Fathers of Mercy, a French community of priests, established the Church of Notre Dame in 1910 as a mission of the St. Vincent de Paul Parish on West 23rd Street. The church had been established after Geraldyn Redmond donated funds to the Father of Mercy, requesting they build a chapel to propagate devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. The first administrator of the parish was the Rev. Maurice Reynauld, S.P.M., who died in France during World War I. While in France in 1913, he affiliated Notre Dame Church with the Sanctuary of Our Lady in Lourdes, thus enabling worshipers at the Church of Notre Dame in New York City to obtain the spiritual benefits of worshipers at Lourdes. From the beginning of the parish, a special arrangement was made with the ecclesiastical authorities in Lourdes that water from the miraculous spring there would be sent directly to the Church of Notre Dame. Since that time Lourdes water has been continuously available at the church.