Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Name of Jesus - Brooklyn, NY
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Church of the Holy Name of Jesus
(Roman Catholic)

245 Prospect Park West at Prospect Avenue
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11215
http://www.holynamebrooklyn.com/







The parish of the Holy Name of Jesus was established by Bishop John Loughlin on March 17, 1878, to serve Catholics in the sparsely settled but rapidly improving section of Brooklyn that was bounded by Seventh Avenue, Ninth Street, Green-Wood Cemetery and the city line. The new parish included a portion of Flatbush known as Windsor Terrace, and drew from the territory and membership of St. John's Church, Brooklyn, and Holy Cross Church, Flatbush. Bishop Loughlin appointed Rev. Thomas S. O'Reilly (1844-1918), a young Irish-born priest who had been an assistant at St. Joseph's, to organize the new church. The first Mass was held in a stable, located at 18th Street and 11th Avenue, and was attended by about 100 persons.

Plans were prepared for a permament building to be erected on the corner of Ninth (now Prospect Park West) and Prospect Avenues, on an eminence facing the Bay. Designed with a "plain but substantial appearance," the church was constructed of Philadelphia brick with brownstone trim and its front was flanked by two square towers. The new church, measuring 84 by 96 feet and 61 feet high, would provide seating for 1,000 persons. After the cornerstone was laid by Bishop Loughlin on August 11, 1878, work progressed quickly and the first Mass in the new church was celebrated on December 25, 1878.

Although the parish was not blessed with great wealth, Father O'Reilly was able to build a rectory in 1882. Three years later, in 1885, a school measuring 40 by 98 feet was opened. Holy Name School welcomed six hundred boys and girls who were taught by three lay teachers and four Sisters of St. Joseph. The first convent, a frame building located on Ninth Avenue near 17th Street, was replaced in 1907 by the convent at 243 Prospect Park West.

Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Name of Jesus - Brooklyn, NY (Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection)  
Church decorated with 5,000 lilies for a wedding (Aug. 1, 1934)  
Father O’Reilly, who had become a Monsignor, died on February 3, 1918. On June 30, 1918, Bishop Charles McDonnell, second Bishop of Brooklyn, appointed Msgr. Charles Vitta to serve as the new pastor of Holy Name. In 1923, the new and present school (which included a high school) was opened. When the Bishop McDonnell Memorial High School was opened, Holy Name girls were transferred to the new school, and the diocese requested the parish to close its high school. Msgr. Vitta, aware of the great contribution of the Xaverian Brothers to the Christian education of boys and young men, invited them to teach and assume responsibility for the boys department of the entire school. The Brothers accepted and took up residence in a private house on Sixteenth Street. The Sisters of St. Joseph had grown in number to twenty-five, and the convent was literally bursting at the seams. Msgr. Vitta built the present convent in 1927, and remodeled the building at 243 Prospect Park West for the Xaverian Brothers of the parish.

In the 1960s, the church interior was updated and remodeled to allow for liturgical reforms prescribed by the Vatican II Council.
             
Reuben Midmer & Sons
Brooklyn, N.Y. (1878/1917)
Electro-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 20 stops, 20 ranks


The organ in the church was built in 1878 by Reuben Midmer & Sons of Brooklyn. This two-manual organ originally had tubular-pneumatic action, and there were 11 stops on the Great, including a 2-2/3', 2', and Mixture. In 1918, Midmer installed a blower. Sometime after 1918, the 2' was moved to the original 2-2/3' slot, and the toeboard which had the 2' and Mixture on it was utilized for the present 8' French Horn. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the organ was renovated by William Baker of Northampton, Mass., who installed electro-pneumatic pull downs to the pallets.

Rollin Smith, noted organ historian, concert organist, and former organist of the church, provided the following specifications.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8
   Open Diapason
61
4
   Octave
61
8
   Melodia
61
4
   Concert Flute
61
8
   Gross Gamba
61
2
   Super Octave
61
8
   Viol di Orchestre
61
8
   French Horn
61
8
   Dulciana
61
8
   Trumpet
61
               
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
16
   Bourdon Bass
12
2
   Flageolet
61
16
   Bourdon Treble
49
8
   Bassoon
12
8
   Open Diapason
61
8
   Oboe (TC)
49
8
   Stopped Diapason
61
8
   Vox Humana
61
8
   Salicional
61
     Tremolo  
4
   Violina
61
        
               
Pedal Organ – 30 notes
16
   Open Diapason
30
        
16
   Bourdon
30
        
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal   Swell to Great
    Swell to Pedal   Swell to Great 4'
         
Pedal Movements
    4 Combination Pedals    
    Great to Pedal Reversible    
    [Swell Pedal]    
             
Sources:
     "A New Roman Catholic Parish," The New York Times (Aug. 12, 1878).
     The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X, Vol. III. New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914.
     Church of the Holy Name of Jesus web site: http://www.holynamebrooklyn.com/
     "Holy Name. Bishop Loughlin Laying the Cornerstone of a New Church," Brooklyn Eagle (Aug. 12, 1878).
     Smith, Rollin. Specifications of Reuben Midmer & Sons organ (1878/1917).
     Trupiano, Larry. Electronic correspondence (8/17/2009 and 9/2/2012) regarding history of the Reuben Midmer & Sons organ (1878/1917).

Illustrations:
     Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Collection. Interior (Aug. 1, 1934).
     Container Diaries web site: http://holyname.wordpress.com/page/21/. Exterior. (photo by "Icky")