WHO WE ARE

For over a century, the Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena has served the people of New York City. And though our city has changed radically in the past century, the central work of the Parish has not wavered: to bring souls to Christ.

OUR HISTORY

The Dominican Friars have ministered in this neighborhood since 1867. Over these intervening 150 years, our Parish has grown to include two Dominican churches, two communities of Friars, two communities of Sisters, two high schools, and a hospital chaplaincy, as well as the administrative office for the Dominican Province of
St. Joseph. What has shaped our Parish life throughout these generations is the common life the Brothers and Sisters share. The men and women of the Dominican Order live a life of prayer, community, ministry, and thorough study, as St. Dominic designed.

This common life, especially the study, orders the environment in which you pray, as it continues to order the preaching you hear at Mass and the education our students receive throughout the week. It gives shape to the way we form the faith of adults and children; it molds the way we steward resources and how we collaborate with staff and volunteers.

In the ancient days of our Order, our houses were often referred to as a “Holy Preaching,” not only because the Dominicans gave sermons but because their way of life proclaimed the Gospel to their contemporaries. Our hope is that this Parish will preach by what we say and sing, by how we invest our resources, and by how we treat our elders, our young, members of long-standing, and those who have just joined.

Timeline

Over the decades, as the neighborhood has evolved, so too has the Dominican presence within it. The following chronology outlines how this environment evolved, decade by decade.

1867 - The Dominican Friars are entrusted with the newly established Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer. The first temporary church stands at Lexington Avenue and 65th Street.

1870 - The first permanent Church of St. Vincent Ferrer is dedicated. Designed by architect Patrick Keely, it remained in use until 1914.

1874 - St. Vincent Ferrer Priory is formally established as a Dominican house.

1888 - The Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs arrive to administer St. Vincent Ferrer Parish Grade School.

1897 - The Parish opens a mission on 68th Street, east of 1st Avenue, dedicated to St. Catherine of Siena. That same year, the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs founded Dominican Academy High School.

1906 - St. Catherine of Siena School opens under the direction of the Dominican Sisters of Sparkill.

1909 - St. Vincent Ferrer Business High School is established, offering a two-year program in commercial studies.

1916 - St. Catherine of Siena Priory is established as a formal Dominican house.

1918 - The present Church of St. Vincent Ferrer, designed by Bertram Goodhue, is dedicated.

1931 - The present Church of St. Catherine of Siena, designed by Wilfrid Anthony, is dedicated.

1932 - New York–Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center relocates to York Avenue. Dominican priests begin their ministry to the hospital community.

1936 - Dominican Academy High School moves to its current home on 68th Street.

1954 - A new school building opens on 65th Street, housing St. Vincent Ferrer Grade School and the newly expanded, four-year St. Vincent Ferrer High School.

1985: St. Vincent Ferrer Grade School closes. The High School expands to occupy the entire building and begins drawing students from across the city and Westchester County.

1992 - St. Catherine of Siena School closes.

1996 - The St. Catherine of Siena School, Convent, and Priory buildings are sold to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

2002 - The Dominican Healthcare Ministry is founded, expanding the Friars’ care of the sick to include outreach, pastoral support, and healthcare ethics.

2008 - The new Priory of St. Catherine of Siena opens, featuring a Parish Office and meeting spaces.

2009 - The Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of the Springs of Bridgeport assume administration of St. Vincent Ferrer High School.

2015 - The two parishes formally merge to become the Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena.

2018 - The Parish celebrates 150 years of Dominican presence in the neighborhood and the centennial of the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer.