The Roman Forum 

35th Annual New York City Church History Program

2026-2027

The Perennial Esoteric Tradition, Judaism, and Catholicism

Lecturer: Dr. John C. Rao

 (D.Phil. Oxford, Chairman of the Roman Forum) 

September 26:  Esotericism, Gnosticism, and Judaism at the Beginning of  Christianity

October 10:         The Destruction of the Second Temple, Rabbinic Judaism, and Christianity

November 21:     Talmudic Judaism

December 12:      The Kabbalah 

January 23:         The Kabbalah & the Christian World Through the “Reuchlin War”

February 27:        The Lurianic Kabbalah and the Politicization of its Message

March 13:               Enlightenment Esotericism, Judaism, and Christianity

April 3:                   Christian Zionism

May 8:                     Current Dangers to the Faith from the Perennial Esoteric Tradition

All Sessions Meet on Saturdays, at 2:30 P.M.

Wine & Cheese Reception. Entrance Fee at door of $15.00

Shrine and Parish Church of Holy Innocents
128 W 37th St, New York, NY 10018

Divine New York: Inside the Historic Churches and Synagogues of Manhattan

Photographs by Michael J. Horowitz; Text by Elizabeth Anne Hartman

Abbeville Press Publishers (New York and London 2022)

304 pages

In 2022 Abbeville Press published Divine New York, a small-scale coffee table book about the churches and synagogues of Manhattan. Similar books have been published in the past, but I think this is the first with recent, professional photographs. One aspect of Divine New York was of special interest to me:  this book includes descriptions and photographs of the interiors of 28 Roman Catholic churches. I believe this is the first time such a photographic survey of multiple churches has appeared in print.  I will confine my comments to the Roman Catholic churches, all of which I have investigated over the years; I am familiar with many of the other churches (and one synagogue) as well but only as a casual visitor.

The book is most remarkable in that it makes the point visually that the interiors of these houses of worship in Manhattan are worthy of study and of preservation. Now certainly for the Roman Catholic churches this is a major step forward. Because the current thinking of the archdiocese of New York   – and of the post-conciliar Church as a whole  – sees these houses of worship as having simply the character of a shed or barn in which relious service are provided. When the congregation disappears or a financial need otherwise arises a church building can be abandoned or disposed of. This is very similar to the traditional Protestant (and Jewish) attitudes; it certainly is not the historic Catholic understanding. 

A second noteworthy feature of this book is that several of the Roman Catholic churches it describes have since been closed or demolished. I believe Divine New York is the first book to attempt to deal with the massive  destruction and abandonment of Manhattan Catholic churches in the last 25 years. Thus, it is a historic record of what has been lost in the very recent past. Now both the foreword and the main text do express regret at these losses. I would have thought, however,  that a book seeking to make the case for the value of the Manhattan houses of worship,  would have taken a stronger stand on the subject.

The photography is the main attraction of Divine New York. Most pictures are of outstanding quality. For example, I was happy to see excellent photographs of St. Elizabeth of Hungary,   As the author of the text states and the work of the photographer demonstrates, this church,  although small, was one of the finest Catholic houses of worship on the island of Manhattan.  The photographer, Michael L. Horowitz, tells us about the impressive equipment he used to achieve these results; I would like to discuss with him how he was able to obtain the consent of the (Catholic) parishes to take the time needed to carefully set up these shots. And these pictures are often taken from the choir loft, balconies and, in at least one case,  from the sanctuary itself. 

I do have a couple of mildly critical observations regarding the photography. First,  each entry includes a smaller thumbnail picture of the exterior of the church for orientation purposes. These images seem to be taken in large part from third party sources and are often of indifferent quality. Second, certain of the images (like those of the Basilica of Old St. Patrick’s cathedral, p. 57; St. Paul the Apostle,  pp. 165-66; “Our Lady of the Scapular,” p.187 ) have a dazzling, brilliant, even garish appearance that you would not see under normal lighting conditions (either artificial or natural). I wonder if this is attributable to the need to use additional studio-style illumination or otherwise compensate for low-light conditions. I do undertand, given the complexities of lighting, how difficult it can be to obtain satisfactory images of interiors.

Elizabeth Anne Hartman’s text is intended to support the photographs. She provides a general review of the history of  each church, including some interesting facts about events and individuals associated with it. Sometimes (but not always) she writes about the images that you see in this in this book. 

I have questions about the weighting of some of these facts and certain of the author’s aesthetic judgments as well.  To take one example, it is certainly interesting that the priest who served as the model for Marlon Brando’s character in On the Waterfront was a member of the Jesuit community at St. Francis Xavier church. To make this the interpretative key for the description of that parish is not very accurate. Then, the author, discussing the interior of St. Francis Xavier, remarks favorably on a “highlight”: a baptismal pool and fountain integrated into the reredos in the middle of the apse.  But someone versed in art should have noticed that this unique arrangement is utterly non-traditional and contradicts the entire sense and direction of the rest of the church – centered as it is on the altar. (p. 83)

I was also surprised at the attitude the author adopts in regard to the church closings described in this book. She certainly bemoans these losses, but seems rather gullible regarding the necessity for these actions. She uncritically restates the facts and reasoning asserted by the archdiocese for parish closings and consolidations – which she calls euphemistically a “reorganization”  – and does not mention at all the contrary views of parishioners and neighborhood residents.

These are questions of judgment. There are regrettably also more than a few factual errors throughout this book. Some admittedly involve arcane topics.   For example, the author writes that after Pope Pius X’s edicts in 1903 “it wasn’t until 1968 when a woman sang in (St. Patrick’s) cathedral again.” (p. 147) But in fact, what happened around 1968 was that women rejoined St. Patrick’s choir. Prior to that, women had sung in St. Patrick’s in other capacities, for example,  when a noted Brooklyn choir performed in an oratorio there in 1932. Then, the author describes the baptistry of St. Paul the Apostle, illustrated in the book, as a work of John Lafarge. (p. 167). The actual designer was the firm of Heins & Lafarge (Christopher Grant LaFarge, a partner in the firm, was the eldest son of John Lafarge).  Moreover, the baptistry shown in this book is not the original.  After Vatican II, that baptistry was broken apart and the components later reassembled into the “post-conciliar” concoction seen in the photograph.

Other errors are less understandable. For example, the church of the Holy Innocents, to the best of my knowledge,  has never been known as the “actor’s church,” that sobriquet  (the “actors’ chapel”)has always been reserved in New York for St. Malachy’s on West 49^th Street. (p. 102) There is no  “tombstone” of Elizabeth Ann Seton in old St Patrick’s cathedral basilica (she is buried in Maryland) (p. 60). The large mosaic in the apse of St. Francis of Assisi was installed in 1925, and not “commissioned after World War II.”  (p. 98 ) I don’t recall that any works of Brumidi were moved from the closed church of St. Stephen of Hungary to Our Saviour‘s church (p. 254); the works of Brumidi on display there now are the stations of the cross taken from St. Stephen’s church (East 28th Street).  Worst of all, the description of St Stephen’s,  once one of the grandest and most historic Catholic churches on the island of Manhattan, is completely mixed up. The book has photos of St Stephen’s church, yet the title and text of this entry describe the church of Our Lady of the Scapular and its history. Now the Carmelite parish of Our Lady of the Scapular was merged into St. Stephen’s parish between 1988 and 1991. The old church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was sold in 1995 and subsequently demolished; St. Stephen’s was the surviving building.  The combined parish was called, at least officially, Our Lady of  the Scapular – St. Stephen’s. The Carmelites administered the parish until they left (or were removed) in 2007. St.  Stephen’s parish then reverted to direct archdiocesan management and was in turn closed in 2015. Neither church was closed in 2007, as is stated in this book.

In conclusion, Divine New York includes fine photogrphs of some of the most beautiful interiors of Catholic churches on the island of Manhattan.(sticking to my “sectarian” focus!) Several of these descriptions are now of historical interest because the churches in question have since been destroyed.  I do advise a degree of caution on using this book as a source for the history and art of the churches it covers.  But it is acceptable if the reader treats the text as a very general introduction to enable him to understand the situation in history and in the city of each church covered. 

Regina Pacis Academy’s opening Mass of the academic year will be in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on September 8 at 9:00 am. at St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, CT. Everyone is welcome to attend.

St. Patrick’s Oratory in Waterbury, CT will offer a Requiem Mass for the souls who died on 9/11/2001.

Friday – Sunday September 25-27

The pilgrimage, now in its 31st year, is a journey of the faithful to Our Lady’s Shrine of the Martyrs in upstate New York, at Auriesville. Here, Jesuit Father Isaac Jogues and Companions were martyred, beginning with lay-brother René Goupîl  in 1642, and later layman John de LaLande and Jogues himself in 1646.

Since 1996, pilgrims walk near and along the paths the saints followed as captives of the Iroquois. Their journey was hundreds of miles over 28 days under torture. Our journey, modeled on the ancient annual Pentecost pilgrimages to Notre-Dame de Chartres, France, is 61 miles over 3 days and, though penitential, is full of joy. Our purpose is to honor Christ Our King publicly, to pray for the restoration of His Reign in the family and civil society, and to make reparation for sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

For more information and to register: link

The annual Three Hearts Pilgrimage guides thousands of participants through a rigorous terrain for 35 miles over 2 days to their destination – the Benedictine monastery Clear Creek Abbey. The 2023 sacrificial walk of reparation had over 2000 pilgrims from 43 states walk a 2-day journey that culminated in a Pontifical High Mass offered by His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke at this abbey, which serves as a reminder of how the Benedictine Order with its Rule and way of life spread Christianity throughout Medieval Western Europe, changing the trajectory of civilization.

for more information and to register: https://www.threeheartspilgrimage.org

A rally on Monday, August 31, on East 3rd Street to protest the continued closing of Most Holy Redeemer church, to demand its reopening and to support its designation as a landmark. The crowd was addressed by local politicians and activists, both Catholic and non-Catholic. Those who showed up seemed to be overwhelmingly from the immediate neighborhood of the church. There were familiar faces – I was greeted warmly by members of this parish who I had not seen in years. It is tragic that this “marginalized” and definitely not well-off community has been deprived of their parish church by the Archdiocese without any explanation. For some of them, this is the second or third parish they have lost.(For just one example, in this very vicinity Nativity parish was an earlier casualty, folded into Most Holy Redeemer). As is usual in such events, both in New York and elsewhere, Catholic clergy were conspicuous by their absence.

(Above) Some mixed messages visible in front of the old parish office.

In December 2023, on the Fourth Sunday of Advent, Cardinal Dolan came to bless the restored, illuminated clock tower and bells of Most Holy Redeemer church.

“When they see their beloved parish, my God, it goes back to 1851, it’s still alive and still confident,” Dolan said.  “When we illuminate the clock and repair the tower and ring out the bells with Christmas coming up, this is the place to be.” Rodriguez, Ashley, Most Holy Redeemer Church bell tower shines anew, lighting Up Alphabet City after decades of darkness, fox5ny.com (12/24/2023)

For the repair of the tower, clock and bells symbolized the restoration of the parish and attracted favorable attention in the secular media. But perhaps in retrospect this episcopal visit was not for the best. For in short order, in 2024 the pastor was tranferred out to “bigger and better things”and in 2025 the parish was closed. See: “Bohemians, the Traditional Mass and Most Holy Redeeemer Church,” The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny (8/29/2024)

Some pictures of Most Holy Redeemer Church on East 3rd Street, New York, taken over the course of two decades. Since August of last year, the Archdiocese has locked this magnificent church. As of today its fate is unknown.

(Above and below): The chapel of relics with the “entire body” of St. Datian.

(Above) The New York shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.