Aerial image of St. Mary’s Church by Gary Lockett, Mosconi Photography
By Patricia Vaccarino
St. Mary’s Church (The Church of the Immaculate Conception) is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in the city of Yonkers. More than an ordinary church, St. Mary’s is often called the “Cathedral of the Hudson River Valley.” And for good reason. Humble but elegant, the church is larger and grander than any other Catholic church in Yonkers.
The church building is a study in contrasts. Delicate stained-glass windows are small but of great depth, and receive maximum light. Massive stones appear to float as if they are weightless. Towers girded with great strength, in the form of octagonal spires, seemingly touch the sky.
More than a place, St. Mary’s is the heart and soul of a city that has always championed immigrants. The church was built in 1848 on the backs of the working class. During the 1830s, skilled laborers had already moved to Yonkers to work on the Croton Aqueduct. These laborers, mainly Irish immigrants, built the church, block by block from stones similar to those found in Roman ruins. This church was meant to stand the test of time.
But right now the church is under wraps and slated to close its door on July 1, 2024.
The church is not crumbling and no incidents of falling debris have been reported. Yet, a few months ago, a sidewalk shed was installed—protective scaffolding—to protect pedestrians. The ominous-looking scaffolding is the bellwether of things to come. The Archdiocese of New York claims the church needs $10 million worth of repairs.
No one can understand how the Archdiocese arrived at this estimate.
It all began with a simple celebration. Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan was slated to visit the church last December to celebrate the church’s 175th anniversary. Many preparations were made, anticipating the Archbishop’s visit for the Anniversary Mass on December 9, 2023.
St. Mary’s Parish Council Member Isidoro Acevedo vividly recalls the details leading up to the Archbishop’s Anniversary visit. He mentioned to Father Anthony (Rev. Anthony Columba Ekanem, MSP) that the steps facing St. Mary’s on South Broadway were not even and that they should look into repairing them.
A construction company (hired by the Archdiocese) came to give an estimate for repair. Then the property insurance company (also hired by the Archdiocese) unexpectedly showed up. “The insurance company looked at the chimney that is above the rectory and saw cracks,” Acevedo said. “We needed to make an emergency repair to make sure nothing falls.”
Acevedo recalled that everyone involved with the anniversary celebration thought the repairs needed to be made to the church were minor. “Everyone donated fifty dollars for the scaffolding,” he said. “The Archbishop came and said wonderful things about St. Mary’s, noting that it was the first church in the United States to be designated as ‘The Church of the Immaculate Conception.’”
So, it came as a huge surprise when the Archdiocese informed the Parish Council that St. Mary’s church would be closing its doors.
The prospect of closing any church makes grown men and women weep. News of the impending closure quickly traveled far and wide, resulting in a rash of broken-hearted comments in interviews on Broadcast TV and on social media. Parishioners from the past and present rallied to save the church.
Parishioner Robert Lynn said, “The church gave me the faith that I still have to this day, and the education that led to my MBA.” He gets all choked up when he recounted that it was St. Mary’s where he gave the eulogy for his grandmother, grandfather, and later, his mother.
Sarah Barysauskas specified the exact pew where her grandmother sat while attending noon mass every day in the church where she was first baptized, later married, and was ultimately buried. Now living in rural New Hampshire, Sarah Barysauskas’ voice quavered when she said that this church is the only place where she has felt the presence of God.
Retired engineer Anthony Kunny spoke of the deep connections with the church that have been present his entire life. “It’s a source of spiritual comfort to me and the other parishioners.”
There are thousands of people with deep ties to St. Mary’s who feel a sense of loss and devastation. But this is nothing new. Closures of Catholic churches in the United States are commonplace, especially on the East Coast and in the Midwest.
The reasons for closing a Catholic church are manifold: not enough parishioners, too little money, too few priests, and declining birth rates—those are the obvious reasons. Yet, in some instances, the true reasons for closing a church might be kept hushed and hidden behind the scenes.
