St. Jean Baptiste Church and Rectory

Infobox_nrhp | name =St. Jean Baptiste Church and Rectory
nrhp_type =


caption =
location= 1067-1071 Lexington Ave., New York, New York
lat_degrees = 40
lat_minutes = 46
lat_seconds = 21
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 73
long_minutes = 57
long_seconds = 38
long_direction = W
locmapin = New York
area =
built =1910
architect= Serricino,Nicholas
architecture= Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Other
added = April 23, 1980cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Private
refnum=80002720The Roman Catholic Church of St. Jean Baptiste, also known as St. Jean Baptiste Church and Rectory, sits at the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 76th Street on New York's Upper East Side. The building consists of a central dome which rises almost 175 feet above floor level, along with twin towers of 150 feet.

The major donor for the project was the New York financier and philanthropist Thomas Fortune Ryan, a Virginian who converted to Catholicism as a young man and who, with his wife Ida Barry Ryan, supported the construction of churches, schools, and other charitable institutions along the Eastern Seaboard. Although designed by different architects and within a few years of each other, St. Jean Baptiste and another Ryan donation, Sacred Heart Cathedral in Richmond, Virginia, bear some striking similarities. Ryan gave approximately $600,000 to the building of St. Jean Baptiste.

It is one of the few Catholic churches in New York City with a dome, and only one of two -- the other being St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York -- with stained glass windows from the glass studios of Chartres, France. Designed by New York architect Nicholas Serracino, it is of Italian Renaissance classical revival style and was awarded first prize at the International Exhibition in Turin, Italy, in 1911.

The building was landmarked in 1969.

It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

A full description of the architectural features of the building is found in the letter of designation from the Landmark Preservations Commission of the City of New York, including: "Ordered but vital monumentality is the quality with which the St. Jean Baptiste Church impresses on the passerby. Nicholas Sirracino (sic) designed it in the style of the Italian Renaissance with a four-column pedimented porch, twin bell towers, and high dome over the crossing"; and "The principal façade on Lexington Avenue is a masterpiece of lively symmetry with a tasteful and intelligent statement and restatement of architectural motifs." [November 19, 1969 letter of the Landmarks Preservation Commission, LP-042]

Exterior

The building, which opened in the spring of 1913, is faced in limestone.

Interior

On entering the church from the northwest corner, the first thing one sees is a statue of the Jewish prophet John the Baptist, the church's patron.

Against the east wall of the church stands the high altar with a mosaic half-dome, statues, and smaller bas-relief sculptures. A six-foot-tall monstrance, for showing the Eucharistic bread to believers for prayer and contemplation, crowns the altar.

The stained glass windows and high altar were brought to New York from France and Italy following World War I. On three levels, from the dome to the nave, the windows portray the Twelve Apostles, scenes from the Old Testament which prefigure the Christian sacrament of the Eucharist, and events in the life and ministry of Jesus, including the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist and the Easter appearance of Christ to the disciples of Emmaus. The high altar is fifty feet in height. A team of craftsmen accompanied the various pieces of the altar from Italy and reassembled it in the sanctuary.

Under the dome is the altar table, made of white marble. At the center of the frontal is a Christogram, IHS, from the first three letters of Jesus in Greek.

The pews, choir stalls, and confessionals are of oak and are elaborately carved. Eucharistic images, especially wheat shocks and clusters of grapes, are prominent throughout.

Other

The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, an international religious order of priests, brothers, and deacons founded by St. Peter Julian Eymard in Paris in 1856, has administered the church since 1900.

References

External links

* [http://www.sjbrcc.net St Jean Baptiste website]
* [http://www.nyc-architecture.com/UES/UES056.htm New York Times article on the architecture of St. Jean Baptiste]