The Reverend John Kamas
New York Landmarks Conservancy
Common Bond December 1993

The Roman Catholic Church has a strong tradition of using church building, for a variety of religious, artistic, and pastoral Purposes, as exemplified in the great cathedrals of medieval Europe. However, this tradition has been somewhat de-emphasized in the past four centuries. At St. Jean's Church, on Manhattan's Upper East Side, we are striving to recover this tradition of shared use as a vital part of our parish, and our buildings are packed, sometimes to overflowing, with all manner of activities. Some of the programs and groups that use our buildings have been in place for decades, others have come but all of them into existence only in the past few years immeasurably enrich our life and our mission.

Walk into St. Jean's any day of the week and immediately the variety of activities housed there will be evident. The main church, with its magnificent Baroque Interior, is usually quiet and reverent, with passers-by kneeling in adoration before The Blessed Sacrament exposed at the main altar. It is not unusual to find choirs, organists, or orchestras rehearsing for liturgies or for concerts, although we try to limit their rehearsals to times when fewer people are at prayer. A step behind the scenes will show that far more is going on. Toddlers and seniors vie for space in the church's cavernous undercroft. One is likely to encounter a vocalist warming up for a rehearsal or audition, in the men's room. Behind another closed door a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous or a counseling appointment might be in session. The presence of high school girls, of all ages and ethnic backgrounds, is a constant reminder of the vital educational role our parish plays in this city.

History of St. Jean's Parish

L'Eglise S.Jean Baptiste was founded in 1882 to serve the needs of a large group of French Canadians who had settled in Yorkville area of Manhattan. The city's only French-speaking Roman Catholic Church at the time was located on Canal Street in lower Manhattan. The trek downtown was just too arduous for these folk, so they received permission from the Bishop to open a miss -on chapel over a neighborhood stable. A few years later the congregation constructed a small church at 76th Street and Lexington Avenue, across the street from our present church building.

In 1900, The Congregation of the Most Blessed. Sacrament, the order to which I belong, was invited to take charge of the pastoral and administrative duties of the parish. The order had just come to North America from Paris. St. Jean's needed French-speaking priests, and so it was a perfect match.

The construction of the present church building was due, in large part, to the contributions of Thomas Fortune Ryan and his wife. Ryan, a devout and wealthy man of unassuming ways, preferred St. Jean's to the large and showy parishes near his Fifth Avenue home, and the Blessed Sacrament Fathers served as his wife's private chaplains at the Ryan's country home in Suffern, New York. One day he arrived late for mass and found that there was standing room only. At the conclusion of the service, he approached the officiating priest and asked how much it would cost to build a new church. The priest answered, apparently off the top of his head, "$300,000." Ryan replied, "Get some plans and I will pay for it."

The new church, completed in 1913, was designed by Nicholas Serracino in the Italian Baroque style, with a massive, freestanding Corinthian portico, twin bell towers, and a magnificent dome over the crossing of the nave and transepts. The total cost was close to $600,000, but both the patron and the parish were apparently quite satisfied with the result, as we still are today.

The parish now reflects the demographic character of the Upper East Side. We no longer hold French masses. However, because of the high concentration of educated Europeans from various countries and traditions living in the area, we are discovering that Latin may actually be the most inclusive liturgical language for our congregation, and we use it regularly, especially in our music.

A Tradition of Shared Use

In 1929, St. Jean's developed an outreach to the surrounding community through the establishment of girls' high school. Unlike typical Catholic schools, St. Jean's was designed to serve poor and disadvantaged girls from the entire city, not just those in the parish. This mission continues today. The majority of the girls are "at-risk" because of their socio-economic backgrounds about thirty percent of the students are first-generation Americans, mainly from the West Indies and South America.

As the Vatican 11 reforms were implemented, with an emphasis on building Christian community in worship and related activities, the need for more space for social and cultural activities became apparent. Our building was built with a cavernous lower church, the same size as the main one. This "double-decker" arrangement allowed concurrent masses to be celebrated on Sundays and days of obligation in both spaces, providing the opportunity for all parishioners to attend. By the mid 1960s, the lower church was no longer needed and it was turned it into a "parish center," serving the congregation and the surrounding community. The lower church was divided into a series of multiple-use spaces suitable for classrooms, meeting rooms, dining rooms, and a theater.

Among the first outside groups to use the parish center were twelve-step programs. The groups that were soon regularly meeting there included Alcoholics Anonymous, Adult Children of Alcoholics, Overeaters Anonymous, Debtors Anonymous, and Latecomers Anonymous. The groups are not charged rent; however, donations are collected at these meetings for the use of the space.

Other groups and programs soon followed: The Eymard Leisure Center, an organization for senior citizens, with a current enrollment of 150 began using our parish center in 1972. 'It offers companionship for older people, and sponsors various social, cultural, and craft programs, as well as outings and luncheons. Senior citizen members of the Eymard Leisure Center enjoy a Halloween lunch.

The St. Jean's Toddlers PlayGroup is a cooperative playgroup for children from two- to four-year old. Founded in 1983, it now has an enrollment of more than thirty children in three groups. The parish also began to offer free office space to counselors and therapists with the provision that they advise people who cannot afford to pay a fee, thus extending the church's pastoral mission.

Shortly after I became pastor in the early 1980s, we began receiving requests to use the church for rehearsals and concerts. I responded positively since I have a musical background and a passion for opera and early music. The main church is now us by many groups for concerts and sacred drama, re-introducing the vital connection between the arts and liturgy that largely has been lost.

Amor Artis Chorus & Orchestra, a group of musicians specializing in early and medieval music, started using the church for rehearsals and concerts in 1980 and sang monthly at the Sunday High Mass and for other special liturgies. It is wonderful to hear music, particularly sacred Music, performed professionally in a realistic setting and within the context of the liturgy, rather than in a sterile concert hall. Johannes Somary, the group's director, has been appointed the parish's "Artist-in-Residence." The group has been most faithful liturgically, and has, in effect, become part of the parish community, though its participants do not necessarily claim membership in the parish, or in any Christian church.

Another major musical and dramatic endeavor centered at the church is the Dicapo Opera Theatre. This company presents a diverse and ambitious offering of operas, plays, original theatrical works, concerts, recitals, and children's shows. Occupying an amphitheater-like space in the undercroft beneath the church's apse, the theater was referred to by one reviewer as "the most exciting new performance space in New York." The performances are exciting too, and combine serious artistry with a healthy sense of humor.

Although the groups and organizations that use our buildings contribute to the cost of maintaining the space and help pay utility bills, shared 'use does not generate significant revenue for the parish. We did not make the foray into shared use as a way to supplement our income, and this invokes occasional grumbling among some of our parishioners. Shared use is a way for the parish to expand its outreach to the surrounding community and to enrich the lives of its congregants.

There are, of course, occasional problems. Juggling the parochial use of the space among eight or nine groups can get complex. Sometimes the groups have difficulty getting along. When two choirs, an orchestra, and an opera company all try to share a space with preschoolers, senior citizens, and high school students, such problems are inevitable, but not insurmountable.

The impact of bringing the surrounding community into our facility has been enormous. Many of our neighbors, not just our parishioners, are becoming invested in this parish and in the building. The shared use of our building has had a direct and positive effect on our restoration program, specifically the replacement of the copper dome and roofs. While it is difficult to quantify such things, the success of the first phase of our restoration effort was probably due, in no small part, to the goodwill generated by the programs and services that share our space. People in the larger community care for the building because of these programs. While such goodwill has taken time and effort to cultivate, it has made it easier for us to continue with the restoration of the church building, and it will undoubtedly make it easier to maintain once the restoration is complete.