The
faith community which became the Church of St. Francis Xavier started in a different
place and with a different name. It started with fifty cents and a lot of faith.
The
faith community which became the Church of St. Francis Xavier started in a different
place and with a different name. It started with fifty cents and a lot of faith.
In 1847, Fr. John Larkin, a Jesuit priest stationed at Fordham in the Bronx, was given the assignment of establishing a church and school in Manhattan and 50 cents to do it. He learned from the French church in lower Manhattan that another church in the neighborhood was available for a deposit of $5,000 on its purchase price of $18,000. Father Larkin didn't have $5,000, but he had faith. He met a young man, recently arrived from France, who was praying in the French church. The young Frenchman had $5,000 that he didn't want to trust to banks and the rest is history. In 1847, the Jesuits established the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus in the Bowery area and soon a school opened in the basement.
Not long after, that church was destroyed by fire and the Jesuits moved to temporary quarters until 10 lots on West 15th and 16th Streets were purchased. They would become the home of a church and college named for St. Francis Xavier, who was among the first seven Jesuits in the order founded by St. Ignatius Loyola.
In 1850, the cornerstone was laid for the first church on this site. Financing to build the church was a problem, but somehow the money was raised. Two Jesuits traveled to Mexico and the Mexicans were very generous, providing money, paintings, vestments and holy vessels for this parish.
The
church was soon too small for the growing congregation. In 1878, the cornerstone
for a new church of St. Francis Xavier was laid. In 1882, the present church
was completed. Unfortunately, plans for a freestanding bell tower were never
realized.
The church building that we know today is in the traditional form of a Latin
cross. The architect, Patrick Keely, was an Irish immigrant. The interior, with
its polished granite columns, rounded arches, and coffered ceiling, is modeled
after the Cathedral of Pisa, Italy. The former high altar and many of the altars
in the side chapels are made of fine Carrara marble.
The frescoes adorning the church's walls and ceiling were painted by William Lamprecht. In addition to the many ornamental windows without figures, there are several Tiffany windows and mosaics. A particularly fine, stained-glass Madonna and Child from the Tiffany workshop is at the altar of reservation, where the Holy Eucharist is kept. Among the eclectic interior décor, a gold mosaic by John LaFarge, at the altar dedicated to the North American martyrs, is also noteworthy.
A few images from the parish's varied history:
During the last century, touring
opera stars visiting New York from Europe were invited to sing at the Solemn
High Mass. When this happened, it was considered a major musical event and
reviews were published in the newspapers. The parish's fine tradition continues
with an eclectic range of music
Before 1912, St. Xavier's school
included a four-year college and professors from the college preached at
the Masses. The church was known then, as now, for the quality of its speakers.
Fancy carriages once lined 16th Street, as people crowded into the church
to hear them.
By the late 1920's, the church
population had grown to approximately 5,000 people. A lower church was used
in addition to the upper church. It was at Benediction during a service
in the lower church that Thomas Merton received the call to the priesthood.
Fr. John Corridan, "the
waterfront priest," was connected to the Xavier community. The Oscar-winning
film, "On the Waterfront," celebrates his work in ridding the
docks of mob control.
The post-Vatican II Eucharistic
table and ambo help to bring the liturgy closer to the people. They were
designed by Arthur Sikula, a church architect who also designed one of the
altars used by Pope John Paul II when he visited New York.
Recent additions to the church
interior include a pool for adult baptism and a ramp which was designed
by the Open Congregation and financed by the New York Archdiocese.
The lower church is now Hurtado,
named in honor of newly Sainted Albert Hurtado, priest. While this space
is no longer used for liturgy, thousands are fed there through a weekly
soup kitchen and 12 men find shelter there each night.
The former sacristy has been
converted into the Mary Chapel, where daily Mass is celebrated.
