The origins of the parish lie in the arrival of Father Pietro Bandini, an Italian Jesuit priest,[2] in New York City in 1890.

[4] In addition to his spiritual ministry, Bandini assisted new immigrants with legal matters, assimilating to the United States, and finding work.

To allay O'Flynn's fears of poaching parishioners, Bandini posted a notice on the entrance to his chapel that it was to serve only Italian Catholics.

O'Flynn, nonetheless, accused Bandini of stealing parishioners before the archdiocese's chancery office within three months of the chapel's establishment.

[7] Many immigrants who arrived from the northwestern Italian town of Chiavari to settle in Greenwich Village attended Our Lady of Pompeii chapel.

With Zaboglio's retirement and return to Italy,[4] Father Antonio Demo, a man prominent in the Italian-American community became the next pastor; he would serve in this position until 1935.

[9] While at the time of its founding, more than 80 percent of the church's parishioners hailed from Northern Italy, many of whom came specifically from the region of Liguria, by 1898 Southern Italians constituted a plurality of the congregation.

[9] In 1923, the City of New York decided to extend Sixth Avenue southward through the area occupied by the church and several dozen other buildings.

The pastor and the committees began purchasing land on the corner of Bleecker Street, eventually acquiring house numbers 17 through 25.

On New Year's Day 1928, during construction, a 3-year-old girl named Zita Triglia was killed when a 10-foot-long beam fell from the belfry scaffolding, knocking her from her father's arms.

It was dedicated on October 7, 1928,[13] the feast day of Our Lady of the Rosary, in a solemn mass said by Cardinal Patrick Hayes with more than 2,000 worshipers in attendance.

He advanced the school, decorated the interior of the church, and welcomed the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, which assisted the poor and taught hundreds of Italian immigrants to take the American citizenship exam.

During Father Mario Albanesi's pastorship from 1952 to 1964, the church property expanded with the purchase of houses on Carmine and Leroy Streets.

[18] On the exterior of the Romanesque Revival church,[12] the building is accented by large Corinthian columns supporting a closed pediment over the entrance and a balustrade along the roofline.

For this reason he included shallow front steps, a flat façade that was close to the street, the domed sanctuary,[12] and a campanile on the church,[5] modeled after that of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompei.

[12] The nave is lined with polished marble Corinthian columns,[9] above which is a frieze bearing a Latin inscription of the Hail Mary in golden letters.

To the left of the mural in the apsidal dome is a depiction of the Church Penitent, represented by souls in purgatory awaiting salvation.

[12] Beneath the mural in the apse is another frieze that bears the Latin inscription:[13]NON ARMA · NON DUCES · SED VIRGO MARIA ROSARII FECIT NOS VICTORES(Neither arms nor leaders, but the Virgin Mary of the Rosary made us victors)The largest painted accent in the interior is the mural in the semi-dome above the altar, which was created in 1937 and illustrates the Church Militant.

The lower right corner of the mural, against a background of sky and sea, depicts a galleon in the naval Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571.

Also visible is St. Martin de Porres holding a basket of roses, acknowledging the African American community that worshiped at Our Lady of Pompeii's previous church.

Individuals depicted in the windows include: St. Stephen, St. Catherine of Siena, St. John the Baptist, St. Peter, St. Paul, the Four Evangelists, and Pope Leo XIII with Mother Cabrini.

They depict the Exodus from Egypt, the Holy Family,[13] Christopher Columbus giving thanks for reaching America, and Ellis Island, symbolizing the parish's immigrant and Italian heritage.