Our Lady Of Guadalupe

Story

The Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Bernard is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 328-332 West 14th Street in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 2003 as a result of a parish merger of the Manhattan parishes of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Bernard's Church.St. Bernard's Parish (1868-2003)The parish of St. Bernard was established in 1868 for a congregation of mostly Irish immigrants and their descendants, which influenced the decision to hire the Irish-born prolific ecclesiastical architect of Roman Catholic churches and cathedrals, Patrick Keely. It was once considered one of the most important Catholic parishes in the city. The parish closed in 2003 after it merged with Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, which was located a block east on the same street, to create the parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe at St. Bernard's Church.In the autumn of 1868 Mary Catherine Dannat Starr started a sewing school for girls at St. Bernard's to teach them skills in order to better their condition. She later went on to found the Sisters of the Divine Compassion.Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (1902-2003)The parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe was established in 1902 by the Augustinians of the Assumption as the first Spanish-speaking Catholic parish in New York City, serving working-class Spaniards. At the time, that area of 14th street was considered “Little Spain” and portrayed by filmmaker Artur Balder in his documentaries on Spanish immigration to New York City The parish was merged in 2003 with the neighboring St. Bernard Parish to create the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe & St. Bernard.