Our Lady of Mercy Church (Port Chester, New York)
The Church of Our Lady of Mercy is a Catholic church located in Port Chester, New York. Having been founded as a parish in 1834, the present church building was constructed in 1934 in the Romanesque style. It is the parish church of the Parish of St. John Bosco, which is the product of the merger of Port Chester's four Catholic parishes.
| Church of Our Lady of Mercy | |
|---|---|
| |
| 41°00′09″N 73°40′10″W | |
| Location | Port Chester, New York |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Website | donboscopc |
| History | |
| Status | Parish church |
| Founded | 1854 |
| Dedication | Our Lady of Mercy |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Active |
| Style | Romanesque |
| Completed | 1934 |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Parish of St. John Bosco |
| Archdiocese | Archdiocese of New York |
History
The first congregation of Catholics in Port Chester dates to 1834, where they met in a private house attended by visiting priests from Harlem, Westchester (today part of The Bronx), and New Rochelle. In 1846, this congregation purchased a small building on Main Street to use as their church. This remained until 1852, when a new plot of land was purchased for the construction of a church.[1]
Our Lady of Mercy Church was established as a parish on October 2, 1854 for Catholics in Port Chester, most of whom were Italian and Polish,[2] who previously traveled to New Rochelle for mass. Its first pastor, Rev. Martin Dowling, erected a rectory, as well as a parochial school in 1863 that was staffed by the Sisters of Charity. He also purchased land for a cemetery. Dowling's successor, Rev. John A. Walters, P.R., oversaw construction of the new church, school, and rectory.[3] The current church was built in 1934 in the Romanesque style. Its facade is made of red sandstone imported from Scotland.[4]
While Our Lady of Mercy was previously an independent parish, the Archdiocese of New York announced in 2015 that the four parishes of Port Chester (Our Lady of Mercy, Corpus Christi, Our Lady of the Rosary, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus) would be merged into one, with Our Lady of Mercy serving as the parish church for the new Parish of St. John Bosco. This merger went into effect in 2017.[5]
References
- Baird, Charles W. (1871). Chronicle of a Border Town: History of Rye, Westchester County, New York, 1660-1870, Including Harrison and the White Plains Till 1788. New York: Anson D.F. Randolph and Company. pp. 371. OCLC 828490934. Retrieved December 26, 2018 – via Internet Archive.
- Rom, Gabriel (August 3, 2017). "Port Chester Catholic churches merge into one". LoHud. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
- The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. 3. New York: Catholic Editing Company. 1914. p. 424. OCLC 956654650. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018 – via Google Books.
- Marci, Danny. "Port Chester Historical Trail". Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
- "Merger Decisions Announced for Port Chester". Catholic New York. June 12, 2015. Archived from the original on December 26, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
