America's Largest Catholic Newspaper
St. Jean Baptiste, founded as the French Canadian national parish in New York City, was first known as the “Crib of Bethlehem” for its humble beginnings in a rented hall above a stable.
“From the non-liturgical hoof-beating of the animals below punctuating the silence of the Mass, the rattling of chains almost drowning out the tinkling of the Mass bell, and the fragrance of the incense not quite subduing the stable odors that filtered up through the thin floor,” the mission chapel at 202 E. 77th St. was “picturesquely” nicknamed after Jesus’ birthplace, states the parish history.
Cardinal Dolan commemorated the centennial of completion of the current church building at 184 E. 76th St. during an early afternoon Mass Jan. 5, the Feast of the Epiphany.
It is the parish’s third house of worship since its founding.
“The splendor of this church is what I call a vitality in faith,” said the cardinal, who served as principal celebrant and homilist.
St. Jean’s pastor, Father John Kamas, S.S.S., a priest of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, was among the concelebrants.
The international order, founded in France in 1856 by St. Peter Julian Eymard, assumed administration of the parish in 1900 and continues its ministry today.
St. Jean Baptiste has 610 registered parishioners.
A Family Liturgy is celebrated on the third Sunday of the month from September through May at 11:00 a.m. A Young Adults Mass is held monthly on Sunday, followed by a social, discussion or other activity. There are religious education programs for children, teenagers and adults, including RCIA and JustFaith, a 30-week adult educational and formational program, in which participants can grow in their commitment to care for the vulnerable and to become advocates for justice.
There are 305 young women enrolled in the parish high school, St. Jean Baptiste High, located at 173 E. 75th St. Founded in 1929, the young women’s college preparatory school is directed by the Blessed Sacrament Fathers and administered by the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame. The principal is Sister Maria Cassano, C.N.D. The staff is comprised of religious sisters and lay men and women.
In conjunction with the high school, the Saint Jean’s Players offer live theater in the St. Jean Baptiste Auditorium.
The dome of the historic landmark church rises 175 feet above Lexington Avenue. With a seating capacity of 850 people, the church is able to present orchestral and choral concerts with up to 250 musicians and, with the console of the Harris/Wicks organ located in the front of the nave, the organ alone can also accompany choral ensembles.
The suitably named “Music Under the Dome” program utilizes the acoustical “sweet spot” of the nave. Ensembles perform directly under the dome at the center of the church’s transept. The program endeavors to present some of the world’s finest performers of choral, organ and instrumental music.
A series of films is held in the Great Hall of the Community Center, using state of the art projection equipment. Most films are introduced with comments from film critic and parishioner John Mulderig.
The some 100 worshipers who assembled for the first Mass on Feb. 22, 1882, did not mind the drawback of worship in a chapel above a stable, continues the parish history. “The faithful came Sunday after Sunday to the stable loft, tracking straw and mud up to the improvised chapel.
“On Saturday night, a mop and broom brigade of women invaded the hall to wash the floor and dust the walls, to hang images on the unpainted boards, and to set up the portable altar for Mass.” Other non-Catholic groups rented the hall for services, so all traces of Catholic worship had to be removed immediately after Mass.
The infant congregation had not yet received official recognition. Grouping the French Canadians into a parish unit was only a venture, with ecclesiastical approval hinging on the success of it, according to the parish history.
They did not have to wait long. Cardinal McCloskey, early in the spring of 1882, granted permission to build a church.
A site was purchased on the north side of East 76th Street, between Lexington and Third avenues. Ground was broken in October 1882, and two months later, Archbishop Corrigan blessed the cornerstone.
The new and present church, the third such place of worship for St. Jean Baptiste, was dedicated Jan. 6, 1914; the lower church opened Feb. 25, 1913.
For the past 26 years West New York Restoration has been working with the parish to gradually restore the church building.
Since the restoration began in 1987 with the replacement of the five cooper roofs, the total interior restoration, including the refurbishing of the church’s 99 stained glass windows and 22,000 square foot community center and the present reconstruction of the two towers, the parish has invested $9 million, according to the pastor.
The restoration of the towers is scheduled to be completed in April, and, weather permitting, the pastor hopes the scaffolding will be removed by Palm Sunday, April 13.
