In the 1860s, a Dominican priest from France, Father Thomas Martin, was sent to the Diocese of New York and took up residence in a brownstone on Lexington Avenue and 62nd Street.
Others followed, and the Dominicans became popular among the city's Catholic population.
John McCloskey, the archbishop of the Diocese of New York and the first American cardinal, asked them to establish a parish on what is now the Upper East Side.
 Father Martin and the other priests borrowed $10,000 ($183,000 in contemporary dollars), bought 18 lots totaling 45,000 square feet (4,200 m²) at the present location and began to construct a chapel on the northeast corner of 65th Street.
 The first Mass was offered in this chapel on July 2, 1867.

By 1879 the construction was expanded and on December 12, a second church was dedicated.
Its first Mass was celebrated on the feast day of St. Vincent Ferrer, September 8, 1879.
At the same time the order decided to build a priory at the church to serve as its provincial headquarters.
It commissioned William Schickel, a German-born architect who had recently completed his first major work in New York, the John Crimmins House at 40 East 68th Street.
The priory's intricate use of materials and its overall polychromy, characteristics of the High Victorian Gothic style popular in the late 19th century, reflect Schickel's training in Bavaria and the strong influence there of Friedrich von Gärtner.
It was the first of many buildings Schickel would design for the New York diocese.
Five years later, in 1884, the first school was built.
In the 1860s, a Dominican priest from France, Father Thomas Martin, was sent to the Diocese of New York and took up residence in a brownstone on Lexington Avenue and 62nd Street. Others followed, and the Dominicans became popular among the city's Catholic population. John McCloskey, the archbishop of the Diocese of New York and the first American cardinal, asked them to establish a parish on what is now the Upper East Side.  Father Martin and the other priests borrowed $10,000 ($183,000 in contemporary dollars), bought 18 lots totaling 45,000 square feet (4,200 m²) at the present location and began to construct a chapel on the northeast corner of 65th Street.  The first Mass was offered in this chapel on July 2, 1867.
By 1879 the construction was expanded and on December 12, a second church was dedicated. Its first Mass was celebrated on the feast day of St. Vincent Ferrer, September 8, 1879. At the same time the order decided to build a priory at the church to serve as its provincial headquarters. It commissioned William Schickel, a German-born architect who had recently completed his first major work in New York, the John Crimmins House at 40 East 68th Street. The priory's intricate use of materials and its overall polychromy, characteristics of the High Victorian Gothic style popular in the late 19th century, reflect Schickel's training in Bavaria and the strong influence there of Friedrich von Gärtner. It was the first of many buildings Schickel would design for the New York diocese. Five years later, in 1884, the first school was built.
Church of St. Vincent Ferrer (Manhattan)