About Corpus Christi · New York, New York
The Parish of Corpus Christi and Notre Dame is a Roman Catholic parish in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, part of the Archdiocese of New York. Founded in 1906, Corpus Christi Church sits at 529 West 121st Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, and serves as the university parish for Columbia University. In 2022 it merged with the nearby Church of Notre Dame (the French-speaking parish founded in 1910), creating a bilingual English/Spanish/French community that also hosts the Catholic Ministry for Columbia. Corpus Christi is best known as the church where Thomas Merton was baptized in 1938, and it is celebrated citywide for its distinguished tradition of Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony, and early music.
- Established
- 1906
- Patron
- Corpus Christi (the Body of Christ)
- Rector
- Rev. Peter A. Heasley, S.Th.D.
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Why belong here
The Parish of Corpus Christi and Notre Dame is a small but unusually rich Catholic community in the heart of Morningside Heights. Sunday Mass is offered in English, French, and Spanish, with a multilingual French-Spanish-English choir and one of New York's most respected traditions of Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony. As the university parish of Columbia, it welcomes students, faculty, and Morningside Heights residents alike into a worshipping community that also runs a Religious Education program for children, hosts the NYC Chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society, and reaches out to local French- and Spanish-speaking families. Whether you come for the sung liturgy, the historic link to Thomas Merton, the French or Spanish Mass, or simply to pray in a quiet Morningside Heights church, Corpus Christi is genuinely plural and genuinely Catholic.
Mass times at Corpus Christi
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday–Friday: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (during Adoration, at the Grotto Church of Notre Dame)
- Saturday: 4:00 PM – 4:50 PM (Corpus Christi)
- Sunday: 4:00 PM – 4:45 PM (Notre Dame)
- By appointment or drop-in at the Merton Institute (405 W. 114th St.)
Adoration times
- Monday–Friday: 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM (at the Grotto Church of Notre Dame; reduced to 11:45 AM – 12:00 PM on the summer schedule)
- Saturday: 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM (following the 9:00 AM Mass, Corpus Christi)
About the Parish of Corpus Christi and Notre Dame
The Parish of Corpus Christi and Notre Dame is a Roman Catholic parish in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, in the Archdiocese of New York. The two churches together serve a vibrant trilingual community: English- and Spanish-speaking Morningside Heights residents, the French community of the Archdiocese, and the Catholic Ministry at Columbia University. The parish's website invites visitors to join its worshipping community and learn about its many programs.
- Founded 1906 as the parish of Corpus Christi
- Merged in 2022 with the Church of Notre Dame (French-speaking parish begun in 1910)
- Serves the Columbia Catholic Ministry from the Grotto Church of Notre Dame
- Pastor: Rev. Peter A. Heasley, S.Th.D. (since summer 2022)
History
The first Masses at Corpus Christi were celebrated on May 6, 1906, in a temporary chapel on Broadway at 121st Street. Architect F. A. de Meuron designed a combined church, school, and rectory for $45,000; Archbishop John Farley dedicated it on June 30, 1907. The parish school opened that September under the Sisters of Charity of New York. In 1934 Father George Barry Ford, Catholic chaplain at Columbia, was named pastor and oversaw construction of the present neo-Georgian church (dedicated October 25, 1936). The current baptistery survives from the 1906 church. The parish school closed in 2020, and in 2022 Corpus Christi merged with the nearby Church of Notre Dame to form today's combined parish.
- 1906: Parish founded; first Masses May 6, 1906; cornerstone laid November 11, 1906
- 1907: Church, school, and rectory dedicated by Archbishop John Farley, June 30, 1907
- 1936: Present neo-Georgian church dedicated October 25, 1936
- 1938: Thomas Merton baptized November 16, 1938
- 2020: Corpus Christi School closed
- 2022: Merged with Church of Notre Dame
The Thomas Merton Connection
Corpus Christi is the church where Thomas Merton — the monk, writer, and peace advocate who would later write The Seven Storey Mountain — was received into the Catholic Church on November 16, 1938, while a graduate student at Columbia. The parish hosts the NYC Chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society (founded 1999), recognized as the 'flagship' of all ITMS chapters. The chapter hosts regular talks and reading groups and maintains its own online presence at thomasmertonnyc.org.
