St. Mary

To address the needs of the growing Irish community, in 1826 the Diocese of New York purchased a small brick-faced building on Sheriff Street for $7,000. This became the first home of St. Mary Parish. The church building was dedicated by Bishop John DuBois on March 25, 1827. It was the third Catholic church in New York City and the first in the city with a bell. It was also the first church in the city to be dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God. Fr. Hatton Walsh, the first pastor, saw St. Mary as a sanctuary for his sheep, who were persecuted for being Irish and Catholic.

In the 1830s, smoldering anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic sentiments exploded. In early November 1831, St. Mary’s Church was set on fire by an individual from the nativist KnowNothing movement. The pastor, Fr. Luke Berry, was injured fighting the blaze and died a few weeks later. Fraternal societies like the Ancient Order of Hibernians emerged to defend the Irish community from persecution.

A new St. Mary would grow quickly from the ashes of adversity. Two weeks after the fire, former mayor Stephen Allen sold land to the diocese at Grand and Ridge Streets for $9,000. In January 1832, ground was broken for a new church, and in April Bishop DuBois laid the cornerstone. He returned in June 1833 to dedicate the church. Three Sisters of Charity of New York opened a parochial school, St. Mary’s Academy, in May 1835.

 Through the latter part of the 19th century, the parish would meet new challenges, including Civil War draft riots, a growing and changing immigrant population, and increasing crime. But the mission of the parish endured. The Ladies Benevolent Society of the parish addressed the needs of the largely impoverished congregation. In 1860, it raised $3,000 at a single event—the equivalent of $87,000 today. To accommodate the growth of the parish, the church building continued to expand, with the completion of a major renovation in 1871.

By 1886, the parish had grown so large that Archbishop Michael Corrigan officiated at the confirmation of 630 candidates. In 1926, St. Mary celebrated its centennial in a muchchanged neighborhood. By now, tenements loomed over the church, and the formerly Irish neighborhood was now predominantly Jewish. The demographics continue to shift; today, the parish is largely Latino. The Capuchins will help St. Mary celebrate its bicentennial in 2026.

 Our Lady of Sorrows

Established in 1867 by the Capuchins, Our Lady of Sorrows is located at Pitt and Stanton Streets in the area once known as Kleindeutschland (Little Germany). The church was a haven for German families exiled from their homeland after the revolutions of 1848- 1849. Building started on the church in 1867, and upon its completion in 1868 it was dedicated by Archbishop John McCloskey. By the early 1910s, the German population had moved uptown and was replaced by a newly arrived population of Italian immigrants. The demographic would soon shift again, and the Italian population was replaced by Hispanic immigrants. By 2000, Masses were offered in Spanish and English. Today the church is known by many parishioners as Nuestra Señora de los Dolores.

“The community changes because generations change,” said Br. James Donegan. “There is something valuable in our brothers’ response to walk with the people of God throughout its history, and I feel blessed to be part of that.”