About Saint Anselm and Saint Roch Parish · Bronx, New York
The Church of St. Anselm and St. Roch is a Catholic parish in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City, in the Archdiocese of New York. Founded in 1891 to serve the South Bronx's German Catholic community and long served by Benedictine monks, it is now staffed by the Augustinian Recollect Fathers (O.A.R.) and ministers primarily to a Spanish-speaking community. The 2015 merger of nearby St. Roch Parish (founded 1899 for Italian immigrants) into St. Anselm created the present parish, with the original 1918 Byzantine Revival church on Tinton Avenue as its home.
- Established
- 1891
- Patron
- St. Anselm of Canterbury (and St. Roch)
- Rector
- Fr. Michael Eguino, O.A.R. (2022–present)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of New York
Why belong here
St. Anselm and St. Roch offers a bilingual (English and Spanish) Catholic home in the heart of the Mott Haven / South Bronx, with three Sunday Masses, daily Masses Monday through Saturday, Eucharistic Adoration every Thursday afternoon, and a long tradition of devotion going back more than 130 years. Run by the Augustinian Recollect Fathers, it combines the spiritual life of a large historic parish — including devotions like the Damas of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Children of Mary, the parish choir, and community associations — with the convenience of a downtown Bronx location at 685 Tinton Avenue. For Catholics moving into the neighborhood, Spanish-speaking families from across Latin America, or anyone drawn to one of New York's rare Byzantine Revival churches, it is a welcoming place to pray, serve, and belong.
Mass times at Saint Anselm and Saint Roch Parish
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Friday (times listed by the parish; specific hour available on the Archdiocese schedule page)
Adoration times
- Thursday 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM (Eucharistic Adoration)
About the Parish
The Church of St. Anselm and St. Roch is a Roman Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of New York, located at 685 Tinton Avenue in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the Bronx. Originally founded as St. Anselm in 1891 to serve the German Catholic community, it absorbed the nearby Italian-origin St. Roch Parish in 2015 to become the present-day parish. It is staffed by the Order of Augustinian Recollects (O.A.R.) and now ministers primarily to the Spanish-speaking and Latin American Catholic community of the South Bronx.
- Mailing/physical address: 685 Tinton Ave, Bronx, NY 10455
- Phone: (718) 585-8666
- Email (sacramental requests): [email protected]
- Website: stanselmnyc.org
- Diocese: Archdiocese of New York
- Religious institute: Order of Augustinian Recollects (O.A.R.)
History of St. Anselm
St. Anselm Parish was organized in July 1891 to serve the German Catholics of the South Bronx and was entrusted to the Benedictine monks of St. John's Abbey, Minnesota. Abbot Alexius Edelbrock was the first pastor. The original church on 151st Street was dedicated in 1893; a brick school was built in 1908 and opened in 1909 under the Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt. In 1912 a playground was added — believed to be the first attached to a Catholic school in New York. The monks also served as chaplains to the Corpus Christi Monastery of Dominican nuns at Hunt's Point, the Sevilla Children's Home, and the order's mission in the Bahamas, and the parish sponsored a Fife and Drum Corps in the early 1900s. As the German and Irish populations left the South Bronx in the 1970s, the Benedictines withdrew (1976); Msgr. Raol del Valle, a Cuban-born priest, was then named pastor in response to a wave of Puerto Rican immigrants. Since 1985 the parish has been served by the Augustinian Recollect Fathers, who introduced English, Spanish, and bilingual liturgies.
- Founded: July 1891
- First pastor: Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, O.S.B.
- Original church dedicated: 1893 (151st Street)
- School built/opened: 1908 / 1909 (Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt)
- Playground added: 1912 (likely first attached to a Catholic school in NYC)
- Benedictines withdrew: 1976
- Augustinian Recollects arrived: 1985
History of St. Roch
St. Roch Parish was founded in 1899 by Rev. John Milo as a national parish to serve Italian Catholics in the Bronx. Its original church stood on 150th Street near Robbins Avenue; a larger church on Wales Avenue, designed by Anthony J. DePace of DePace and Juster, was dedicated in 1932. The parish was renowned for its Passion Play in the mid-twentieth century, and over the decades its congregation grew to include immigrants from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Mexico. The archdiocese transferred administration to the Augustinian Recollects in 1974. From 1985 to 1992, due to declining attendance, St. Roch was administered as a mission of St. Anselm. The two parishes were formally merged in 2015, and the St. Roch church building at 525 Wales Avenue was desacralized in November 2017.
