The Parish of Most Holy Redeemer was founded in 1844 by German-speaking Redemptorist missionaries serving New York City’s large German immigrant population. Like many other sites in the East Village, its history can be traced back to a time when the area was known as Kleindeustchland or Little Germany. The current church was designed by the Munich architect, Joseph Walch, and construction was completed in October 1851. A Catholic publication of the day called Most Holy Redeemer “the most beautiful and largest (church) in New York,” and it soon earned popular acclaim as "The German Cathedral of the Lower East Side.”

Most Holy Redeemer was consecrated on 28th November 1852, by the Archbishop of New York, John Hughes, and the Pontifical Mass that day was celebrated by the Archbishop of Philadelphia, named John Neumann who was invited by his fellow Redemptorists to take part in the ceremony. Neumann was canonized by Pope Saint Paul VI in 1977 becoming the first male citizen of the United States to be raised to the altar as a saint.

In 1883 there was a fire at the parish school behind the church building on East 4th Street. At the time, there were 900 students enrolled in the school, 16 of whom perished. Investigations into the tragedy led to a number of new safety measures adopted across schools throughout New York City including fire escapes and wider hallways and staircases. 

On 18th February 1894, Most Holy Redeemer was one of the first churches, if not the first, to have electric lighting installed.

A major overhaul of the church began in 1912. Many of the renovations are still evident. With a tower that today reaches into the sky far beyond most of the structures of the East Village at 232 feet, it is hard to believe that it once was even taller. The 250-foot tower was reinforced and lowered to its current height and capped with a new copper dome and gold cross. The church’s original brick exterior was covered in some lower areas by polished granite and elsewhere with Indiana limestone. The white and black marble that runs approximately twelve feet up from the floor around the perimeter of the church was installed. Oak pews replaced the original black walnut pews and were rearranged to seat 800 people, as opposed to the original seating capacity of 1,200. The sanctuary murals of the Ascension and Pentecost were retouched and two new murals, Christ on the Road to Emmaus and Peter and John Curing the Lame Man at the Temple were added. These improvements in the sanctuary were accomplished by the Rambusch Company of New York City. The old stained glass windows were replaced by the present ones, designed and made by the company of John Zundel, Long island, New York.

In January 1914, John Rebeschung—a parishioner, handyman, and electrical mechanic—strung wires from the sacristy of the church to the bell tower in an attempt to ring one of the bells by means of electricity. On 11th January 1914, he proceeded to the sacristy, pressed a button, and to his excitement his experiment worked. His next task was to coordinate the bells so that they could be rung together and he was successful. Mr. Rebeschung earned the title of the inventor of this system of electric bell ringing, and Most Holy Redeemer became the first church and building in the world to have the system.

On 1st August 2015, the nearby Parish of the Nativity was closed and merged with Most Holy Redeemer creating a new entity to serve the Catholics of the East Village called the Parish of Most Holy Redeemer - Nativity. The Servant of God and founder of the Catholic Worker, Dorothy Day lived and died at Maryhouse on East Third Street directly between Most Holy Redeemer and the former Nativity Church. A shrine with a statue of the “Virgin of the Poor” which once stood in nativity Church was erected here at Most Holy Redeemer in honor of Dorothy Day’s legacy.

The mortal remains of 85 Redemptorist priests and brothers, who ministered to the people of the East Village, are interred in the crypt located directly below the church.

In 2018, the Redemptorist Order withdrew from the parish which is now administered by priests of the Archdiocese of New York. 

The Chapel of Relics

When the mortal remains of the martyr, Saint Datian, were discovered in the catacombs of Rome, the major relic was given to a noblewoman to be kept in her private chapel. When she was reduced to poverty and the Italian government was about to confiscate her property, she was advised to send the relic to the Redemptorist Fathers here at Most Holy Redeemer. The remains of the saint arrived on 12th August, 1892. A parish organization named the “Married Women of the Holy Family” made a gift of the Chapel of Relics to the church and the relic of St. Datian was installed there. A ceremony was held on 26th January, 1894.

Interred within the altar of the shrine is the major relic of the saint consisting of all his bones which have been enclosed in a small wooden box. This box is enclosed within a larger zinc case and over it was set the large wax figure that can be seen today.

We know that St. Datian was an early martyr but beyond that, nothing is certain about his life. There is speculation that he is the same Datian who was the prefect of Gaul under Emperors Diocletian and Maximian who acted in the Roman provinces of Spain. This Datian sentenced St. Vincent of Saragossa to torture and death in 304. During his martyrdom, Saint Vincent preserved such peace and tranquility that it astonished his jailor, who repented his sins and was converted. Perhaps the prefect Datian, was also inspired by St. Vincent’s witness and decided to repent and become a Christian, facing his own martyrdom as a result? Perhaps this is the same Datian whose mortal remains rest in peace here in the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer?

The Feast of St. Datian is listed in the Roman Martyrology as 30th October. 

Over the years, the Redemptorist Fathers collected many more relics to be placed in this shrine. There are 152 in total, the list of which is posted at the Chapel.

The Chapel of Our Mother of Perpetual Help

The original icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help is venerated above the principal altar of the Shrine Church of Saint Alphonsus in Rome on the Esquiline Hill. 

In 1866, Pope Blessed Pius IX entrusted the icon to the Redemptorists, telling them to “Make her known to the world!” Pius IX ordered the public display and veneration of the icon. In 1867, when the icon was being carried in a solemn procession through the streets, a young child was cured, the first of many recorded miracles attributed to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

On 15th August 1868, the first copy of the icon was brought to the United States and placed in the private chapel of the Redemptorist Novitiate in Annapolis. On 12th December 1869, an exact copy was received at Most Holy Redeemer. Devotion to the image spread rapidly. Many cures and favors granted by Our Lady were reported. In 1870 the cure of a woman was announced from Saint Francis Hospital on Fifth Street. 

On 10th February 1871, a Papal Indult was received granting a 300 days indulgence to all who devoutly pray before the icon enshrined in Most Holy Redeemer.

In 1903, a solemn crowning ceremony of Our Mother of Perpetual Help was held. Pious women donated their jewelry—the crown is gold, set with twelve diamonds and precious stones. The altar of this chapel was consecrated on 15th December 1914.

Francis Cardinal Spellman designated this church a Pilgrimage Shrine in honor of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in 1966.

Today, devotions to Our Mother of Perpetual Help are conducted at Most Holy Redeemer following the daily Mass when the Rosary is recited in her honor. A Solemn Mass is offered in this chapel every year on 27th June, the feast of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.