Square}}
{{Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Our Lady of the Scapular-St. Stephen, Church of}}
[[Category:1848 establishments in New York (state)]]
[[Category:19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1990]]
[[Category:James Renwick Jr. church buildings]]
[[Category:New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Patrick Keely buildings]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches completed in 1854]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic churches in Manhattan]]
[[Category:Romanesque Revival church buildings in New York City]]
[[Category:Rose Hill, Manhattan]]