About Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood (Parish of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral & Most Precious Blood) · New York, New York
The Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood, located at 113 Baxter Street in Manhattan's Little Italy, is a Roman Catholic church that serves as the National Shrine Church of San Gennaro and the sister church of the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. Established in 1888 by the Vatican as an Italian national parish, it was built in stages beginning in 1891 by the Scalabrini Fathers, completed in 1904 by the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, and richly decorated between 1914 and 1917 by the artist Donatus Buongiorno. Since 2015 it has been administered together with Old St. Patrick's Cathedral parish under the Archdiocese of New York, and remains a living center of Italian-American Catholic devotion, the home of the National Shrine of San Gennaro, and the spiritual home of New York's Vietnamese Catholic community.
- Established
- 1888
- Patron
- Most Precious Blood of Jesus (titular); San Gennaro (Saint Januarius) as patron of the National Shrine
- Rector
- Very Rev. Enrique Salvo (Rector of the combined Parish of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral & Most Precious Blood)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of New York
Why belong here
The Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood is a rare living link between New York's Italian-immigrant Catholic past and its present-day multicultural Catholic life: it is the National Shrine Church of San Gennaro (home to a 1,700-year-old relic of the saint's blood), houses some of the finest sacred art in America (thirty Buongiorno murals, Borgia marble altars, and the Neapolitan-crafted Nativity of Mercy), and is the spiritual home of New York's vibrant Vietnamese Catholic community, all under one roof. Visitors and parishioners come for the Sunday English and Vietnamese Masses, for the annual Feast of San Gennaro procession through Little Italy, and to join the active Italian devotional societies, the Community of Sant'Egidio, the Saint Rocco Society of Potenza, the Craco Society, the San Angelo Society, and the Vietnamese Arts and Learning Cultural Center.
Mass times at Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood (Parish of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral & Most Precious Blood)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 4:15 PM (at the Basilica)
- Sunday: 6:00 PM – 6:45 PM (at the Basilica)
History of the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood
Established by the Vatican in 1888 as an Italian national parish, the Shrine was built to serve the massive wave of Italian immigrants crowding into Lower Manhattan's Five Points and Mulberry Bend neighborhoods. The Scalabrini Fathers began construction of the Lower Church in 1891 to a design by William Schickel & Company; burdened by debt, they handed the project over to the Franciscans in 1894. Archbishop Corrigan laid the Upper Church cornerstone on July 7, 1901, and Monsignor Falconio, the Vatican's Apostolic Delegate, dedicated the completed church on April 17, 1904. Buongiorno's murals followed in 1914–1917, and a major renovation in 1995–1997 culminated in Cardinal O'Connor's re-consecration on February 7, 1997. The Franciscans withdrew in 2014; in 2015 the church merged into the parish of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, and during the 2015–2016 Jubilee of Mercy the Shrine was designated a Holy Door site.
Italian National Parish & Scalabrini Founders
Italian immigrants in the 1880s were often turned away from established New York churches and made to worship in basements, including the basement of the Church of the Transfiguration on Mott Street. Responding to this emergency, the Vatican in 1888 decreed the creation of a National Parish and assigned the Scalabrini Fathers of the St. Charles Borromeo Society to lead it. The Scalabrins purchased 113 Baxter Street and broke ground on the Lower Church in 1891 but, with a roughly $100,000 debt on the property, asked the Archdiocese to find a more suitable order to take over.
The Franciscan Era (1894–2014)
In 1894, Archbishop Corrigan turned to the Order of Friars Minor, who were successfully building St. Anthony of Padua on Sullivan Street. The Franciscans agreed to take over on condition that the existing debt be retired first. While that debt was being paid down, Mass was celebrated in what is now the basement hall; the parish was baptizing about 2,000 Italian babies a year and hosting roughly ten weddings every Sunday. The Franciscans supplied the church with a relic of San Gennaro's 1,700-year-old dried blood, beginning the devotion that would become the Feast of San Gennaro. Father Fabian Grifone, OFM, age 88, celebrated the last Franciscan Mass at the parish in early 2014 before the order withdrew after some 120 years of continuous service.
Architecture, Sacred Art, and the Nativity of Mercy
William Schickel & Company designed the church in an Italian Franciscan idiom, with a Neapolitan Baroque interior. The marble main and side altars were carved by the Borgia Marble Works of New York. Between 1914 and 1917, the Italian-born painter Donatus Buongiorno executed thirty large oil murals for the nave and ceiling, including five scenes from the life of St. Anthony of Padua flanking the side altars and a tribute to St. Francis of Assisi honoring the friars who staffed the church. A more recent treasure is the Nativity of Mercy in the nave, a handcrafted Neapolitan folk-art installation made by the artisans of La Scarabottola and inspired by Caravaggio's Seven Acts of Mercy and Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son.
