Most Holy Redeemer parishioners bring their petition to St. Patrick’s Cathedral

This past Saturday morning, members of Save Most Holy Redeemer Historic Church gathered outside St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown, holding a petition prayer and asking Cardinal Dolan to reopen their shuttered East Village church.

Most Holy Redeemer — founded in 1844 by the Redemptorist Fathers and completed in 1852 — has been closed to the public on Third Street between Avenue A and Avenue B since Sept. 1. Parishioners have been directed to St. Brigid on Avenue B. However, the church may still be used for the occasional special ceremony. 

In a letter delivered last week to Archbishop Dolan, parishioners requested that the church be reopened and that Mass be celebrated there at least twice a month, citing their rights under canon law. 

Advocates worry the closure could signal another parish merger and, eventually, redevelopment of the site. 

Village Preservation, the Lower East Side Preservation Initiative and the East Village Community Coalition have also urged the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to protect the historic church, an architectural anchor of the neighborhood's 19th-century Kleindeutschland community.

Find the petition about landmarking here. 

A group of residents and parishioners is hosting a prayer vigil outside the church on Friday evenings at 7 — a gathering they plan to continue weekly at this time. You can follow the Facebook group Save Most Holy Redeemer Historical Church here.

Photos: Jennifer Kellow Fiorini (top); Gladys Cortez-Feliciano (second)

 

Previously on EV Grieve: 

• At what may be the final Mass at Most Holy Redeemer

• At the prayer vigil for Most Holy Redeemer 

• Push continues to landmark East Village's historic Most Holy Redeemer 

• Most Holy Redeemer to halt regular masses this fall amid uncertainty about its future

• Grassroots effort to preserve Most Holy Redeemer grows with weekly vigils