Parishioners keep fighting as church stays in limbo

Chelsea Now photo by Lindsay Beyerstein
The exterior of the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, on West 23rd Street between Sixth and Seventh Avenues

By Lindsay Beyerstein

In mid-January, Cardinal Egan of the Archdiocese of New York named the Church of St. Vincent de Paul as one of several to be closed or amalgamated with nearby parishes, yet as the Archdiocese ponders a date for doing so, an association of congregants is continuing the fight to sway the Cardinal to save a rare francophone church in the heart of Chelsea.

“There’s still a lot we can do to keep the church open. We have hope, since there is a large French-speaking population here in need of a place of worship,” said congregant and parish trustee Francine Cestac.

St. Vincent’s, located on West 23rd Sreet between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, is one of the only churches in New York City where Mass is said in French. The church is widely recognized as filling a need for the increasing numbers of francophones in New York, where French is now the third most widely spoken language after English and Spanish.

Like the Chelsea neighborhood itself, St. Vincent’s is diverse: Approximately 200 parishioners from more than 60 countries and various parts of the city flock to the 300-seat church each week. They worship in French, enroll their children in French-language Catechism and listen to the African-influenced Marie-Reigne choir. St. Vincent’s also offers a separate English-language mass.

According to Father Gerald Murray, attendance has more than doubled since he came to St. Vincent’s nine years ago. However, he is quick to stress that growing the congregation from 100 to 200 souls isn’t necessarily all that impressive in an Archdiocese where the average church attracts 800 to 1,000 worshipers each weekend.

Perhaps that is why St. Vincent’s, according to Archdiocese’ Website, is slated to merge with St. Columba parish at some point, and its ministry to French-speaking Catholics transferred to other parishes in Manhattan and Westchester. The Archdiocese of New York had been working on a larger plan to close or amalgamate a number of smaller parishes for about five years. Not surprisingly, when the Archdiocese compiled a list of marginal parishes in 2002, St. Vincent’s was on the list.

Father Murray told Chelsea Now that when the Archdiocese approached him about closing his parish, he was receptive to the idea.

“When the Diocese asked, I said it seemed reasonable to close,” Father Murray said. “Attendance is one reason. Also, there are already quite a few parishes in the neighborhood.”

Demographic trends also influenced Father Murray’s thinking. “This is a church for French people, but this is no longer a French neighborhood.”

Parishioners, however, bristle at such arguments. The specific makeup of the neighborhood, they say, is less important than the overall increase in the French-speaking population. Many of St. Vincent’s congregants don’t hesitate to travel from outside the neighborhood to worship in French.

Meanwhile, Father Murray concedes that money is also a pressing issue. He says the church depends heavily on the rent it collects from a shelter in the basement. “We don’t have the financial support to keep the parish running,” he said.

Cestac dismisses Murray’s numbers argument as “very dry statistics and not the reality.” She also argues that the archidocese is blind to the unique potential of St. Vincent’s to serve the city’s expanding francophone population. Cestac urges people to visit the church on Sunday to see for themselves. “Our community is alive,” she says.

While St. Vincent’s parishioners say that demographics and attendance rates don’t tell the whole story, they also caution that for the Archdiocese to ignore St. Vincent’s historical significance and architectural beauty is a big mistake.

“It is a shrine for the veterans of WW I and WW II, French and American. That’s very, very important,” Cestac told Chelsea Now. She feels that closing a church specially consecrated to the memory of veterans would be an affront.

Since its dedication in 1868, St. Vincent’s has also been a cultural touchstone for francophones in New York. General Charles de Gaulle once visited St. Vincent’s. The French singer Edith Piaf was married there in 1962.

The building itself was designed by prominent New York architect Henry Englebert. It was originally constructed in the Greek Revival style and re-covered with a Roman-style façade in 1939. The stained glass windows depict the religious history of France from the baptism of Clovis to the apparition of the Virgin Mary to St. Bernadette at Lourdes.

In April 2007, the New York City Landmarks Conservancy declined a formal request to designate St. Vincent’s as a landmark. This was a major setback for the parishioners because buildings designated as New York City landmarks cannot be demolished and because New York City landmark status does not require owner approval.

But in January 2007, the New York State Office of Historic Preservation in Albany affirmed that the church building is eligible for inclusion in the State and National Register of Historic Places. However, a building cannot be listed in the register without the consent of the building’s owner, in this case the Archdiocese.

According to Ann Friedman, of the New York City Landmarks Conservancy, the director of real estate for the Archdiocese, Dan Brown, has not elected to pursue State landmark status for St. Vincent’s.

But the Archdiocese of New York maintains that parishioners were given an opportunity to voice their concerns regarding the realignment process.

Hansel Hernandez-Navarro, who is handling press relations for the congregants, disputes that assertion, however, saying that the Archdiocese has been “secretive and uncooperative” about the fate of St. Vincent’s and the process leading to its selection.

Cestac shares many of Hernandez-Navarro’s frustrations with the archdiocese’s handling of the realignment process. Last year, she said, parishioners were allowed to meet with a bishop to plead their cases, but many felt as if their concerns were not given the weight they deserved.

“I don’t think we were heard and listened to, really. I wouldn’t call that dialogue, just a hearing session,” Cestac said.

Some parishioners suspect that the real motives for closing St. Vincent’s may have more to do with rising Chelsea real estate prices than poor attendance.

“It’s a big block-through lot,” said Friedman. “The zoning envelope would allow something much taller than a church.

Friedman, who specializes in protected sacred landmarks, added that St. Vincent’s struck her as an odd target for closure compared with the kinds of parishes that are typically closed by the Archdiocese.

“The building was well-maintained; it wasn’t falling down. They weren’t in debt to the Archdiocese, so it wasn’t one of the obvious ones. Maybe the Archdiocese just decided the upside was too great,” she said.

When asked by Chelsea Now what would happen to the building and land if St. Vincent’s were to close, Father Murray explained, “The archdiocese would investigate making a deal with someone who wanted to develop the land and put in a chapel.”

Father Murray said that he knew no further details about the kind of building the Archdiocese might want to put in St. Vincent’s place.

Meanwhile, Joe Zwilling, communications director for the Archdiocese of New York, wrote in an email to Chelsea Now, “There are no plans to sell Saint Vincent de Paul.”

In the interim, parishioners pledge to keep up the fight.

“We’ll keep praying and hoping that the church will not be closed,” said Cestac. “There’s a lot we can do. So much potential.”