St. Raymond's Church (Bronx, New York)

St. Raymond's Church
St. Raymond's Church facing East Tremont Ave.
General information
Town or city	Westchester Village, The Bronx, New York City, New York
Country	United States
Construction started	1908 (for school);
Completed	1845 (for first church); 1898 (for present church); 1909 (for school)
Client	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
Design and construction
Architect	George H. Streeton of Brooklyn, New York

St. Raymond's Church is a parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at Castle Hill Avenue at Tremont Avenue, The Bronx, New York City. The parish was established in 1842. It was dedicated on the feast of St. Raymond Nonnatus, on August 31, 1845, thus getting its name. There is a stained glass window, on the right side if you are looking at the sanctuary, of St. Raymond Nonnatus and the men who took him hostage.

The parish of St. Raymond's predates the creation of The Bronx, when the area was still part of southern Westchester County, New York. Bishop John Dubois of New York had a deed executed on 2 December 1835 at a cost of $160 for the 125 foot by 26 foot plot of land situated about two miles north of Fort Schuyler, New York. A church and/or school were intended to be constructed that year on the plot of land, however, nothing was erected.

In 1842, Bishop John Hughes purchased the acre that the current St. Raymond's Church is located on, and converted an old wooden barn into a temporary church. In 1847 an adjoining acre was purchased. The land purchased coincided with the 1840 founding of St. John's College in the village of Fordham, the future Fordham University. In 1842 Fr. Felix Vilanis, Superior at St. John's, was appointed to attend to the people of Westchester and the villages along the Sound. He built the first church and had it dedicated 31 August 1845. After the Mass, Bishop Hughes blessed the cemetery which had been laid out adjoining the church.

By 1850, St. Raymond's was responsible for had nine mission churches in the Bronx. Due to a shortage of priests and poor roads it was not possible to say Mass at each mission chapel every week, so the priests rode circuit visiting each in turn.

In 1865 the Catholic Protectory, an orphanage organized for the protection of destitute Catholic children purchased 114 acres of nearby farmland with several barns. A school and dormitories were built. Under the direction of the Brothers of Christian Schools and the Sisters of Charity, the children were given an education and taught a trade. The boys learned shoemaking, baking, carpentry, blacksmithing, wheelwrighting, farming, and gardening. The girls learned to embroider, cook and make gloves. The institution was an integral part of the parish until it was sold in 1938.