The third church for the oldest Catholic congregation in upstate New York

St. Mary's Church is a Roman Catholic house of worship on Lodge Street in downtown Albany, New York. Built in the 1860s, it is the third church to house the oldest Catholic congregation not only in the city, but in all of upstate New York. The church is a brick structure with an Italian Romanesque Revival exterior and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

The interior of the church incorporates a combination of Mannerist and French Gothic styles, providing a contrast to the exterior. In 1894, the building was wired and became the first church in Albany to have electric lighting. The structure features marble trim on a cut bluestone foundation and a 175-foot bell tower. The tower consists of four stages, with stone crosses set into the brick and a brass light fixture over the main entrance.

Significant figures in the American Church have been associated with the building. John McCloskey, the first Bishop of Albany and the first American-born cardinal, briefly made St. Mary's his procathedral. John Neumann, later a saint, celebrated a Mass there as a newly ordained priest. Clarence A. Walworth served as pastor for much of the late 19th century and was responsible for much of the current building's interior and exterior appearance.

Located on the western edge of the Downtown Albany Historic District, the church is surrounded by a mix of government and commercial buildings. A parking lot across Lodge separates the church from the New York State Court of Appeals. To the southwest is St. Peter's Episcopal Church, a National Historic Landmark, while the New York State Capitol sits across Lafayette Park to the south.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons