The Municipal Archives recently began streaming 140 hours of historical films created by the New York City Police Department’s photography unit between 1960 and 1980. The films vividly illustrate a tumultuous eras in American history and provide rich documentation depicting activists, parades, and famous visitors in the City. Some of the most unusual footage in the collection dates from 1975 when the police began filming crowds in Queens gathered in support of Veronica McDonald Lueken, the “Seer of Bayside.”
The story begins on the night of April 7th, 1970, when a 47-year-old Queens homemaker received her first of many claimed visitations from the Virgin Mary. She soon began holding vigils for thousands of worshippers that earned a denunciation from Catholic leaders, and eventually, the attention of the NYPD’s surveillance unit.
Born Veronica McDonald, by the time of her death in 1995 she had become something more: Veronica of the Cross and the Seer of Bayside, Queens. By all accounts, Veronica lived a relatively traditional life before her visions began. Married to her husband Arthur Lueken in 1945, their five children were raised as Catholics, receiving baptisms, first communions and confirmations. But many traditions that had formed the bedrock of Catholic life for centuries were about to change. In 1958 the Pope convened the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) and during seven years, more than 3,000 church leaders examined the doctrine and practices of the Church. Some of the many reforms adopted by Vatican included non-Latin Mass, lay people performing more rites and a greater dialogue with observers of other faiths. These changes, along with the assassinations of the first Catholic President, John F. Kennedy and later New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy, made the 1960s a tumultuous time for American Catholics.
While Veronica claimed a great number of revelations, many of them focused specifically on the reforms introduced by Vatican II. Veronica was not alone in her rejection of Vatican II, as the 1970s saw the rise of traditionalist Catholic groups. One such organization called the Pilgrims of St. Michael heard about Veronica’s message and began gathering to worship at her home in the neighborhood of Bayside. However, not all of the attention Veronica received was positive. Her neighbors in Bayside viewed her as a charlatan and worried about the hundreds of new people appearing in their community.
Here we see dozens of protesters appearing outside the St. Bellarmine church in Bayside, appearing to demonstrate against Veronica Lueken’s vigils. Many of Veronica’s visions and prophecies featured St. Bellarmine. NYPD Film Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
By 1975, this tension eventually led to the NYPD surveillance of Veronica’s vigils. As seen in the footage, the processions of the faithful who came to see Veronica were significant not only in size, but in dedication and organization. A few months after this surveillance started, Veronica said she received messages from the Virgin Mary about what she called ‘the deception of the century.’ This deception was that Pope Paul VI had been imprisoned by corrupt Cardinals in the Vatican and secretly replaced by a man who had undergone extensive plastic surgery in order to serve Satan. Over time, Veronica’s prophecies would grow to describe a single grand conspiracy she referred to as ‘the octopus of evil.’
Here at another vigil outside Veronica’s home, the Pilgrims of St. Michael appear opposite the protesters, necessitating a large police presence. NYPD Film Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
The enduring local popularity of the Bayside prophecies also brought opposition from Bishop Francis Mugavero, head of the Brooklyn Diocese. In a 1986 statement titled “Declaration Concerning the Bayside Movement,” Bishop Mugavero charged that there could be no credibility to the so-called “apparitions,” and that Lueken’s statements were contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church. He advised the faithful to refrain from participating in the “vigils” and disseminating any propaganda related to the “Bayside apparitions.”
After Veronica Lueken died in 1995, her husband Arthur continued to spread her message until his death in 2002. Since then there has been a schism in the Bayside prophecies followers. Two groups claim that they are the true devotees of Veronica’s locutions from the Virgin Mary. Both groups still hold regular meetings to this day, just not with each other. Neither group is recognized by the Vatican, which views them as antithetical to the work of the Church.
Although Veronica does not appear in any of the footage, the response her visions engendered was clearly impassioned and had a real impact on Bayside residents. NYPD Film Collection, NYC Municipal Archives.
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the NYPD’s Bureau of Special Services conducted surveillance on a broad range of subjects, groups and individuals. In addition to the Seer of Bayside, they filmed groups like the Congress of Racial Equality, public figures like Richard Nixon, protests against cuts to public services, and much more. All of these nearly 1,500 films are now available for viewing on the New York City Municipal Archives’ online portal, here.