Pontifical Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

History & Significance

Shrine · Est. Church built 1884; formally opened/dedicated August 7, 1887

The Pontifical Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel grew from an 1881 devotion among Italian immigrants from Polla in East Harlem, Manhattan. The church was built in 1884 by Fr. Emil Kirner of the Pallottine order and formally opened on August 7, 1887. Its image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel received a canonical coronation authorized by Pope Leo XIII (1903) and executed under Pope Pius X (1904), who donated an emerald for the crown. The parish serves the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York and is celebrated for its long-standing Italian feast and procession.

• •Located at 448 East 116th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan, in the Archdiocese of New York
• •Church built in 1884 by Fr. Emil Kirner of the Pallottine order; formally opened August 7, 1887
• •Image received a canonical coronation authorized by Pope Leo XIII in 1903, executed under Pope Pius X in 1904, who donated an emerald gemstone
• •Statue brought by Italian immigrant from Polla, Italy; tied to East Harlem's historic 'Little Italy' Italian-American devotion
• •Recognized as a pontifical/papal shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel