It was an amazing achievement, we can say in retrospect – the construction and decoration of so many splendid Catholic churches between 1830 and 1940 throughout New York City and its surroundings. Italian churches occupy a special place here. Relative latecomers to the church building movement , the Italian immigrants succeeded in crafting a series of extravagantly colorful confections overflowing with paintings and statues.

Just in Manhattan we have Our Lady of Pompeii, Our Lady of Peace (recently taken away from its congregation and transferred to the Copts), Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Most Precious Blood. in these works the overall effect takes precedence over the quality of the individual works of art. But who were the artists who worked on these churches – a fast disappearing part of our Catholic inheritance?