50 Oldest Churches of NYC: Saint Michael’s Chapel

Posted on by Thor

In 1859, a “Gingerbread Gothic” Chancery Office Building was built at 266 Mulberry Street, just north of the St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral sanctuary, designed by James Renwick Jr. and William Rodrigue, who would go on to design the new cathedral.  The building would later become St. Michael’s Chapel, then St. Michael’s Russian Catholic Byzantine Church, and, from 1936 until 2019, St. Michael’s Russian Catholic Church of the Byzantine Rite. St. Michael’s is the last Russian Catholic church in New York City, and was one of only four remaining such sanctuaries in the United States. Services are now held at the Church of St. Catherine of Siena, 411 East 68th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Fryer Andrew Rogosh arrived in New York at Christmas of 1935 in order to establish an apostolate to serve the needs of the émigré Russian Catholics who had made their way to the New York metropolitan area after the tragic upheavals in their homeland. In the following months of 1936, he began the work of establishing a chapel. Soon thereafter, St. Michael’s Russian Catholic Chapel opened its doors at 266 Mulberry Street in Manhattan in order to serve their needs. It is the only Russian-Byzantine Catholic Church in the eastern continental United States.

Underneath the basilica are catacombs which currently consist of 35 family crypts and 5 clerical vaults, and which have reopened to new interments. The basilica has also opened the catacombs to walking tours led by “Tommy’s New York”. Among the notable interments are the first resident Bishop of New York John Connolly, General Thomas Eckert, several members of the Delmonico restaurant family, Countess Annie Leary, and Congressman John Kelly.

50 Oldest Churches of NYC: Old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral

Posted on by Thor

The Basilica of Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral, sometimes shortened to St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral or simply Old St. Patrick’s, is a Catholic parish church, basilica, and the former cathedral of the Archdiocese of New York, located on Milberry and Prince in the Nolita neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City.

The cathedral was designed by the same architect who designed New York City Hall, Joseph Francois Mangin. When completed in 1815, it was the largest Catholic church in the United States.

On April 23, 1861 there was a blessing of the colors of the “Fighting” 69th “Irish Brigade” regiment by Archbishop Hughes before the regiment set off for active duty in the Civil War. My 2nd Great Grandfather John Hickey served in the 69th and fought in the battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg and .

A fire destroyed the interior of the Old Cathedral on October 6, 1866; it was rebuilt and re-opened on St. Patrick’s Day in 1868

On March 17, 1885, the debt of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral was finally paid off, and the church was consecrated.

The Old Cathedral and associated buildings are among the first sites to be designated as New York City landmarks in1966. Campus complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.