- Baptism site of Thomas Merton, November 16, 1938
- Home of the NYC Chapter of the International Thomas Merton Society (founded 1999)
- Baptismal font from the 1906 church is preserved
Music Ministry
The parish is widely respected for its choral and organ music. At Corpus Christi, the music tradition inaugurated in 1936 by Father George Barry Ford and music director William McDonald continues fifty-two weeks a year with Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony, Baroque and early Classical choral music, congregational singing, and newly commissioned works from leading American composers. The church also hosts the noted 'Music Before 1800' early-music concert series. At Notre Dame, the English Schola Cantorum (directed by Dr. Kalle Toivio) sings Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony; the Choir Sainte Marie Reine (founded 1998, directed by Sylvestre Kouadio) brings together singers from across the French-speaking African diaspora and beyond. The Friends of Liturgical Music support the parish's musical life.
- Corpus Christi choir sings every Sunday and holyday year-round
- Schola Cantorum (English) at Notre Dame — Director: Dr. Kalle Toivio
- Choir Sainte Marie Reine (French) at Corpus Christi — Director: Sylvestre Kouadio
- Hosts 'Music Before 1800' early-music concert series
- Friends of Liturgical Music — supporting organization
Faith Formation and Religious Education
The parish runs an English-language Religious Education Program for children and families, currently enrolling for the 2026–27 year. It also partners with the Aumônerie Catholique de Manhattan, a French-language catechetical program that welcomes about 150 French-speaking children ages 6 to 17 each year, with classes and a monthly French-speaking Family Mass held at St. Monica's Church on the Upper East Side since September 2024. Religious education is presented as a shared journey of prayer, Scripture, sacramental preparation, and parish community life.
- Religious Education Program (English) — contact: Lucy Cortright
- Aumônerie Catholique de Manhattan (French) — ~150 children ages 6–17
- Sacramental preparation for First Communion and Confirmation
Columbia Catholic Ministry
As the university parish of Columbia University, the Parish of Corpus Christi and Notre Dame provides sacramental and pastoral care for the Columbia Catholic community. While classes are in session, its sacramental home is the Grotto Church of Notre Dame (114th Street and Morningside Drive). Father John Wilson serves as Chaplain to Columbia University (since summer 2025) and as Parochial Vicar of the parish; Father Peter Heasley serves as Assistant Chaplain.
- Chaplain: Rev. John Wilson, S.Th.D. (Cand.)
- Assistant Chaplain: Rev. Peter A. Heasley
- Sunday student Mass: 5:00 PM at Notre Dame (suspended in summer)
- Weekday Mass: 12:10 PM Monday–Friday at Notre Dame
- Daily Adoration and Confession: 11:00 AM–12:00 PM at Notre Dame
- Merton Institute: 405 W. 114th St.
Clergy and Staff
The merged parish is led by Father Peter A. Heasley, pastor since the summer of 2022. A native of Detroit and former architect with the U.S. Peace Corps in Mali, Father Heasley earned a licentiate (2014) and doctorate in Biblical Theology (2019) from the Gregorian University in Rome and serves as adjunct professor of Scripture at St. Joseph's Seminary, Yonkers. He is assisted by Father John Wilson, parochial vicar and chaplain to Columbia University (since summer 2025), who is completing a doctorate in theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) in Rome. The parish's Religious Education Program is coordinated by Lucy Cortright.
- Rev. Peter A. Heasley, S.Th.D. — Pastor and Assistant Chaplain to Columbia
- Rev. John Wilson, S.Th.D. (Cand.) — Parochial Vicar and Chaplain to Columbia
- Lucy Cortright — Religious Education Coordinator
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. John H. Dooley1906 (founding)
Founded the parish and oversaw construction of the original 1906–1907 church, school, and rectory.
- Rev. George Barry Ford1934–c.1960s
Appointed pastor in 1934 while serving as Catholic chaplain at Columbia University. Oversaw construction of the present neo-Georgian church, dedicated 1936. Inaugurated the parish's distinguished choral and organ music tradition and the Music Before 1800 series. Received Thomas Merton into the Church in 1938.