Parish History
When the present Church of St. Vincent Ferrer was dedicated on May 5, 1918, three ambitious and interwoven dreams were finally realized. First, the Dominican Friars of the Province of St. Joseph (Eastern United States) saw the confirmation of a missionary venture that had first brought them to New York City in the mid-nineteenth century. From humble beginnings, their prayers and their preaching over several decades resulted in the construction of one of Manhattan’s most beautiful churches. Secondly, the internationally celebrated architect Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue delighted to see his ecclesiastical masterpiece put to prayerful use for the first time. He proudly commented in a letter to a one-time colleague, “I think St. Vincent Ferrer is my very best work.” Finally, the good parishioners of St. Vincent Ferrer had their faith and heroic generosity rewarded as they offered their first prayers in the great temple built from their gifts and sacrifices. Coincidentally, the date of the church’s dedication is now observed in the Dominican Order as the feast day of St. Vincent Ferrer.
The Dominican Fathers and Brothers were
first charged with founding a parish in New York City in 1867. 
This
commission resulted from the great popularity the friars had gained among
New York Catholics. Their missions and preaching had
long been favored in many of the city’s parishes. In recognition
of their success, John Cardinal McCloskey, archbishop of New York and America’s
first cardinal, asked these Dominican preachers to establish themselves
permanently in the city by founding and serving a parish on the east side
of Manhattan. This request marks the birth of St. Vincent Ferrer
Parish. After borrowing $10,000, the Dominicans secured 18 lots of
land measuring 200x225 feet on Lexington Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets. On
this land, the six priests assigned to this new foundation oversaw the
construction of a small chapel, and the first Mass was offered in it on
September 8, 1867, the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady. On November
10 of that year, the cornerstone was laid for a more substantial gothic
church that was finally dedicated in December, 1879. This second
church served the growing parish until 1914, when it was dismantled to
make way for the present church. During the difficult years of the
First World War, the friars and parishioners of St. Vincent’s worshipped
in a temporary structure on East 67th Street while plans were finalized
for the church we see and enjoy today.
Even before their 1914 decision to build
a new church, the Dominicans held in esteem several beautiful and prayerful
structures arising in the New York area, including St. Thomas Episcopal
Church on Fifth Avenue and the Cadet Chapel at West Point. 
They noted
that an architect named Bertram Goodhue was involved in both of these projects. Therefore,
in 1912, just after he left Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson to start his own
firm, Goodhue was chosen unanimously by the Priory Council to design and
build a church that would serve the increasing needs of the Dominican community
and parish. By 1915, the construction of the church was underway,
and already it was gaining a reputation in the city for its grace and beauty. Also
that year, a parish Church Building Association was organized to gather
funds and to decide which elements of the church—stained glass, sculptures,
etc.—would be added as funds became available. The Association
excelled in ensuring that no undue financial burden was placed on the parishioners. This
is just one example of the mutual respect and concern that all participants
of the project—clergy, laity, artists, and artisans—carried
for one another.
At the time of its construction, the
Church of St. Vincent Ferrer was innovative in many ways. First,
Goodhue’s plan for a Christocentric structure was epitomized by the
stone Great Rood situated on the exterior of the church just above the
main doors. It was carved by Lee O. Lawrie, at the time “America’s
greatest sculptor,” and its installation at St. Vincent Ferrer marked
one of the first times in America that a crucifixion scene was placed prominently
on the facade of a church. Even today this remains a rare feature in American ecclesiastical
architecture, although one may see it employed at another Dominican parish
in Manhattan, St. Catherine of Siena on East 68th. Secondly, the
Dominican commitment to preaching was honored by making St. Vincent Ferrer
the only church in the country fitted with Guastivino acoustic tiling. The
newspaper coverage of the 1918 dedication commented on its effect, saying, “as
a result, the preachers’ voice is heard distinctly in every corner
of the edifice, while the music is diffused in such a way as to appear
to come from no one particular point.” Thirdly, under Goodhue’s
direction, all of the windows were planned to complement one another. The
position of the reds and blues was arranged so that, in direct sunlight,
the windows in dominant blues would interact beautifully with the opposite
windows that showcase warm reds and golds. The master craftsman Charles
Connick created a majority of the windows. Finally, in regard to
the Stations of the Cross, the precedent established in the Dominican shrines
of Spain was continued. Instead of statuary or carvings, large oil
paintings were used to depict the scenes of Christ’s via dolorosa. Goodhue
decided that these stations should look as if they were old art pieces
painted in different countries at different times. One effect of
this technique is the ever-changing color of Christ’s robe as one
moves from station to station. Telford Paullin and his wife, Ethel,
were chosen to create the paintings.
As generations of Dominican clergy succeeded
one another,
and as the generosity of the parishioners only increased, the beautification
of the church continued gradually according to the original 1915 plan. In
1931, one of the true treasures of St. Vincent’s was finally installed—the
High Pulpit. Composed of quartered oak and formed according to a
fourteenth-century gothic style, the High Pulpit continues even today,
particularly on Sundays, to enthrone the preaching of the Gospel. Later
in the 1960’s,
the reforms of the Second Vatican Council heralded adjustments to the Church’s
liturgical life, and subsequently as the ancient Dominican Rite gave way
to the reformed Roman Rite, the sanctuary of St. Vincent’s was reconfigured
and a new altar of sacrifice was erected, in two stages, at the front of
the choir. This is the altar used for Mass today, while the Blessed
Sacrament continues to be reserved on the magnificent High Altar at the
back of the sanctuary.
Today, as the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer approaches its 100th birthday,
improvements to the church continue to be added. In the early days
of the current decade, a joint commitment of the clergy and laity of St.
Vincent’s ushered forth a new era of sacred music in the parish. Hundreds
of hours of dedicated volunteer work, together with a generous anonymous
gift, served to provide the church its masterful Schantz pipe organ, which
accompanies the accomplished choir that sings at the noon Mass on Sundays. Other
projects also gain the enthusiastic support of today's generous parishioners. For
example, a 2006 capital campaign led to the installation of a new heating
and cooling system. Though more practical and less interesting, gifts
like this one serve to protect the treasures housed inside the church,
and in so doing they help to secure future decades of solemn Dominican
worship and preaching in the heart of New York City.
This brief history of the Church of St.
Vincent Ferrer can convey to its readers only little of the magnificence
of this grand structure. To experience its full beauty, the humble
soul must enter its doors for a quiet moment of prayer or the communal
celebration of the Eucharist. Like the great medieval cathedrals
of Europe, this gothic church at the corner of Lexington and 66th stands
as a “gospel in stone and stained glass and wood,” a testament
to faith and a contemporary retelling of salvation history. Like
all of the great churches of history, it was built by and for prayer, and
it continues today to be built up and improved by the love and commitment
of those who come here to pray and offer their sacrifices to God.
