The Church of the Holy Family, also known as the United Nations Parish, is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Archdiocese of New York, located at 315 East 47th Street in Manhattan, New York City. Originally established in 1924 for Italian-speaking immigrants, the church has adapted to serve the Turtle Bay neighborhood as well as the community associated with the nearby United Nations. In 1965 it became the first parish church in the Western Hemisphere to be visited by a reigning pope.
History
Early 20th century
The origins of the church trace back to 1914, when the pastor of St. Boniface Church received permission to open St. Anthony's Chapel in the parish's school hall to provide special masses for Italian-speaking parishioners. In November 1924, Cardinal Patrick Hayes decided to create a separate parish to serve the growing number of Italian immigrants in the area, which amounted to nearly 9,000 members. Property at 315–323 East 47th Street—across the street from St. Boniface's Parochial School—was purchased for a new church. The new parish was headed by Father Daniel De Nonno, a priest at St. Boniface that had been closely involved with St. Anthony's Chapel. On April 16, 1925, a dinner was held at the Biltmore Hotel in honor of Father De Nonno and raised $17,500 towards the construction of the new church. Masses continued to be held at the St. Boniface parish hall until the new edifice was completed. The new church was dedicated in April 1927 and consisted of a brick stucco structure that formerly housed a brewery and a stable.
Soon after the church opened, a group of parishioners employed as chauffeurs and garage workers began a movement to establish a shrine to Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers. The shrine was dedicated on January 18, 1931, and included a statue of St. Christopher above a side altar. Father De Nonno also began a tradition of holding a "motorists' mass" on Sunday afternoons to allow chauffeurs to attend after they finished driving passengers to morning worship services. After the mass, the priests would come outside the church in their vestments and bless the automobiles parked on East 47th Street with a reliquary containing a bone of St. Christopher. This practice caught the attention of New York State Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, who sent Father De Nonno a letter expressing his appreciation in helping to draw awareness to the state's safety campaign to reduce motor vehicle accidents and deaths. The church also became the headquarters of the confraternity of St. Christopher, of which Father De Nonno was the national director.
A group of three paintings portraying the glorification of the Holy Family was dedicated on October 4, 1931, and blessed by Monsignor Michael J. Lavelle, rector of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The works of art, each measuring , included a replica of Titian's Assumption of the Virgin and depictions of the Ascension of Christ and Transit of St. Joseph. They were painted directly on the walls of the church under the direction of Ignazio La Russa of the Art Academy of Palermo.
In 1937, Father De Nonno was transferred to St. Anthony's Church in the Wakefield section of the Bronx and the Church of the Holy Family became administered as a branch of St. Boniface, with Rev. George J. Zentgraf serving as the head of both parishes.
Late 20th century to present
St. Boniface Church, along with its parochial school hall that originally held masses for the Holy Family parish, were demolished in 1950 to create a parkway approach leading to the United Nations along the south side of East 47th Street between First and Second avenues (now part of Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza). The parishioners of St. Boniface and its pastor, Father Zentgraf, were transferred to the Church of the Holy Family. To accommodate the loss of St. Boniface, the property adjacent to the Church of Holy Family at 325 East 47th Street was purchased in 1953 to construct a new church to serve the spiritual needs of the Turtle Bay neighborhood as well as the United Nations community. The new church would also complement similar religious centers being developed in the vicinity of the United Nations including the Church Center for the United Nations and the Sutton Place Synagogue.