Finding A Slice of History at Father Demo Square

After picking up a slice from the famous Joe’s Pizza in Greenwich Village I sat down to enjoy my delicious pepperoni slice on a park bench across the street. I have walked by and sat in this park many times over the years, but never thought about the historical significance of it until I noticed the name of the park today at the entrance: Father Demo Square. The reason I noticed it was because I have recently become more attuned to my surroundings throughout the city over the past couple weeks while in this theology course. Reading Dorothy Day’s The Long Loneliness immersed me into the history of downtown New York, specifically around the time of the Great Depression. For the past couple decades, the village has experienced a rapid transformation as a wealthy class of people now live in the area. It is interesting that the Italian Americans who were patrons of Our Lady of Pompeii during Father Demo’s tenure between 1900 – 1933 most likely would never be able to afford to live here. Even though the memorial is to this priest, the space ends up preserving the memory of a long lost community that used to live here.

While exploring the park at the southern end, I came across a raised disk-shaped cement monument with a dedication engraved on the face that gave further insight into the history and transformation of the area:

Dedicated by the Italian American community and their friends to the Reverend Antonio Demo, C.S., pastor of Our Lady of Pompeii Church from 1900 to 1933 and builder of the present church in 1926.

This brief description of Father Demo suggests that he was a man dedicated to the people who belonged to his church. It also tells us that the church was moved from its original location to the one on the southwest corner of the park. After a quick Google search I learned that the original church was in the path of a wrecking ball in order to extend Sixth Avenue south from it’s previous terminating point at 3^rd Street, one block north of the park, to Canal Street which is several blocks to the south. When Father Demo learned of the plans he successfully campaigned to have a new church built on the west side of the new Sixth Avenue and the construction began in 1926.

Demo’s loyalty to his congregation reminded me of Dorothy Day’s dedication to the work she talks about in her autobiography, specifically involving the poor houses which were located in different neighborhoods in lower Manhattan, and Day herself lived on West Charles Street, not far from here. It is interesting that Dorothy Day was working around the same time as construction on the new church was underway and both of their mission’s were to provide a sanctuary for one to feel at home, whether it was a church or the houses that Day set up.

The last thing I saw was a circular marker set in the paving stone that indicated that this was a New York City park dedicated in 2007 under Mayor Bloomberg. It is interesting because the space is publically maintained but strongly attached to the legacy of the neighboring Catholic Church. The Park itself provides a urban sanctuary in the middle of a busy neighborhood. There is a strongly flowing fountain at the center, leafy trees enclosing the area on all sides and even signs posted on either end that designate it a “quiet zone”. Where else in Manhattan do you see a “quiet zone” posted outside in the middle of the city with trucks and buses flying by?  Yet even with all the traffic, here in Father Demo Square one can reach a moment of peace.

Small Religious Bits in Large Quantities

  Have you ever noticed on the bottom of your Forever 21 bag that in little letters John 3:16 is written? The other day I was walking home from Fordham through Times Square and I just happened to notice the lady ahead of me was carrying A Forever 21 bag tucked and rolled up underneath her arm. The bottom of the bag was facing out because of how she placed it in her arm. I noticed John 3:16 written on the bottom of the bag and fairly small letters, compared to the script sizing on the rest of the bag.  If I hadn’t been wearing my glasses, there was no chance I would have seen it, but this night I was being lazy and didn’t feel like taking my backpack off to put my glasses away.  It didn’t really occur to me that it was a reference to a biblical passage at first.  As I continued walking I was approaching the Forever21 right in the middle of Times Square, so I figured I would go in and ask to look at a bag. Sure enough there on the bottom of the bag was John 3:16.

        I had to look up what John 3:16 was and was wondering why a big chain store like Forever 21 would put it on the bottom of there bags. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) As speculation of where it came from, it seems that the best ideas as to why Forever 21 has chosen to print this on the bag is a combination of the founder being a devoted Christian and a support for the name. It is hypothesized that besides a quiet method of spreading the word, their names is a spin off of John 3:16 in that persons shall have everlasting life. Not that they physically will forever be 21 but that they will live on in their prime as if the were 21 forever.

         As one of the apparent most common biblical references used, I was surprised to find out that Forever 21 is not the only company that hides this scripture number. Not only that but if you look into it or pay more attention you can find it in other places around the city, from signs, bags, to advertisements, and cups.  I was pretty surprised to see all the places where it comes up just in daily life where I had never noticed it before. As well this got me thinking about all the other number religious attributes that must be present throughout life that go unnoticed by mostly everyone.  Every time I walk through Times Square now, especially on a busy day for tourist and there are hundreds of the Forever 21 bags in the arms of the tourists. In any direction there are numerous reminders of how much religious affiliation still has grounding in the American system.

