Welcome to St. Thomas More Church!
St. Thomas More Church is the spiritual sanctuary of St. John’s
University. Named after St. Thomas More (1478-1535), knight, lawyer
and author who was appointed Lord Chancellor of England during the
16th century, it is the University’s first freestanding church
located on the Queens campus. The church is the embodiment of the
spiritual identity of the University and represents peace and
refuge for the entire St. John’s community.
Since its move to the Queens campus in 1955, St. John’s
University had intended to build a freestanding church that would
function as a house of worship on campus, but due to the difficulty
of funding such an expensive project, the plan was put on hold. It
was through the generous support of St. John’s alumnus John ’63C,
’66L, ’93HON and his wife Anita Brennan, that the University’s
dream of its very own church was realized. John and Anita Brennan’s
kind and thoughtful donation totaling $10 million, was the catalyst
to build a space where “students can embrace their relationship
with God” and be called forth to service. The church opened its
doors to the University community on September 27, 2004.
The church stands at the heart of the Queens campus, centrally
located between the Residence Village and south-eastern corner of
the University’s Great Lawn, with its front entrance facing St.
John Hall, home to St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
The walls of the church are adorned with vibrant hand-crafted
mosaics and stained-glass windows imported from Italy that depict
scenes of Vincentian history including the founding of St. John’s
University.
Also located inside the church is the 9/11 shrine which serves
as a space for reflection and prayer for members of the University
who have lost family and friends during the events of 9/11.
St. Thomas More Church is open to the public and student and
community masses are held weekly. Prayer services and vigils are
held inside the church several times throughout the year. The
church also serves as a meeting place for religious organizations
such as Campus Ministry.
We invite you to explore
the church photo gallery and learn more about our Vincentian
heritage!