About Saint Angela Merici · Bronx, New York
The Church of St. Angela Merici is a Roman Catholic parish in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx, New York, at 917 Morris Avenue. Established in 1899 by Archbishop Michael Corrigan with Father Thomas W. Wallace as founding pastor, it was named after St. Angela Merici because Wallace's two sisters were Ursuline nuns. The parish has long served waves of immigrants — first Irish and German, later African, Caribbean, and Central American — and has been staffed by the Apostles of Jesus Missionary Congregation, a Ugandan religious order, since 2000. Today St. Angela Merici is a bilingual (English/Spanish) community that also welcomes a growing Nigerian Catholic population, with weekday, weekend, and Ibo-language Sunday Masses.
- Established
- 1899
- Patron
- St. Angela Merici
- Rector
- Fr. Nestorio Agirembabazi, A.J.
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Why belong here
St. Angela Merici is a vibrant, bilingual parish where immigrants from Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa worship side by side, each bringing their own devotions and traditions. It offers daily Mass (including a Sacred Heart Mass in honor of the Apostles of Jesus charism), a strong Saturday evening Spanish and Sunday Ibo-language Nigerian Mass, and a parish school with deep roots in Catholic education in the Bronx. Belonging here means joining a community that has welcomed newcomers for 125 years and that continues to combine immigrant faith with concrete outreach, including recent donations to Haiti.
Mass times at Saint Angela Merici
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
- Or by appointment
Parish History & 125th Anniversary
St. Angela Merici was established in September 1899 by Archbishop Michael Corrigan as the third Catholic parish created in late-1890s Melrose, after St. Luke's (1897) and SS. Peter and Paul (1898). Father Thomas W. Wallace, whose two sisters were Ursulines, was its founding pastor and chose the name of St. Angela Merici, foundress of the Ursuline Order, in their honor. A small wooden church opened on June 24, 1900, the rectory was built on Morris Avenue between 162nd and 163rd Streets, and the school opened in 1907. The parish celebrated its 125th anniversary in September 2024 with Cardinal Timothy Dolan concelebrating a Mass with hundreds of current and former parishioners.
- Founded September 1899 by Archbishop Michael Corrigan
- First Mass: June 24, 1900 in a wooden church
- Parish school opened 1907 in the parish hall
- 125th anniversary Mass celebrated September 2024 with Cardinal Dolan
Building, School, and Architecture
The present-day church is the 1923 school auditorium. In 1920 a new brick school and church were announced; the three-story school — with limestone trim, carved ornamentation, 22 classrooms, a basement gym, and a large auditorium — was completed in 1923. The planned new church at the corner of Morris Avenue was never built, so the school auditorium became the permanent worship space and the church entrance is set into the front of the school on East 163rd Street. The parish school, long run by the Ursuline Sisters, has served successive waves of immigrant children — Irish, then African, Caribbean, and Central American.
- Three-story brick school built 1923 with limestone trim
- 22 classrooms, basement gym, large auditorium
- Auditorium repurposed as the permanent church
- Cardinal Spellman dedicated the new school in 1962
- Needham Avenue renamed Cardinal Spellman Place
Clergy & Apostles of Jesus
Since 2000 the parish has been entrusted to the Apostles of Jesus Missionary Congregation (A.J.), a religious order founded in Uganda. The current pastor is Fr. Nestorio Agirembabazi, A.J., who has served the parish for over two decades and grew up in Bushenyi, Uganda. The parochial vicar is Fr. Gaston K. Ampe, A.J. The parish's earlier A.J. pastor, Fr. Steven Masinde, A.J., was in charge as recently as 2020. The Apostles of Jesus bring a missionary, multicultural character to a parish that itself reflects the diversity of the South Bronx.
- Fr. Nestorio Agirembabazi, A.J. — Pastor
- Fr. Gaston K. Ampe, A.J. — Parochial Vicar
- Apostles of Jesus (A.J.) — Ugandan missionary congregation staffing the parish since 2000
Sacramental & Devotional Life
The parish offers the full range of Catholic sacraments, with Reconciliation heard every Saturday from 4:00 to 5:00 PM or by appointment. First Friday devotions to the Sacred Heart are celebrated with a bilingual 1:00 PM Mass and a 7:30 PM Spanish Mass in honor of the Apostles of Jesus charism of the Good Shepherd. Baptisms, marriages, and Anointing of the Sick are arranged through the rectory, and sacramental preparation is provided for First Communion and Confirmation.
- Confession: Saturday 4:00–5:00 PM or by appointment
- First Friday Sacred Heart devotions (Apostles of Jesus charism)
- Baptism, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick by appointment
- First Communion and Confirmation preparation
Community Life & Outreach
St. Angela Merici describes itself as a vibrant immigrant parish: pastor Fr. Nestorio Agirembabazi has noted that despite material challenges, parishioners from Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa each bring their own values, traditions, and devotions to share. The parish has prioritized increasing lay participation in parish initiatives, and even amid its own financial constraints has organized recent donations to Haiti, where many families face severe food insecurity. The parish counts among its notable members John Feerick, the Fordham University dean and constitutional scholar, baptized there in 1936, who returned to help organize the 125th anniversary celebration.
- Multicultural community: Hispanic (mainly Central American), Caribbean, and African (Nigerian) parishioners
- Recent donations to Haiti organized from the parish
- Increased lay participation identified as a top parish priority
- Notable parishioner: John Feerick (b. 1936), Fordham University constitutional scholar
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Thomas W. Wallace1899–
Founding pastor, appointed by Archbishop Michael Corrigan; had two sisters in the Ursulines, hence the parish's patron.
- Fr. Steven Masinde, A.J.through 2020
Apostles of Jesus pastor named in Bronx Catholic blog, July 2020.
- Fr. Nestorio Agirembabazi, A.J.2000s–present
Long-serving Apostles of Jesus pastor; led the parish's 125th anniversary Mass in September 2024 with Cardinal Dolan.