The Loreto Mission

An event of great spiritual importance to Catholics in Lower East Side of Manhattan was the opening of a mission in this area by the Jesuit Fathers. In 1891 they established a residence known as the Mission of Our Lady of Loretto, on Elizabeth Street. In that year the eminent scholar and philosopher, Father Nicholas Russo, S.J., came from Georgetown University to work with his fellow countrymen. He rented a store which had been a saloon, and with his assistant, Father Aloysius Romano, repaired and transformed it into a chapel. 

A year later the chapel was too small, and people knelt on the sidewalk during Mass. Larger quarters were purchased and the work increased. For eleven years, Father Russo worked day and night, overcoming what often seemed to be insurmountable difficulties.

When Father Russo died in 1902, Father William H. Walsh, S.J., was appointed Superior of the Loretto Mission. Because of the wonderful work of Father Russo and Father Walsh, the children in the neighborhood were receiving a Catholic education that would profoundly influence their mature lives.

In 1905, the Barat Settlement House was established on Elizabeth Street as a branch of the Mission of Our Lady of Loretto. In 1911, the Settlement acquired new headquarters at 221 Chrystie Street.

Here the Settlement began its work under Father Walsh, with Jesuit priests and brothers working in collaboration with diocesan priests of Nativity parish. Through their work at the settlement, the Jesuit Fathers came into close contact with the parish. 

The Settlement House strove to meet the religious and social needs of the people by providing Sunday Mass, catechetical instruction, clubs for boys, sodalities for girls, the Barat men's club for young business men, and the St. Madeleine Sophie Barat Club for young business women. 

By 1926, the parish was staffed by diocesan clergy and Religious and a brand new school and cultural center were built which included an auditorium with a professional stage on which some half-dozen full-scale operas were presented annually.

In 1938, following the ravages of the Great Depression, the parish was forced to foreclose on the cultural center. Catholic Charities bought this property on 18 Bleecker Street and created the Holy Name Centre - a residence and employment center for homeless men. The theater remained a part of the property and in the 1950s and 1960s, was host to a number of Golden Glove tournaments. Daily Mass took place in a small chapel inside the building.

By the mid-1980s, the church building of Our Lady of Loreto fell into disrepair and the congregation had significantly diminished. The property where the church stood (just south of 18 Bleecker Street), was sold, and the parish was moved into the chapel of the Holy Name Centre.

In 2011, the Holy Name Centre and Our Lady of Loreto parish were closed. Nearby Catholic parishes welcomed the few remaining parishioners, and services for the homeless continued at other Catholic Charities locations throughout New York City.

Following extensive planning and renovations, The Sheen Center was opened in 2015 as the official Arts Center of the Archdiocese of New York and named for the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen.

Sheen Center for Thought and Culture

The sacramental records of the Former Loreto Mission are kept at the parish office of Most Holy Redeemer - Nativity.