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Shrine Church of St. Ann (Bronx)

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Coordinates: 40°52′54.6″N 73°52′42.4″W / 40.881833°N 73.878444°W / 40.881833; -73.878444
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Not to be confused with St. Ann's Episcopal Church (Bronx).
Shrine Church of St. Ann
Map
Location3519 Bainbridge Avenue, Bronx, New York 10467
CountryUnited States
DenominationRoman Catholic
History
FoundedDecember 25, 1927
Founder(s)Rev. Martin Cavanaugh
DedicationSaint Ann
Architecture
Functional statusschool
Architect(s)Viemuster & Brady
Architectural typeChurch and school
StyleCollegiate Gothic with Decorated Gothic and Tudor Gothic
Groundbreaking1928
Completed1929
Construction cost$300,000[1]
ClosedAugust 1, 2015
Specifications
Number of floors4
Bellstwo
Administration
SubdivisionNorthwest Bronx Vicariate
ArchdioceseNew York
Clergy
Pastor(s)Rev. Francis P. Scanlon
Laity
Organist(s)Hector P. Martinez, Jr.
Churchwarden(s)José Rosa
Parish administratorClara Villanueva

The Shrine Church of St. Ann was a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at Bainbridge Avenue, just north of Gun Hill Road, in the Norwood area of the Bronx, New York. The parish was established in 1927, [2] and closed as of August 1, 2015.[3] The parish was merged with the former Parish of St. Brendan, with the Church of St. Brendan being designated as the parish church of the new combined parish. The name of the new combined parish is expected to be St. Ann-St. Brendan Parish.

History

The parish was founded in 1927 by Cardinal Patrick J. Hayes, the Archbishop of New York, to serve the growing population of the North Bronx, due to the recent completion of various subway lines which were being extended to that northernmost region of the City of New York. The first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day of that year at the Montefiore Home and Hospital located across the street from the planned site of the church.

The new parish had from the outset the unique distinction of being designated not a parish church but a shrine dedicated to its patron saint, Saint Ann, the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the grandmother of her son, Jesus. From the time of its founding in 1927, an annual novena of Masses in honor of this saint was observed during the nine days leading up to her feast day.

The original property purchased for the parish extended from East Gun Hill Road one block north. The decision was made by the Rev. Martin Cavanaugh, the founding pastor, to make the school the first building to be constructed for the parish complex, with the worship area to be in the school gymnasium until a church could be constructed. This was not to be, however, as the Great Depression started just as the school was being completed. As a consequence, the pastor had to make the lower part of the school the permanent site of the parish church. Additionally, an adjacent lot had to be sold to cover the debts from the construction of the school and an adjoining convent. The convent had to be taken over by the clergy to serve as the parish rectory, and plans for any further building were scrapped.

In the 1960s, a new convent was built at the north end of the property to house the Dominican Sisters teaching in the school, who had been required to live in a neighboring parish where they also taught. These Sisters withdrew from serving in the parish in the 1980s. Later the building became occupied by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, who initially used it as their novitiate. It is currently occupied by their coworkers, the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal, who run a food pantry for the parish.

Buildings

The church and parish school were located in the same building, a common school-above-church design feature of several New York City parishes,.[2] It is a red brick multistory Collegiate Gothic structure with Decorated Gothic and Tudor Gothic design elements with terracotta trim over a raised fieldstone basement and entrance breakfront. The church was located at the building's piano nobile, above the raised basement and accessed by both a perron through an ornate Tudor-arched entrance and a second flight within the building. The school is located on the two floors above the former church.[2]

School

As of the 2014/15 school term, the school has an enrollment of about 150 students, half of its previous enrollment. It was staffed for many years by the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill.[2]

Closing

In November 2014, the Archdiocese of New York released the results of a year-long process of evaluation of all its parishes. The Parish of St. Ann was among the many chosen to be merged, in this case with the neighboring Parish of St. Brendan. It was determined that the church would no longer be used for religious functions. The school had been removed from the authority of the parish two years earlier and placed under a centralized system of the archdiocese and was to remain in operation.[3]

References

  1. ^ "$2,000,000 plans filed in Bronx". The New York Times. Real Estate. March 31, 1928.
  2. ^ a b c d Shelley, Thomas J. (2007). St Ann, Bainbridge Avenue, Gun Hill The Archdiocese of New York: The Bicentennial History. New York: Archdiocese of New York. p. 478. Retrieved February 7, 2011. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  3. ^ a b "Parish Mergers". Catholic New York. November 2, 2014.

40°52′54.6″N 73°52′42.4″W / 40.881833°N 73.878444°W / 40.881833; -73.878444

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