Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Diocese of Brooklyn, Astoria)

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Dedication: Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Type/Classification: Territorial Parish
Non-Parochial: No
Operated By: Diocesan clergy
Venerated Saints: None specified
Diocese: Diocese of Brooklyn
Deanery:
Address: 23-25 Newtown Ave, Astoria, New York 11102
City: Astoria, NY
Subdivision: New York
Country: United States
County: Queens County
Website: Website
Founded: 1841
School: Yes
Email: None specified
AI Confidence: 9/10
Review Level: 0/5


Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a territorial parish of the Diocese of Brooklyn, located in the Astoria section of Queens, New York. Known as the "Mother Parish of Queens," the community traces its origins to 1841, more than a decade before the Diocese of Brooklyn itself was established, meaning it was originally founded under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of New York.

Dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the parish grew from a small mission serving Irish immigrant families in northwestern Queens into a large, multiethnic community. Since a 2006 diocesan reconfiguration, the parish has operated as a single territorial parish with two active worship sites—the historic Newtown Avenue church and the former St. Margaret Mary Church in Long Island City.

Today the parish celebrates Mass in multiple languages, reflecting the diverse immigrant communities—Irish, Italian, Czech and Slovak, Hispanic, Filipino, and Vietnamese—that have shaped its history over nearly two centuries.

History

In the mid-1830s, Irish-born Father Michael Curran sought to establish a Catholic church to serve Irish immigrants settling in northwestern Queens. On two plots of land at 21st Street and 26th Avenue donated by a local teacher named John Shea, a small wooden church was built in 1841 to serve a congregation of 118 people, including 16 non-Catholics.[1] The original wooden church was known successively as St. John's and St. Mary's before finally taking the name Our Lady of Mount Carmel.[2]

Within thirty years, the growing congregation had outgrown the original wooden church, and fundraising began for a larger building on the corner of Newtown Avenue and Crescent Street. The cornerstone of the present church was laid on September 9, 1871, and the completed building was dedicated on August 7, 1873.[3] A parish school, convent, and rectory followed in the 1880s and 1890s; the parish school opened at Astoria Boulevard and Crescent Street on September 14, 1891, staffed by six Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood teaching roughly 300 children.[3] A new school building adjacent to the rectory was constructed in 1954. The Sisters of St. Joseph continued to staff the school for 114 years until it closed in 2005; religious education has since continued through a parish program enrolling several hundred students.[3]

The church celebrated its 125th anniversary in 1966 in the presence of Archbishop Bryan J. McEntegart.[3] St. Margaret Mary Church, located five blocks away in Long Island City, was created out of Mount Carmel's territory in 1961; in 2006, as part of a diocesan reconfiguration plan, St. Margaret Mary was reintegrated into Our Lady of Mount Carmel, forming a single parish with two active worship sites.[3] On July 16, 2011, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio presided at a Mass marking the parish's 170th anniversary, joined by Msgr. Sean Ogle, pastor since 2008, and concelebrants including several pastors emeriti and priests native to the parish.[3]

According to a Master's thesis on Roman Catholic architecture in Queens cited by local historians, the 1873 church building is the oldest extant Catholic church structure in Queens County.[4]

Special features

  • Mass celebrated regularly in five languages—English, Spanish, Czech/Slovak, Italian, and Vietnamese—reflecting the parish's diverse immigrant communities
  • Two active worship sites following the 2006 reintegration of St. Margaret Mary Church
  • Long-established lay organizations, including a Knights of Columbus council and the Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre
  • Diamond Carmel Senior group and the youth-focused Jornada movement serving the parish's Hispanic and Filipino communities
  • Religious education program enrolling several hundred students following the 2005 closure of the parish school

Relics

No confirmed information regarding relics housed at Our Lady of Mount Carmel is documented in available sources.

Architecture and Art

Exterior features

The present church, dedicated in 1873, received a major renovation in 1915 that added a limestone facade described as being in the English Gothic style of the fifteenth century, along with a deeper sanctuary; the renovated church was rededicated on May 14, 1916.[5] The 1873 structure is regarded by local architectural historians as the oldest extant Catholic church building in Queens County.[6]

Interior features

The 1915 renovation included the construction of a deeper sanctuary, expanding the worship space of the nineteenth-century church.[7]

Stained Glass Windows

As part of the 1915–1916 renovation, twelve stained glass windows were installed depicting Saint Paul and the eleven other apostles.[8]

Statues and Sculptures

Specific statuary and sculptural details are not documented in available sources.

Other Artwork

No further devotional artwork is publicly documented in available sources.

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Media

No media found for this saint.

Related parishes

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External links

Social media

Official Social Media

References

  1. ↑ "The Mother Parish of Queens – Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Astoria, Marks 170th Year". The Tablet. July 21, 2011. https://thetablet.org/the-mother-parish-of-queens-our-lady-of-mount-carmel-astoria-marks-170th-year/. 
  2. ↑ "Our Lady of Mount Carmel R.C. Church". Novelty Theater (The Bushwiki). https://noveltytheater.net/buildings/our-lady-mount-carmel-church-long-island-city. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 "The Mother Parish of Queens – Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Astoria, Marks 170th Year". The Tablet. July 21, 2011. https://thetablet.org/the-mother-parish-of-queens-our-lady-of-mount-carmel-astoria-marks-170th-year/. 
  4. ↑ "Our Lady of Mount Carmel R.C. Church". Novelty Theater (The Bushwiki). https://noveltytheater.net/buildings/our-lady-mount-carmel-church-long-island-city. 
  5. ↑ "History". Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Astoria. https://mountcarmelastoria.org/history/. 
  6. ↑ "Our Lady of Mount Carmel R.C. Church". Novelty Theater (The Bushwiki). https://noveltytheater.net/buildings/our-lady-mount-carmel-church-long-island-city. 
  7. ↑ "History". Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Astoria. https://mountcarmelastoria.org/history/. 
  8. ↑ "History". Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, Astoria. https://mountcarmelastoria.org/history/. 
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