By Katie Vasquez
Tourists looking for a permanent souvenir of their trip to the big apple typically stop by Times Square Tattoo.
But along with the new ink, they go home with a miraculous medal from shop owner, Tommy Houlihan.
“Oftentimes I got a big crucifix and I look up at it and I thank him for letting me do the work,” said Houlihan.
Tommy is a born and bred New Yorker who grew up Catholic in Hell’s Kitchen.
He recommitted to his faith 3 years ago when he heard the testimony of a friend.
“It’s been maybe the last 5 or 6 years where I’m really, like, buckling down and maybe it’s the last three years is where I, you know, started with, you know, with, with the, with the miraculous medal and then, you know, the last, the last two years, every client that comes to me gets it,” said Houlihan.
After tattooing for decades, Tommy decided to hand over his shop which is adorned in crosses and sacred images, to the blessed mother, and vowed to use the space as a ministry.
“She’s got nobody backing her up in tattooing, nobody,” said Houlihan.
The artist refuses to tattoo images that he considers demonic or evil.
“No Harry Potter, nothing from the play Wicked. No alchemy symbols,” said Houlihan.
“I can’t do anything that’s even remotely touching witchcraft, or anything like that.”
Tommy says the shop’s location at the crossroads of the world makes the work even more necessary.
“If you walk into Times Square and you look at the advertising, it’s nothing but blasphemy after blasphemy after blasphemy, it’s outright mockery of God,” said Houlihan.
He hopes clients will enjoy the memento etched into their skin and his ink will be used to evangelize others.
“I’m hoping for an instant conversion. If they’re not Catholic, right? If they are Catholic and are bad Catholics, I hope they would become good Catholics. If they’re good Catholics. I want them to become great catholics. and that metal is a very powerful tool to do that,” said Houlihan.