Busiest Church

The most cosmopolitan and busiest Roman Catholic church in the U.S. is Manhattan's Church of St. Francis of Assisi. Unlike big, stylish St. Patrick Cathedral, St. Francis is small and sandwiched off among office buildings in a crowded section near Pennsylvania Station.

Most of the worshippers at St. Francis of Assisi are transients: out-of-towners, hotel guests, office workers, commuters and clients of St. Anthony, whose National Shrine is the lower church. Though the two churches hold only 1,355 at a time, it is a poor Sunday that 5,000 don't hear Mass there-- there are 13 Masses every Sunday. Its staff of 60 priests hears about half a million confessions a year. On holy days (26 Masses), attendance usually climbs to something over 20,000. Sometimes seven and eight Masses are said at the same time, by using the side altars in both church and crypt. The two Masses at 2:30 and 2:45 a.m. are popular with homeward-bound nightclubbers, printers and reporters.

The church, close-mouthed about its in come, is the main support of the Francis can Order's biggest province in the U.S., Last week, workmen were putting the finishing touches to $100,000 worth of improvements on St. Francis' monastery next door. The improvements include a chapel for the 250 to 300 marriage ceremonies performed each year and a confessional for the deaf, with hearing equipment.

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