Filipino Catholic church in NYC to honor donors

MANILA, Philippines – The Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz, the first and only Filipino Catholic Church in the United States, will pay tribute to its original donors whose names are newly inscribed on the foundation pillars in the church’s main lobby, and will be unveiled on Sunday, May 27, during the Holy Mass at 2:15 p.m..

This will be followed by the church’s annual Flores de Mayo festival, and a “living rosary” prayer service.

The Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz (formerly Holy Crucifix Church) was originally founded for the Italian Catholic community. However, in June 2005, under the auspices of Cardinal Edward Egan, former archbishop of New York, the church was dedicated to the Filipino community, and renamed Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz, after the first Filipino Catholic martyr and saint.

Masses are held twice a week, in Filipino, Spanish, Italian, and English, usually by the church’s moderator, Father Joseph Marabe.

Although the masses are multilingual, the masses have a distinctly Filipino orientation. For example, some prayers and songs are said or sung in Tagalog, the national language of the Filipino people. Translations, in English, of the prayers and songs, are visible from a large overhead projector.

Two statues of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, brought directly from the Philippines, adorn the chapel, one at the entrance and one by the altar. Numerous representations of various saints and an icon of the Virgin Mother of Perpetual Help are also on display for veneration.

To welcome visitors, Filipino food is usually served, during hospitality hour, following the afternoon masses. During this time, there is fellowship and friendship shared among all the visitors, foreigners and Filipinos alike.

Lately, the chapel has been the site of prayerful events to bolster the faith of its surrounding communities, and of its Filipino parishioners, such as its emphasis on healing masses and devotions to the infant Jesus and Mary.

A few visitors, and the church’s current lay caretaker, have testified about healings, which took place after having prayed at the little chapel, and after having participated in the masses said for the sick.

For instance, on January 1, 2012, one Filipino woman, Elvy S. Rodil, testified that she was miraculously cured from a painful disorder of the central nervous system, fibromyalgia.

Apart from the support coming from the Archdiocese of New York, numerous private donors and devotees to Saint Lorenzo Ruiz raised seed money prior to the church’s renaming.

“These early donors have been one of the church’s 'pillars' through their financial support; the addition of their names, engraved on golden plates and attached to the body of the two symbolic pillars located at chapel’s entrance, expresses our heartfelt gratitude as a community,” Rev. Dr. Joseph G. Marabe, JCD, Filipino Apostolate director and the chapel’s moderator, said in a statement.

All original benefactors are invited to attend the public unveiling of the chapel’s foundation pillars at the end of the month.

The Chapel of San Lorenzo Ruiz is located at 378 Broome Street (between Mulberry and Mott Streets) in Downtown Manhattan (You may take the No. 6 train to Spring Street). For inquiries, call 212-925-2428 or email majam49@hotmail.com.

The face of the Chapel of San Lorenzy Ruiz in New York City. Photo by Oliver Oliveros