            

            

Religious Dedication in NYC

        

On a porch of an apartment in the Bronx, an individual or group of individuals has created a shrine-like installation, which one can access by using stairs situated at the side of the building , and can be seen from street level.  It appears that this installation is dedicated to Christ and the Virgin Mary, as one can see numerous framed paintings of the pair, and these paintings have different types of ornamentation dangling from them. On the right hand side, a figure of the Virgin Mary has been illuminated by a string of blue lights to capture the attention of passersby, and a large yellow flower hovers over Mary. There are four sculptural components; two of the sculptures are only busts of the Virgin Mary that have been put upon decorated pedestals, while the remaining two are complete figures. There is one chair on the left, which may be for someone who wishes to pray, or engage in some level of worship. Through the examination of this display and its purpose, one can come up with additional information regarding what the term “religious” can mean in a nontraditional and traditional sense.

This display was created by someone who views Mary and Christ as figures of awe, and by someone who wanted to use their porch as a place for them to feel connected to venerated figures. Also, this display has been built in plain sight by its creator, which indicates that this installation was constructed for the public just as much as it was built for private use. This public display may be intended to express one’s beliefs to their community, or it may be intended as a communal area. Alternatively, this display may simply be a way for the person who lives there to celebrate their faith, and it may not act as a place for worship per se, but rather a place where one acknowledges and expresses their contentment with their religion.

Those who come across this dedicated scene will immediately interpret it as religious for the sole reason that Mary and Christ are figures of Christianity, but if one were to approach what it means for something to be religious more broadly, beyond the strict definition of religion and define it as William James does, then one begins to delve into what religion means on a more personal level. James defines religion as a “personal attitude which the individual finds himself impelled to take up towards what he apprehends to be the divine” (James 51). Stemming from this idea, the terms “religious” and “religion” develop meaning beyond the confines of what someone interprets as strictly one religion or another, and emphasizes one’s personal connection to God or what they believe to be their source of meaning. What someone believes to be religious may not necessarily be derived from a particular religion, rather what they believe to be religious may just be something from which they derive meaning for themselves, or something that helps them find happiness.

The Irish Hunger Memorial

Located in downtown Manhattan, the Irish Hunger Memorial literally radiates serenity. However, its striking contrast with the surrounding cityscape is jarring. The Irish Hunger Memorial immediately evokes thoughts of New York City’s history with both religion and immigration. Composed of typical Irish green farmland, fences, and limestone walls, the memorial provides visceral sensations about what it was like for the Irish to immigrate to New York City in order to escape the famine.  At first glance, the large patch of grass seems out of place. Upon closer inspection, it clearly conveys the out of place feeling immigrants must have initially felt when reaching New York.

Due to the beautiful view of the buildings across the water, it is easy to simply go to the memorial, take pictures against the skyline, and disregard the memorial’s significance. However, even this aspect of the memorial is arguably intentional because that is exactly what happened to the Irish immigrants in New York. As they were of the lowest class in society, they were often overlooked and disregarded entirely.

The Irish that immigrated to America were mostly Catholic which helps explain how Catholicism gradually became accepted in society. Prior to this time, Catholicism was looked upon with suspicion because of the religion’s devotion to the Pope. In fact, America has a strong history of anti-Catholicism. In essence, this memorial is evidence that America, more specifically New York, not only is tied to the Irish Catholics, but also that America has overcome its Anti-Catholic notion.

Another important element of the memorial is that it is untraditional. Depending where one enters from, there are no giant signs stating one’s location. In fact, it may take a few minutes to realize the giant patch of grass and stone, is a memorial. Veering from tradition demonstrates America’s changed view of Irish immigrants. America has a fresh perspective and Irish immigrants are no longer viewed as the lowest social class in the North.

Additionally, the people represented by the memorial are some of the same people, or at least ancestors of the same people who are represented in Jacob Riis photos entitled, “How the Other Half Lives.”  The people immigrating to New York City in their fight for survival during the famine are poverty stricken. In New York they will live in tenement houses and add to the mass of unskilled workers during Industrialization. These are the vulnerable, marginalized society members that Dorothy Day writes about wanting to help in, “The Long Loneliness.”

After sitting on the grass, reflecting on the memorial’s message, it also conveys the idea that although tragedy such as famine strikes a specific location, the impacts of that tragedy function similarly to the shockwaves of an earthquake that resonate throughout the world. In New York the impact was a surge of Irish immigrants. Furthermore, by reminding viewers of the famine, it calls citizens to take action and fight against world hunger. Drawing upon that line of thought, this memorial asks its viewers to put into action the Jesuit traditions embodied by Fordham.