“Never give up your property.” Those were the founder’s words to his flock. We are standing before the former site of St. Nicholas Catholic Church. It was once located at 127 East Second Street. This was between Avenue A and First Avenue in Manhattan.
St. Nicholas Kirche served as the national parish. It ministered to the local German-speaking population. In German, it was known as Deutsche Römisch-Katholische St. Nicholas Kirche. This translates to St. Nicholas Roman Catholic German Church.
The parish has a rich history dating back to 1833. It was founded by the Austrian priest Father Johann Stephen Raffeiner. St. Nicholas Catholic Church was the first German-language Catholic parish in New York City.
Father Raffeiner played a crucial role in establishing the parish. At that time, a large German-speaking community lived east of the Bowery. This made German-language religious services necessary. Raffeiner initially rented a carpenter shop on Delancey Street for services. Later, he leased a former Anabaptist meeting house. This was located at Delancey and Pitt Streets. This marked the formal beginning of the first German-speaking Catholic congregation.
As the parish grew, finding a permanent church became essential. Four lots on Second Street were purchased. They had a frontage of one hundred feet. The depth was one hundred and six feet. The purchase was made through Dr. Joseph C. Springer from John Jacob Astor. This happened on September 1, 1834.
The cornerstone of the new church was laid on Easter Monday, April 20, 1835. The Very Rev. Dr. John Power officiated. Rev. Joseph A. Schneller delivered the English sermon. Father Raffeiner gave a discourse in German.
The building measured fifty-two by seventy feet. The cost for work and materials was $8,174. Fittings cost $1,384 and the organ cost $600. Before completion, the lease on the Baptist meeting house expired. Father Quarter accommodated the congregation. This was in the basement of St. Mary’s on Grand Street.
The dedication ceremony took place on Easter Sunday, 1836. Later, the parish was incorporated. This was under the old New York law. A board of lay trustees was elected by the pew-holders. Father Raffeiner served as pastor for seven years. His assistant was the Benedictine Father Nicholas Balleis.
John Nepomucene Neumann became friends with Father Raffeiner. Raffeiner helped him settle in New York. Neumann celebrated his first Mass in St. Nicholas Catholic Church on June 26, 1836. He considered it his first spiritual home. Neumann was later canonized as the first American bishop in 1977.
Father Raffeiner was succeeded by Nicholas Balleis in 1840. In 1841, Rev. John Lewitz, a Franciscan, took over. Archbishop Hughes invited the Redemptorists to take over St. Nicholas’ Church. The parish retained control of its property. This led to the founding of Holy Redeemer Church. Rev. Gabriel Rumpler served as rector until 1844.
Ambrose Buchmeyer, a Capuchin, took charge. He remained until his death in 1861. Father Bonaventure Frey recounted how he was welcomed by Father Buchmeyer in 1855.
The growing German-speaking population required a larger church. The second St. Nicholas Catholic Church was built in 1848. It was designed in the Gothic Revival style. Archbishop Hughes dedicated it on December 24. The schoolhouse was built in 1867.
In 1908, Father John A. Nageleisen took charge. He addressed the church’s financial difficulties. He managed to cancel a significant portion of the church’s debt.
The former St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church rectory still stands. It is located at 135 East Second Street. It was built in 1867. The AIA Guide to New York City describes it as a late Gothic Revival essay.
By 1935, St. Nicholas Catholic Church had only about fifty parishioners. This was due to the declining German Catholic population in the area. The church was sold in 1960 and demolished. The site became a parking lot. This served the adjacent Village View Houses, which opened in 1964.
The organ, dating from about 1881, was built by Engelfried & Hadden. Lynnwood Farnam, a noted organist, visited in 1919. He noted that the organ was a fine old piece in poor condition.
Though the physical structure is gone, the memory of St. Nicholas Catholic Church lives on. It remains an important part of New York City’s history. It stands as a testament to the German-speaking community. The community helped shape the cultural fabric of the Lower East Side.