[1] The pastor of nearby St. John of Chrysostom Church opposed the new parish's founding because nearly all of the Germans were fluent in English.

The pastor of the Bronx church, Joseph F. Rummel, raised funds totaling $300,000 to build a new edifice.

[1][3] Rummel dedicated the building on June 10, 1928, having been appointed Bishop of Omaha earlier that year.

[1] No longer German, the parish became significantly Black during the Great Migration and was mostly Latino as of 2011.

[1][7] The first purpose-built church was a combination of church-and-school-and-convent structure, built 1904–1905, and dedicated by Cardinal Farley.