Originally the St. Mary’s church community was composed of Irish immigrants. Later came the Italians, Portuguese, Germans, Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks. The population has evolved through the years to mirror the latest waves of immigrants. Masses today are said in Arabic, Spanish and English.
Caesar Quadra, Chairperson of St. Mary’s Parish Council, noted that “St. Mary’s is a church that helps immigrants. The focus is on providing food and clothing, and reaching out to the new influx of immigrants who are asking for help.”
In 2008, the church hosted the Mexican Consulate to assist undocumented immigrants who were searching for work. Dr. Matel Hassan, Assistant Principal at Roosevelt High School, said, “The church expected a handful of people to form a line to get into St. Mary’s Parish Hall.”
Instead 500 men and women, some with babies, sought valid Mexican passports from the Mexican consulate. Over the next six days, thousands more received proper documentation and completed the applications to get on the road to U.S. citizenship.
“The church is an immigrant community,” Dr. Hassan said. “It has always been an immigrant community. ”
The church also serves the city’s large Arab Catholic community. St. Mary’s is home to the Good Shepherd Church, a parish within a parish. Predominantly an Arabic community, The Good Shepherd Church follows the Archdiocese of New York, but also follows the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem—that is where their priest, who is Arabic-speaking, comes from.
Dr. Hassan also serves on the Parish Council. “The church represents stability in a very unstable world. It’s been our constant reminder, there is hope and there is faith.” She said that she reviewed the remarks of what Archbishop Dolan had made during his visit this past December. He had referred to the church as the “Cathedral on the Hudson.”
The Archbishop did not address the history of the church, rooted in the countless immigrants who had built Yonkers, and who have never stopped coming to the city.
On multiple occasions, the Archdiocese has clarified it was not “closing” St. Mary’s and would still open the church building for funerals. In the public meeting held January 17th in St. Mary’s Parish Hall, the Archdiocese—through its administrative representatives—again clarified that it was not closing the parish. The parish of St. Mary’s would merge with St. Peter/St. Denis located farther south on Riverdale Avenue.
But in the audience, concerns ran the gamut. The prior merger of St. Peter and St. Denis meant that church was already at capacity and lacking the comfort and familiar continuity of attending mass at St. Mary’s.
There was still the question of what would happen to the building. The $10 million estimate to repair the building continued to raise eyebrows. Engineers, designers, and architects from the parish stepped forward.
John Adely inspected bridges for the NYS Thruway Authority for more than twenty-five years. Specializing in design analysis and construction, he now owns his own consulting company.
Adely reviewed the report and offered an opinion based on his professional experience.
“The estimated cost is too much for the proposed work,” he said. “There is no mention of any structural deficiency. You know, looking at mortar joints, missing, degraded, spooling and cracked stone—this is normal for a building of this age.”
Civil Engineer Anthony Kunny prepared his own report related to the building’s repair. He noted that the building façade is in bad condition, but the structure is sound. Kunny questioned the lack of an itemized breakdown of costs for each phase of repair and the determining factors that would affect overall cost. He also questioned the professional experience of the company that had prepared the $10 million estimate. He sent his report to the Archdiocese, but they have not yet responded.
Adely said relying on one plan was out of the bounds of industry protocol. The Archdiocese had an obligation to provide at least three estimates based on three design plans. “We asked them for three estimates and since then I haven’t heard anything.”
Anthony Kunny, John Adely, and others are of the same opinion that the work can be done in phases, which would allow the parish to raise the funds over the next few years to complete the needed work.
But there will be no phases of work performed because the Archdiocese has barred the Parish Council from raising money to repair the building. Parish Council Chairperson Caesar Quadro was told by Archdiocesan Vice Chancellor Eileen Mulcahy that the council could not plan or organize a fundraiser without archdiocesan approval.
“So, our hands are tied,” Quadro said. “Even though we have the desire to work to save the church, we can’t do it because we’ll be breaking the rules.”
