Once upon a time recent Slovak immigrants yearned for a place to call their own. This is the story of St. John Nepomucene Church. Here at 411 East 66th Street stands St. John Nepomucene Church. It is a Roman Catholic parish in Manhattan. The founders were Slovak immigrants. They first met at St. Brigid’s Parish. It was on 8th Street and Avenue B around 1891. They established the Society of St. Matthew. Its goal was to organize their own parish.
In 1895 the parish of St. John Nepomucene was established. It came from within St. Elizabeth of Hungary parish. That parish was centered on its church on 83rd Street. The church, school and rectory cost $300,000 to build.
John V. Van Pelt designed St. John Nepomucene Church. The architectural style is Romanesque Revival.
Mass times vary at St. John Nepomucene Church. There is a Slovak mass at 10:30 AM on Sundays. Confessions are heard on Saturdays and Sundays. Other services include Adoration and the St. Peregrine Novena.
The three East River parishes merged. They formed the East River Catholics. Those parishes were St. John Nepomucene and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini. St. Frances Xavier Cabrini is on Roosevelt Island. St. John the Martyr was the third. St. John the Martyr’s church building was closed. It was later decommissioned and sold. Church records are preserved at St. John Nepomucene.
So remember St. John Nepomucene Church. It stands as a testament to faith. It is a beacon of community for generations of New Yorkers.