Top 5 Catholic Artist-Recommended Parishes in NYC
Now that we’ve been sharing weekly interviews with Catholic artists in NYC for 6 months (!), we’d like to highlight some of the resources recommended in our 20+ interviews. This week: the top 5 parishes recommended by NYC Catholic artists!
1) St. Malachy’s - The Actors’ Chapel
This parish was by far the most-recommended, since it has a special outreach to the professional performing arts community. Located in Times Square (across from the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, home to the Broadway show Book of Mormon), St. Malachy’s holds a special post-theatre Mass on Saturdays at 11 p.m., which caters to both tourists and Broadway performers. The choir sings at the Sunday 11 a.m., and at various concerts and cabarets throughout the year. Sunday at 6 p.m. is the Young Adult Mass, often followed by a social. This parish is the first stop for many actors moving to the city, and many performers continue to travel from all parts of the city to make this parish their church home. Its Artist Shrine, featuring a specially-commissioned icon of St. Genesius (patron saint of actors) as well as icons for the patron saints of dancers, musicians, and visual artists, is a quiet and beautiful place to light a candle and sit quietly before a show. (And our blog interviewee Christopher Alles restored the Stations of the Cross!) It is also home to the St. Genesius Society, a workshop for playwrights, directors, and actors that meets on Thursday nights.
Pastor: Fr. John Fraser
www.actorschapel.org
2) Church of St. Paul the Apostle (Paulists)
This church off of Columbus Circle is the motherhouse of the Paulist Fathers, a missionary society of men dedicated to the evangelization of North America. The Paulist community is home to Openings, a visual artist collective led by blog interviewee Fr. Frank Sabatté which holds exhibits in the church, and Busted Halo, a media ministry hosted by Fr. Dave Dwyer. St. Paul’s has an active Young Adults group based at the Sunday 5:15 p.m. Mass, and the choir sings Sundays at 10 a.m. The parish also hosts a number of other groups and cultural activities year-round.
Pastor: Fr. Joseph Ciccone, CSP
www.stpaultheapostle.org
3) St. Vincent Ferrer (Dominicans)
A number of artists recommended the beauty of the liturgy and the sacred space of St. Vincent Ferrer, part of a combined parish with St. Catherine of Siena that is run by the Dominican Friars. The Office of Readings and Vespers are offered weekdays at 5:30 p.m. followed by 6 p.m. Mass, which is a convenient way to pray with the church community at the end of the workday. In addition, there are multiple musical options for weekend Mass, including several Sung Masses with cantor and the Solemn Mass with the Schola Cantorum, celebrated at 12 p.m. on Sundays at St. Vincent Ferrer.
Pastor: Fr. Walter Wagner, O.P.
www.svsc.info
4) St. Francis of Assisi (Franciscans)
St. Francis of Assisi offers as many daily Masses as St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and almost as many weekend Masses. It also also open several hours each day for confessions, and is known as “New York’s confessional.” With its proximity to several subway lines as well as Penn Station, St. Francis is the place to catch daily Mass, confession, or adoration in between freelance gigs. The parish house can connect you to spiritual direction or to the St. Francis Counseling Center, which offers counseling at an income-based scale.
Pastor: Fr. Andrew Reitz, O.F.M.
www.stfrancisnyc.org
5) St. Ignatius Loyola (Jesuits)
St. Ignatius is one of the most spectacular sanctuaries in the city, with a choir to match (Solemn Mass - Sundays at 11 a.m.). Run by the Jesuits, it is a great place to find a spiritual director. The Ignatian Young Adults group is active and large, and the parish also hosts a Christian Life Community and Centering Prayer group. It is well-known for its Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series, which brings major international sacred music groups to the city as well as featuring extraordinary NYC-based talent.
Pastor: Fr. Dennis Yesalonia, S.J.
www.stignatiusloyola.org
And…a bonus parish (tied for recommendations with St. Francis and St. Ignatius)!
6) The Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral
This parish is the original cathedral for the Archdiocese of New York. It is located in Soho and surrounded by a beautiful old cemetery, whose grass is trimmed by sheep every summer (ported in from upstate for a summer vacation). The cathedral is across Houston Street from the Sheen Center, and is a hub for the downtown community of Catholic artists. The pastor, Msgr. Donald Sakano, is a supporter of the arts, and is always open to artists interested in helping with the Basilica Artists’ Initiative.
Pastor: Msgr. Donald Sakano
www.oldcathedral.org
Let us know if you check out any of these parishes and make one your home!
