St. John Chrysostom's Church

St. John Chrysostom's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, in the Morrisania section of the New York City borough of the Bronx.Parish historyThe parish was established in 1899 for a mostly Irish immigrant congregation, breaking from the parish of St. Augustine by the Rev. Bernard F. Brady. At that time, the neighborhood had a large Jewish population from Russia, Bohemia and Poland. In 1913, "the Catholic population of the parish about 1100, and the value of the church property $180,000, with a debt of $72,000. A school is (1914) in process of construction.” Assistant priests in 1913 included the Rev. Joseph J. McAndrew and the Rev. James J. Halligan.By the mid-twentieth century, the Irish, Italian, Polish and other Europeans who lived in the area made way for a new group of residents who were mostly Latino (from Puerto Rico and immigrants from the Dominican Republic), as well as African Americans. During the downturn of the South Bronx in the 1970s and 1980s, the area around the church was considered part of the 'Fort Apache' section of the South Bronx. Throughout the riots, the buildings surrounding St. John's burned and violence was at an all-time high. St. John's however, remained open and became a safe haven for children. It was often referred to as 'Little House on the Prairie.'"