Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church - New York City (photo: LuciaM)
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Church of Mary Help of Christians
(Roman Catholic)

440 East 12th Street at Avenue A
New York, N.Y. 10009




The parish of Mary Help of Christians was founded in 1908 to serve Italian immigrants who flooded the East Village at the turn of the 20th century.

The Salesians of St. John Bosco, a Roman Catholic religious order, founded a society in 1898 at 315 East 12th Street during heightened tensions between Italian and Irish immigrant families in the area. Like other Italian immigrant congregations of the early 20th Century in New York City, the Salesians were forced to worship in basements of churches to avoid clashes with their Irish neighbors upstairs in the main church.

Mary, Help of Christians Catholic Church - New York City  
   
They relocated to 29 Mott Street in 1902 briefly before moving to 431 East 12th Street in 1904, which was later converted into a nursery. Services were held there until 1918, when a new building at 440 East 12th Street was built.

As the neighborhood demographics changed over the years, Italians moved away and were replaced by other ethnic groups. The parish school closed in 2006, and in January 2007 the Archdiocese announced that the church would be closed and the parish merged into Immaculate Conception Church located nearby on East 14th Street. However, a single Spanish-language service continues to be offered every Sunday until the Archdiocese decides what to do with the building.
           
  M.P. Möller organ in Mary, Help of Christians Catholic Church - New York City
Unknown Builder
Moved and rebuilt by M.P. Möller (1917)
Tubular-pneumatic action
2 manuals, 17 stops, 19 ranks



The Agreement dated July 11, 1917 between M. P. Möller and Mary Help of Christians R.C. Church shows that Möller agreed to install a second-hand organ for a consideration of $1050 (the cost underwritten by the Society of St. Anne). This organ was originally built by an unknown builder for St. John Nepomucene R.C. Church (Slovak) in Freeland, Pa. When the Freeland church purchased a new Möller organ (ca.1917, Op. 2277), their old organ was acquired by Möller. The organ was rebuilt by Möller and equipped with an electric blower. Möller provided a 30-note pedalboard although the pedal ranks had only 27 pipes. The fate of this organ is unknown.
               
Great Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes
8
   Open Diapason
61
2 2/3
   Twelfth
61
8
   Dulciana
61
2
   Fifteenth
61
8
   Doppel Flöte
61
  Mixture, 3 ranks
183
4
   Principal
61
8
   Clarinet [TC]
49
4
   Flute d'Amour
61
   

     

     
Swell Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed
8
   Viola Diapason [1-12 stopped]
61
4
   Violina
61
8
   Stopped Diapason
61
4
   Flute Traverso
61
8
   Aeoline [TC, 1-12 grooved]
49
8
   Oboe & Bassoon
61
               
Pedal Organ – 30 notes (27 pipes)
16
   Sub Bourdon
27
  Pedal Check  
16
   Bourdon
27
     
               
Couplers
    Great to Pedal          
    Swell to Pedal          
    Swell to Great          
               
Mechanicals
    2 Combination Pedals       Tremulant  
    Balanced Swell Pedal          
           
Sources:
     Catholic Churches of Manhattan blogspot: http://catholicmanhattan.blogspot.com/2010/03/90-mary-help-of-christians.html
     Dunlap, David W. From Abyssinian to Zion: A Guide to Manhattan's Houses of Worship. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004.
     Marcius, Chelsia Rose. "Developers Eye Mary Help of Christians (Plus: A History of the Church)," The Local East Village (Dec. 2, 2011).
     M.P. Möller Agreement and Specifications (July 11, 1917) for second-hand organ. Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
     Smith, Rollin. Stoplist of organ.
     Tirella, Joseph V. "The Church Ladies," The New York Times (May 27, 2007).

Illustrations:
     Catholic Churches of Manhattan blogspot. Interior; Gallery showing M.P. Möller organ.
     panoramio.com. Exterior (credit: LuciaM)