Family Owned & Operated for Four Generations
Holy Land Art Company has been family owned and operated since 1922, encompassing four generations. Our customers are our first priority and we make every effort to provide you with the best service available.
In addition to our two locations, we offer specialized and custom services for church interior design, worship environment layouts, furnishings and appointments, as well as stained glass, sculptures, and vesture. We welcome you to explore our retail and church interior sites, and we look forward to the opportunity to be of service to you!
Sean T. Cleary
Company History
Holy Land Art Company was founded in 1922 by Alphonse Tonietti, a graduate of the University of Beirut with a degree in the Ecclesiastical Arts. He settled on Chambers Street in New York City - the NYC Church Supply District - and continued in the business until his death in the mid 1950’s.
In 1959, Chris Degheri, a member of the O’Toole Church Supply family and employee of Holy Land Art Co, purchased the Company from the Tonietti family, thus combining the two businesses. Degheri developed a flourishing catalog business and responded, in small ways, to the clients who requested design work. In 1984, Thomas Cleary, his son-in law, entered the business and with his design and construction experience, began to develop a separate contract division.
In 1989, Thomas Cleary purchased the business from Chris Degheri and continued to diversify and grow the offerings of the company. Operations were expanded from New York City to Westwood, New Jersey, North Palm Beach, Florida, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 2017, Tom's son, Sean Cleary, joined Holy Land full-time after 8 years working in the Corporate Strategy group of the New York Stock Exchange and as a Merger & Acquisition consultant. The company continues to offer a range of services from liturgical design, custom fabrication of woodwork and metalwork, ecclesiastical painting and fine arts, sculpture, renovation and restoration.
