BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | Word on the street is that the Catholic Archdiocese of New York has sold Mary Help of Christians Church, at E. 12th St. and Avenue A.
Neighborhood activist Carolyn Ratcliffe said earlier this week that a neighbor of hers said Renata, the head of the flea market that uses the church’s parking lot, told her the church had been sold, and that the flea market only had the use of the parking lot — which extends down to 11th St. — for the next two weeks.
Ratcliffe said the woman was told the flea market will be relocating to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, at 14th St. and First Ave.
Spokesperson Joseph Zwilling said the archdiocese’s policy is not to discuss property sales until they are finalized. He said there haven’t been any finalized sales of church properties recently.
That said, however, he noted of Mary Help of Christians, “There’s no secret that it’s on the market.” Zwilling said he believed what’s being offered is the entire site, including the parking lot, but wasn’t absolutely sure if that’s the case.
The Mary Help of Christians parish ceased to exist several years ago. The church, however, does continue to have one Mass celebrated there weekly.
Meanwhile, on a more positive note, work on the restoration of St. Brigid’s Church, at Eighth St. and Avenue B, is nearing completion. Repairing the church’s semi-detached, back wall, on its eastern side, proved more challenging and costly than anticipated, which slowed the progress of the work, Zwilling said. The wall’s pulling away from the church had also damaged the rest of the building, he noted. The wall’s repair ultimately cost more than the few hundred thousand dollars that the church’s congregants had estimated, he said.
“There’s water running underneath the property,” making the job even more difficult, the spokesperson added.
Father Ato from St. Emeric’s Church, located at the eastern end of E. 13th St., is already living in the St. Brigid’s rectory, eagerly awaiting the restored church’s reopening, Zwilling said. St. Emeric’s congregants will worship at St. Brigid’s, joined by former St. Brigid’s congregants and others.
The archdiocese had closed the damaged church and was trying to sell it off, when an unnamed benefactor stepped in, providing millions to restore the historic “Irish famine church” built by East Village boatwrights.
Zwilling said the restoration doesn’t include restoring tall steeples previously sported by the church’s towers since these weren’t on the church when it was originally built, but were added later — plus, putting on steeples “would have added significantly to the cost” of the project, he said.
As for when St. Brigid’s will officially reopen, Zwilling said he keeps being given a date, and its keeps getting pushed back a bit further — as often happens with any kind of construction project, he noted — but that it will be happening soon. There were rumors the opening would be next month, but now it’s looking a bit later than that, he said.
“They certainly are talking about the fall,” Zwilling said. “It’s not going to be September.”
There will be a dedication Mass to mark the opening, he said. A huge plus for the congregation of the church, he added, “It will be opening debt-free” — again, thanks to the unnamed benefactor.