Parish Council Member, Isidoro Acevedo, was also told not to raise funds to repair the church. “We had a meeting with the Vice Chancellor Eileen Mulcahy to talk about raising funds to start Phase One, so we can pay the $1.8 million to do the repairs and remove the scaffolding.”
During the meeting with the Vice Chancellor, Acevedo was told that the Parish Council was not allowed to do fundraising. “They told us, before we could do fundraising, we need to have $5 million in the bank—cold cash. And we need to have the promises for another $2.5 million. So, unless someone writes a check for $5 million, they are not allowing us to start raising funds.”
There is confusion as to why the Archdiocese is so adamant about closing the church instead of allowing the Parish Council to create an action plan for raising the funds to repair the church.
Dr. Hassan stated, “I think we’ve gotten so much, so many different stories because each time we meet with them, I don’t think they expected us to be as smart, and I hate to say it that way, but in my heart I believe (this is not necessarily the opinion of the parish, just my own). I really believe that they walked into a black and brown community and thought, ‘they’ll never figure it out.”’
Acevedo noted that after the Parish Council was given the go ahead to work on a new proposal with help from engineering and design experts in the church community, Vice Chancellor Elaine Mulcahy called for an emergency meeting during the Wednesday of Holy Week. No one wanted to meet because it was Holy Week, but the Archdiocese insisted on the meeting. At the last minute, Vice Chancellor Elaine Mulcahy got sick and cancelled the meeting.
Dr. Matel Hassan noted that people in Yonkers appreciate what St. Mary’s brings to the overall community. “To close it, to get rid of it, to demolish it, or whatever it is they plan on doing, ruins the neighborhood. The church was built for the immigrants—they needed a place to go.”
Historically speaking, the church building itself commands attention. The building’s architecture, designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, is clearly evident of 19th Century American history. The building’s architect, Lawrence J. O’Connor, built many churches, rectories, and convents throughout the New York Metropolitan area.
Another notable example of Mr. O’Connor’s work is The Church of St. Agnes, located in midtown Manhattan. While this church was badly damaged by fire, it has since been restored, using its original architectural elements.
Dr. Matel Hassan, along with another Parish Council Member Dr. Sandy Hattar, moved forward to protect the church by preparing an application to landmark the building.
The architectural design of the building fits the schematics rendered to create a Romanesque Cathedral. Most notably, the church was built in the shape of a cross. Eyes are drawn upward to the large dome above the altar. The dome transcends ordinary light, filtering through stained glass, illuminating paintings, frescoes, and sculptures that tell biblical stories, revealing the mysteries of the faith.
The Landmark Preservation Board voted unanimously to accept the application. It is currently being reviewed by the City’s Planning Board, which will advise the Landmark Preservation Board. After a hearing and a vote, it is anticipated that the Landmarks Preservation Board will send the application to the Yonkers City Council for approval. Ultimately, the members of the Yonkers City Council will decide whether to designate landmark status to the church building—that City Council meeting has not been scheduled.
So far, the City Council has supported the Yonkers community in the efforts made to keep St. Mary’s open. City Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy drafted a resolution calling upon the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York to find alternatives to the closure of St. Mary’s Church. The resolution was adopted unanimously by the City Council on January 30, 2024.
“So many people in the city of Yonkers have connections to the church that it’s unfortunate that it’s come to this,” Collins-Bellamy stated. “We’re pushing to stop it. I know there are a lot of repairs that need to be done, no one’s refuting that, but it could be done in phases so that the congregation could raise the money.”
City Councilwoman Deana Renee Robinson, who represents District 1, where St. Mary’s is located, recalls that the first town hall meeting held this past January was jam-packed. “The room was filled to capacity. There were no more seats and then there were so many people gathered in the back.” Film crews were present and elected officials showed up, including State Assemblyman Nader Sayegh, who has deep ties to the Arab-American community.
