Near the corner of Baxter and Canal Streets, on the border of New York City’s Little Italy and China Town, stands the Church of the Most Precious Blood (113 Baxter St.). Once a bustling National Parish serving the burgeoning Italian American community of Lower Manhattan, this historic house of worship lies sadly neglected with, considering the recent spate of church closings, an uncertain future.

The church is currently part of the parish of the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral (263 Mulberry St.) and under the pastoral care of Msgr. Donald Sakano. The Heart and Soul of Little Italy, it is arguably best known, due to the immense popularity of the saint’s feast, as the National Shrine of San Gennaro.