Church of St. Vincent Ferrer
869 Lexington Avenue | also 137 East 65th Street | Upper East Side | built 1910
Open on the map16 entries
The city photographed every building for its tax records around 1940 and again in the 1980s. NYC Municipal Archives.
Written with AI from the source each entry cites, then fact-checked.
- 1867
Dominicans lay the cornerstone of a brick chapel and school at Lexington and 65th Street
French-born Father Thomas Martin and other Dominicans came to the Upper East Side during the Civil War, and Archbishop John McCloskey urged them to found a parish. They borrowed $10,000 to buy land at Lexington Avenue and 65th Street, where the church and priory now stand, and McCloskey laid the cornerstone of a brick chapel and school on November 10, 1867. The chapel was finished two years later, along with a simple convent behind it.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1881
William Schickel completes the Victorian Gothic priory
The Dominicans commissioned German-born architect William Schickel in 1880 to design a convent, now called the priory, and it was completed in 1881. It was the first documented work Schickel did for the Catholic Church, and the start of a relationship that lasted through his career. He had come to New York around 1870 and worked as a draftsman for Richard Morris Hunt. The priory is built of brick, brownstone and slate in the Victorian Gothic style.
“This convent, now known as the priory, is Schickel's first documented work for the Catholic Church and the beginning of a relationship…”
- 1912
The Dominicans reject plans resembling a miniature St. Patrick's and give Goodhue free rein
In 1912 the parish engaged architects for a new church to replace the brick one built on the site in 1869, but the proposals were rejected as being roughly a smaller version of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The Dominicans then chose Bertram Goodhue, who had recently opened his own New York office, after being impressed by his St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue. He was given free rein over the design, and the cornerstone was laid on October 22, 1916.
“…the church selected Bertram Goodhue, who had recently opened his own office in New York, as architect and he was given free rein…”
- 1918
Cardinal Farley dedicates Bertram Goodhue's new Church of St. Vincent Ferrer
Cardinal John Murphy Farley dedicated the new church on May 5, 1918, assisted by Archbishop Bonzano. An orchestra from the New York Symphony, a men's choir and a boys' choir performed, and Metropolitan Opera singers tenor Giovanni Martinelli and baritone Mario Laurenti were soloists. The Sun predicted the church would cost about $1.5 million.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1918
Olympic champion and policeman Martin Sheridan is mourned at the church before its dedication
More than a month before its official dedication, the new church hosted the funeral of Martin Sheridan, an Irish-born discus thrower who won three Olympic gold medals. He had served in the New York police since 1902, and he died of Spanish influenza on March 27, 1918, the day before his 37th birthday. The Sun said the church was barely large enough for the crowd that included police, firemen, judges and a former governor.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1919
A pontifical high mass for the saint's feast draws more worshippers than the new church can hold
A three-day celebration of St. Vincent Ferrer ended on April 6, 1919, with a solemn pontifical high mass led by Archbishop Patrick J. Hayes. According to the New-York Tribune, more people came than the new Gothic church could hold. Worshippers crowded into the nave and chancel for the service.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1934
Thousands crowd Lexington Avenue for the funeral of Tammany leader Thomas M. Farley
The funeral of Thomas M. Farley, a former sheriff of New York County and Tammany leader, took place at St. Vincent Ferrer on April 7, 1934. The New York Times counted more than 2,500 people from among his friends, relatives and Tammany colleagues at the service. Despite the rain, thousands more crowded the avenue outside.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1935
A statue of Blessed Martin de Porres is unveiled while a campaign for his canonization is under way
On September 22, 1935, the church unveiled a statue of Blessed Martin de Porres, who had been beatified by Pope Gregory XVI in 1837. A movement was then underway to have him declared a saint. The New York Times reported the unveiling.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1941
Father Urban Nagle launches the amateur Blackfriars Theatre at the priory
Father Urban Nagle arrived at the priory in 1940 to edit the Holy Name Journal. Together with Brother Fabian Carey he started the Blackfriars Theatre, a company of amateurs, whose first production opened in the fall of 1941. Nagle estimated in 1948 that over 100 actors who began on its stage had turned professional.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1944
Priory sculptor-priest Thomas McGlynn writes Caukey, a Blackfriars play that makes Black people the majority
In 1944 Father Thomas M. McGlynn, a priory resident already noted for his sculpture, turned to writing scripts for the Blackfriars, the amateur theater group at the priory. His play Caukey took up racial issues by imagining a world in which Black people were the majority and white people a minority. He had earlier designed and sculpted the baptismal font in the church, in 1932.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1950
Socialite Barbara Hoge marries Prince Ivan Obolensky at St. Vincent Ferrer
On February 4, 1950, Barbara Cecile Hoge married Prince Ivan Peter Obolensky at the church. The New York Times described the bride as a descendant of early Virginia families, and the groom as a brother of Prince Alexander Obolensky and a nephew of several princes, princesses and a countess. Princes Sergei Obolensky, Alexis Obolensky and Kyril Galitzine were among the wedding party.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 1965
Journalist Dorothy Kilgallen's funeral draws 2,600 mourners
Dorothy Kilgallen's funeral was held at St. Vincent Ferrer on November 11, 1965. Among the 2,600 people attending were John Daly, Arlene Francis, producer Mark Goodson, Betty White, Ed Sullivan and Bob Considine. She was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Westchester County.
“Her funeral took place on November 11 at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in Manhattan…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1970
Andy Warhol attends Mass at the back of the church
During the late 1960s and 1970s, Andy Warhol, who lived nearby, regularly attended Mass at St. Vincent Ferrer. Father Sam Matarazzo remembered him sitting quietly in the back, taking neither communion nor confession. The priest speculated that Warhol was afraid of being recognized, and Warhol himself said he felt self-conscious about being seen crossing himself in the Orthodox way.
“During the late 1960s and 1970s Andy Warhol, a devout Byzantine Catholic who lived nearby, attended Mass regularly at St. Vincent Ferrer.”
Source: Wikipedia
- 1974
A fire sweeps the priory staircase and kills Father Thomas Smith
Around 10 p.m. on July 29, 1974, fire swept up the priory's main stairway, trapping priests in their rooms. Firefighters used ladders to rescue several of them, including the 65-year-old pastor, Paul C. McKenna, lowered in his bathrobe. Father Thomas Smith, 67, died, and a caller to United Press International claimed to have set the blaze.
Source: Daytonian in Manhattan
- 2011
Geraldine Ferraro's funeral Mass is held in the church where she married and renewed her vows
A funeral Mass for former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro took place at St. Vincent Ferrer on March 31, 2011. She had married John Zaccaro in the church in 1960 and the couple renewed their vows there for their 50th anniversary the year before her death. Politicians from city, state and national levels attended, and Walter Mondale and both Clintons were among the speakers.
“A funeral Mass was held for her on March 31 at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York, the site where Ferraro and Zaccaro had been married…”
Source: Wikipedia
- 2022
Ivana Trump's funeral is held at St. Vincent Ferrer near her Upper East Side home
Ivana Trump died on July 14, 2022, at age 73, after falling down a steep staircase at her home on the Upper East Side. Six days later, on July 20, her funeral was held at St. Vincent Ferrer, a Catholic church near that home. She was buried at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
Nearby
- Cosmopolitan Club122 East 66th Street | 5 entries
- The Studio Building889 Lexington Avenue | 3 entries
- Park Avenue Armory (Seventh Regiment Armory)643 Park Avenue | 13 entries
- Barbara Rutherford Hatch House153 East 63rd Street | 10 entries
- Park East Synagogue163 East 67th Street | 11 entries
- The Barbizon140 East 63rd Street | 13 entries