- Founded: 1899 by Rev. John Milo
- Original location: 150th St. near Robbins Ave.
- Second church on Wales Ave. designed by Anthony J. DePace (DePace & Juster), dedicated 1932
- Transferred to Augustinian Recollects: 1974
- Mission of St. Anselm: 1985–1992
- Merged into St. Anselm: 2015
- Wales Avenue church desacralized: November 2017
The Church Building & Architecture
The present St. Anselm church, completed in 1918, is a rare example of Byzantine Revival architecture in New York City. Roughly two stories tall, the brick building is crowned by a large central dome ringed by smaller domes — a composition inspired by the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Inside, Romanesque Corinthian marble columns frame a nave richly decorated with geometric mosaics, metalwork, and frescoes executed in the manner of the Beuron art school (a style founded by German Benedictine monks, an apt touch given the parish's Benedictine origins). The design is attributed either to Gustave E. Steinback (per the AIA Guide to NYC, 1978) or to Anton Kloster (per the AIA Guide to NYC, 2010). The four-story Classical Revival parochial school adjoins the church and was enlarged in 1956 with a 12-classroom wing by John E. Kirby. The complex was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on February 5, 2014 (NRHP #13001151). The New York Landmarks Conservancy assisted the Archdiocese with a $2.8-million restoration of the roof and façade.
- Style: Byzantine Revival (church); Classical Revival (school)
- Year completed: 1918
- Inspiration: Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
- Architects attributed: Gustave E. Steinback / Anton Kloster
- Interior decoration: Beuron-style mosaics and frescoes
- NRHP reference: #13001151 (listed February 5, 2014)
Sacramental & Devotional Life
Beyond Sunday and weekday Masses, the parish offers regular opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and invites parishioners to contact the rectory for information about baptisms, marriages, and other sacraments.
- Eucharistic Adoration: Thursdays, 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
- Confessions: Fridays (consult the parish/Archdiocese schedule for exact time)
- Sacramental inquiries: [email protected]
Parish Ministries & Community Life
St. Anselm and St. Roch continues the long Mott Haven tradition of lay associations and devotions that has defined Catholic life in the South Bronx for over a century. The parish hosts traditional confraternities, youth servers, and a parish choir, and serves as a gathering place for ecumenical and neighborhood coalitions such as the South Bronx Churches Association.
- Damas of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
- Children of Mary
- Parish choir
- Altar boys
- South Bronx Churches Association
Clergy & Pastoral Succession
The parish is currently led by Fr. Michael Eguino, O.A.R. (since 2022). He follows a long line of Augustinian Recollect pastors of St. Anselm's going back to the order's arrival in 1985, while the absorbed St. Roch parish had its own succession of Recollect pastors beginning in 1974. The parish was originally founded and led by Benedictine monks from St. John's Abbey, Minnesota, beginning with Abbot Alexius Edelbrock in 1891.
- Current pastor: Fr. Michael Eguino, O.A.R. (2022–present)
- Immediate predecessor: Fr. Enrique Salvo, O.A.R. (2016–2021)
- Merger-era pastor: Fr. Antonio Palacios, O.A.R. (2003/2015–2016)
- First pastor (1891): Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, O.S.B.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Abbot Alexius Edelbrock, O.S.B.1891 – September 1907
First pastor; founded the parish for German Catholics
- Bernard Kevenhorster, O.S.B. (prior)October 1907 –
- Fr. John Milo1899
First pastor of St. Roch Parish
- Msgr. Ignatius Cirelli
Pastor of St. Roch
- Fr. George A. Giammarino1968–1974
Pastor of St. Roch
- Fr. Gregorio Garcia, O.A.R.1974–1976
First Augustinian Recollect pastor of St. Roch
- Fr. Angelsan Ufrasio, O.A.R.1976–1979
St. Roch
- Fr. Patrick O'Hagan, O.A.R.1979–1985
St. Roch
- Fr. Andres Alava, O.A.R.1985–1992
Administrator of St. Roch while it was a mission of St. Anselm
- Fr. Ignacio Basterra, O.A.R.1992–1995
St. Roch
- Fr. Francisco Oviedo, O.A.R.1995–
St. Roch
- Fr. Antonio Palacios, O.A.R.2003–2016
Pastor of St. Anselm; oversaw the 2015 merger with St. Roch
- Fr. Enrique Salvo, O.A.R.2016–2021
- Fr. Michael Eguino, O.A.R.2022–present
Current pastor