[xlizellx]

In my wandering around the neighborhood, I came across a huge roman catholic church on Pacific near Vanderbilt. It looks like something a kid would be dared to sleep in for a night in a horror movie -- really creepy. I did some research about the place and found close to nothing. An article from the 1860s in the New York Times got me the name of the church and I found some photos of it, but no information about it currently. The diocese has taken it off of their website and the latest information about its daycare was from the 1940s. Does anyone know anything about it? I am just simply curious about the place. It's just huge...
Is it still an active church?

Thanks!

[Tnyc]

Is this the church? If so, scroll down and read the comments.

http://notfortourists.com/ListingDetails.aspx.....y=NY&listingID=859923

[Tnyc]

It's landmarked, or going to be. See Page 4.

http://www.empire.state.ny.us/pdf/AtlanticYar.....ligibilites%205-16-06.pdf

[Tnyc]

It is on the Diocese List. The church has 3 masses on Sundays.

http://dioceseofbrooklyn.org/StJoseph.aspx?terms=

[xlizellx]

thank you! i had found the NFT listing, which gave as much info as I had already pieced together .... thanks for the last 2 links for sure. it seems sooo spooky - but cool to know its still an active church. thank you!

[poshspice]

I live on this block - they have active service on Sundays and some weekdays, but its a small congregation. Peeked inside during an evening mass recently and it is a truly beautiful structure. Needs lots of restoration, which appears to be going on now (the yellow tape around the front, digging around foundation is all new). Not sure how much of the surrounding property the church owns, but sometimes they have ballgames for the kids in the field directly next to the west wall...and there's another building further west down the block that looks like either an old admin building or priests' quarters, but that looks really abandoned. Latest info is that they have a new priest who wants to freshen up the church, congregation and 'bring it back to life.' Saw him holding Sunday School service in the garden a few weekends ago, so could be true.

I have a soft spot for that garden on the east wall with the Virgin Mary statues...there's something creepy/lovely about how decayed it is. When I first moved in it reminded me of Grey Gardens almost, but they have pruned and shrubbed it to death over the past few years. Necessary, yes, but...you should have seen it before. Talk about haunted...

Somewhere on the front is marked 1912, but don't know if it's older than that (probably). Truly hope they are landmarked and/or protected by the city. With enough money they could really revive it and increase the congregation and/or promote for historical purposes. If I knew of a fundraiser, I'd gladly contribute, I love what it brings to our rather random block

[Tnyc]

What I gathered from some googling today, the original church was in place in 1850, but the current building went up in 1912. It had a school (which seems to have closed prior to 1930) It was modeled after another church in Manhattan and built in the Victorian Style. I guess that gives it the haunting look.

[xlizellx]

Tnyc, that's what I gathered as well for the timing. I had never seen people there on the times I walked past, but I'm glad to know that it is still active. It is definitely of an architecture that is haunted looking, but it just seemed deserted when i walked past, and with its size, it seems like somehow the entire side of the block was vacated. thank you again! curiousity was killing me!

[Extreme]

Tnyc, yes, that's the church. I'm a parishioner. There are three masses on Sundays: 9:30 in English, 10:45 in Spanish, and noon in English.

The congregation is small, but growing. (I was out of town, but I was told there were about a thousand people there on Easter Sunday.) It seems the previous pastor had great people skills (before becoming a priest he was an immigration lawyer who apparently spent most of his off hours helping immigrants work toward becoming citizens), but failed miserably when it came to administrative skills.

The new "parish administrator" (a technical term with canonical implications I don't quite grasp; but for all intents and purposes he's the pastor) is Fr. Kieran Harrington, a gifted homilist in his late 30s. He also runs the communications shop of the Brooklyn Diocese. Good guy. Energetic. Very smart. Full of ideas. One such: hold an Octoberfest, complete with various encased meats, music, and, of course, beer. With all that property, could be very cool event.

The diocese has set aside a restoration fund for the church, but things are progressing slowly--the recession has taken a dramatic toll on the diocese's investments. The stained glass has been removed for repairing and cleaning. The front steps are being replaced, as is the roof (necessary before ceiling damage can be repaired). The rectory, to the left of the church and made of the same brick, is also being renovated. What amazes me is that more of the church isn't damaged. The mosaic floor is in great shape, and the mosaics in the pulpit and the baldacchino also look good. I imagine at some point the apse artwork will need to be cleaned. And the organ is another matter altogether. Apparently under the previous pastor a worrying number of birds took up residence in the pipes. It isn't an amazing instrument to begin with, but restoring even a middling organ costs a pretty penny--possibly as much as $1 million in this case. (A Manhattan School of Music student plays the piano and electric organ--which is impressive-sounding for a plug-in--and sings a bit.)

I've already written too much. Let me just say: I used to think this church was closed until I saw Fr. Harrington checking out the garden one afternoon just after he was assigned to the parish. I'm delighted that I ran into him because I couldn't be happier with the place. The little parish that could, in the biggest church in the Diocese of Brooklyn.

[Jack Krohn]

My wife and I poked our head in here one night a few months ago and it is indeed beautiful. We'd suspected the congregation to be small, but it sounds like there are good things ahead.

[Artman]

When I first moved in here 1968 it had wonderful green copper spires. They were sold sometime in the 80's to raise money. I went to a February funeral there two years ago and there was no heat. one of the eulogists said of the man who had died, "I hope [Man's Name] went to hell because then he's a lot warmer than we are now."