- Architect: William Schickel & Company
- Style: Italian Franciscan exterior / Neapolitan Baroque interior
- Altars: Borgia Marble Works of New York
- Muralist: Donatus Buongiorno (1914–1917), 30 oil paintings
- Nativity of Mercy: La Scarabottola, Naples (Caravaggio- and Rembrandt-inspired)
- San Gennaro Shrine Chapel: contains the 1,700-year-old relic
The National Shrine of San Gennaro
A magnificent chapel within Most Precious Blood houses the National Shrine of San Gennaro (Saint Januarius), the third-century Roman martyr and patron of Naples. The Franciscan friars supplied the church with a relic of San Gennaro's dried blood, and Neapolitan immigrants to Mulberry Street entrusted their new American struggles — childhood disease, polio, influenza, tuberculosis, fire and misfortune — to his intercession. The original single-day Mass on September 19 has grown into an eleven-day street festival and procession through Little Italy, one of the most famous religious-cultural celebrations in the United States.
- Relic of San Gennaro's dried blood, supplied by the Franciscan friars
- Annual Feast of San Gennaro Mass on September 19, followed by procession of the statue through Little Italy
- Eleven-day street festival around the feast
Multicultural Life: Italian Heritage & the Vietnamese Community
While the Shrine's Italian roots remain its foundation, it is also home to a thriving Vietnamese Catholic community that holds a weekly Vietnamese-language Mass and operates the Vietnamese Arts and Learning Cultural Center on site. The Vietnamese devotion to Our Lady of Lavang has been added to the church's devotional life, and Cardinal Dolan specifically cited the Vietnamese congregation in 2015 as a reason for keeping the Shrine open. Together with the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, the Shrine now welcomes Spanish-speaking, Italian-speaking, Vietnamese-speaking, and English-speaking Catholics.
- Italian devotional societies: Figli di San Gennaro, Saint Rocco Society of Potenza, Craco Society, San Angelo Society
- Community of Sant'Egidio
- Vietnamese Arts and Learning Cultural Center
- Our Lady of Lavang devotion (Vietnamese)
Parish Staff & Administration
Since 2015 the Shrine has been administered jointly with the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. The Rector of the combined parish is Very Rev. Enrique Salvo. The clergy serving the parish include Rev. Luigi Portarulo (Parochial Vicar), Rev. Daniel Ray, LC (Weekend Assistant), and Rev. Robert Campagna, OFM (Weekend Assistant at Most Precious Blood Church). Lay staff include Chris Flatz (Parish Manager), Frank Alfieri (Director of Cemetery and Catacombs), Rosa Jimenez (Secretary and Wedding Coordinator), Jared Lamenzo (Organist and Director of Music), Denise Casey (Bulletins), and Richard Daniel McCann (Parish Historian).
Sacraments, Faith Formation & Pastoral Outreach
Baptisms are celebrated at the Basilica; marriage preparation is coordinated through Rosa Jimenez; the parish offers OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, formerly RCIA) every other Tuesday evening beginning in September. A Witness For Life Mass is celebrated the first Saturday of each month at 8:00 AM at the Basilica, followed by the rosary in front of Planned Parenthood, Benediction, and a social with the Sisters of Life. Archcare maintains an active outreach presence in the Shrine, and Alcoholics Anonymous, Girl Scouts of Little Italy, and the Seniors Club meet on the premises.
- OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults)
- Witness For Life Mass (first Saturday, 8 AM)
- Spanish Charismatic prayer group (Fridays 7–9 PM)
- Family Outreach monthly gatherings
- Archcare outreach
- Alcoholics Anonymous
- Seniors Club
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Father Julius Arcese1892-1897
First Franciscan pastor after the order took over the parish from the Scalabrini Fathers.
- Rev. Father Athanasius Butelli1897-1900
- Rev. Father Ubaldus Maravalla1900-1902
- Rev. Father Bernadino Polizzo1902-1909
- Rev. Father Romano Simoni1909-1917
Era in which Donatus Buongiorno's murals were painted (1914–1917).
- Rev. Father Pacifus Savastano1917-1925
- Rev. Father Augustine Cioffi1925-1927
- Rev. Father Gregory Liucci1927-1929
- Rev. Father Albert Matteucci1929-1934
- Rev. Father Felix Mancini1934-1940
- Rev. Father Edward Salerno1940-1946
- Rev. Father Cyprian Lauletta1946-1949
- Rev. Father Martin Battipaglia1949-1950
- Rev. Father Anthony Cioe1950-1952
- Rev. Father Lucian Sciaraffa1952-1955
- Rev. Father Joseph Montgna1955-1958
- Rev. Father Victor Cesario1958-
Year range cut off in Wikipedia source; succeeded the Franciscans' early period.
- Rev. Fabian Grifone, OFMearly 2014 (final months)
Last Franciscan pastor; the Franciscans withdrew from the parish in March 2014 after roughly 120 years.