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Welcome to the Holy Rosary Restoration Website. Please support our efforts
to restore East Harlem's
Holy Rosary Church.

In 1884 Holy Rosary Parish was established to serve the spiritual needs of the growing Irish and German communities residing in East Harlem. With neither a church nor a rectory the Reverend Joseph A Byron was appointed the first pastor. Supported by his new parishioners he purchased four lots on East 119^th Street between First and Pleasant Avenues. Learning of a vacated church formerly serving St. Cecilia’s parish on 106^th Street Rev.Bryon had the church dismantled and transported by wagon to the East River to be floated upriver to East 119^th St. Throughout the summer of 1884 the parishioners and laborers reassembled on the present Holy Rosary site. The new church was dedicated on October 5, 1884. Rev. Byron died on March 29, 1893 from a cold caught during the building of the Rectory.

In the year 1898 the present stone church was constructed and was dedicated on Feb.11, 1900. From 1918 to 1925 two separate parishes existed in the same building. Reverend Thomas Kane and 2 Irish assistants maintained a regular parish upstairs while Right Reverend Gaetano Arcese assisted by several Italian priests maintained the Italian parish downstairs. The increasing Italian population in East Harlem made it necessary to provide a priest at Holy Rosary who spoke their language. The parishes became one in 1925 under Rt. Rev. Msgr Arcese who in 1949 opened the Holy Rosary School.

The present pastor, Rev. Gilbert Luis R.Centina III was appointed on Sept. 20, 2006. Fr. Gilbert, the recipient of numerous literary awards has published two books of poetry (Our Hidden Galaxette and Glass of Liquid Truths) Fr. Gilbert Centina has dedicated himself to the restoration and preservation of Holy Rosary Church. Former members of the East Harlem community have joined him in his efforts to return Holy Rosary Church to its original glory. This website is committed to these restoration efforts.