Angelique Piwinski spent ten years on the Yonkers Landmarks Preservation Board (2009-2019) to prevent the destruction of Yonkers historical architecture. “Judging by the city’s town hall meeting, the resolution was overwhelmingly supported, but it will be interesting to see how the Yonkers City Council will vote on the landmark application.”
Regardless of what happens with the landmark decision, the church building still has repairs that must be made. If the parish is forced to leave the building and merge with St.Peter/St. Denis, the bells of St. Mary’s will no longer ring.
Many feel that the Archdiocese has not given the community any time at all to raise the funds. The Archdiocese has not envisioned or supported additional marketing streams that would benefit St. Mary’s and help the community to thrive financially.
Robert Lynn, whose career focused on corporate marketing, stated that “The impending decision to close the church has generated a fire storm and backlash of comments and show of support from literally thousands of current and past parishioners, across the entire country!” The Archdiocese might not be aware of the barrage of commentary and conversations that are national in scope.
Anthony Kunny stated, “I’m deeply concerned that our voices are not being heard.”
Aldo Dominguez, who grew up going to St. Mary’s Church, now spends the majority of his time in Florida. He remembers getting dressed up and going to church every first Friday, then going out with his friends afterward. Today those friends have moved out of the area, but they still stay in touch. “We keep in touch via Facebook, via email, or we might meet and go out to dinner.”
There is a huge community to tap into—people across the country who care about St. Mary’s and will donate funds to stop the parish from being closed. Robert Lynn noted, “Once we are able to obtain a ‘realistic’ number from the Archdiocese for the repairs, I will need to develop a marketing plan to reach these individuals, and their friends and relatives via direct mail, social media, phone messaging, etc.”
Sarah Barysauskas, whose grandmother sat in the same pew for noon mass every day, questions why the American Roman Catholic Church allows so many of its churches to be closed and/or torn down. “It’s not the same in Europe,” she said. “European churches are historic landmarks (tourist attractions) that are supported by multiple revenue streams. American churches are viewed as franchises in a corporation that are shut when they are not making enough money.”
The question demands to be asked: Is the Catholic Church in business to make money or does it exist to serve the people? St. Mary’s sits on .52 acres. If the Archdiocese were to sell the church site, they would fetch a good price from commercial real estate developers.
Rumors abound on social media that this is a done deal—that the Archdiocese has already made plans to sell the property. Pure speculation, but it might explain why the insurance company—hired by the Archdiocese—recently detected damage, but not during annual inspections made in previous years. It also might explain the $10 million estimate, and why the Archdiocese has barred any fundraising efforts to save the church.
The Archdiocese did not respond to three requests for comment.
Yonkers Commissioner of Finance John Liszewski, (who is speaking personally and not in his official position), said, “St. Mary’s is not an ordinary church. How is the Archdiocese serving the immigrant population? If we don’t serve the immigrant population, how will the church grow?”
Isidoro Acevedo seeks strength and guidance from the faith that has brought us all together in the first place. “I had this anxiety and I had a guilty feeling,” he said. “These people worked so hard to build this church. They gave their sweat and tears, and now we’re going to let them tear it down. I was feeling so devastated and my heart was so heavy. Dear Lord, take this away from me.”
As a building worthy of being designated as a landmark, it is in the best interest of the Archdiocese to accord St. Mary’s the respect it deserves—as a symbol of hope for the droves of immigrants who picked themselves up by their bootstraps and made the city of Yonkers what it is today. The Archdiocese needs to understand that the immigrants of today will create the Yonkers of the future.
The poet John Donne wrote, “For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee.” The bells of St. Mary’s have tolled for you, for me, for all of those who came before us, for all of those yet to come, and they must not be silenced.
Patricia Vaccarino grew up in Yonkers. She wrote The Yonkers Trilogy, historical fiction, which takes place in Yonkers from 1969-73. The Yonkers Public Library will be featuring an online book discussion group for The Yonkers Trilogy on April 25, May 2 & 9. All are welcome to participate. https://yonkerstimes.com/yonkers-beats-a-discussion-guide-with-author-patricia-vaccarino/
