NEW YORK — While many travel to New York for the holiday season, St. Patrick’s Cathedral has seen a surge in visitors this month, with more than 1.5 million visitors from the Big Apple stopping by to see the church , according to the Nicaraguan priest, Enrico Salvo.
Father Salvo underlined that this figure corresponds to the number of visitors in the pre-pandemic era, and attributed an increase in the number of visits to some of the initiatives, including the special lighting of the exterior of the Cathedral, a project carried out for the first time in 164 years of St. Patrick’s history.
“2022 has been the year of New York City’s tourism renaissance and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, as a monument and iconic site, wants to contribute to the city by standing ready with its doors open to welcome believers, non-believers and people of all religions to visit and discover this marvel of neo-Gothic architecture located on Fifth Avenue in New York,” said the priest.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral is the largest Gothic Revival church, not only in New York City, but in all of North America, as well as being recognized as an architectural landmark worldwide. This year, for the first time since its foundation in 1858, the Cathedral is illuminated on the outside, aiming to attract tourists, locals and people of all cultures and religions.
“It is important to remember that the enlightenment you have right now is something temporary to give people a flavor, an idea of what would be permanent,” said Father Enrique Salvo. “It should be permanent, like big churches in Europe, where every detail is illuminated.”
El Padre Salvo extends an invitation to any local Hispanics or visitors looking for more Christmas events before the holidays.
“San Patricio is a special space for all those immigrants and tourists who come not only to pray, but also to enjoy the decorations and lights which, for the first time, come on to embellish our facade in the best style of European cathedrals. ”, concluded Father Salvo. “On December 24th we will have a mass in English at 5.30pm for the children and on the 25th we will have a full program of homilies including a mass in Spanish, at 4.00pm, for any families who wish to join us.”
For those interested in attending Midnight Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, tickets are sold out. According to Father Salvo, the cathedral has received more than 20,000 requests for free tickets to mass. To view the full schedule of Christmas Masses at St Patrick’s Cathedral, click here.
