St. Bridget’s 125th Anniversary Book as recorded by Nora Villanueva around 1995

THE PERIOD OF FORMATION

The history of a Catholic parish, like any other unit in organized society, is reflective of the series of events in the larger unit. The history of St. Bridget's Parish is no exception, as it very much reflects the history of Jersey City where it is located. This is especially the case during the formation of St. Bridget's parish.

The First Church

During the 1850's, New Jersey State claimed ownership of all lands under water in Jersey City, better known then as Hudson City. The state saw that these lands, beyond the city's shoreline, could be utilized to build railroads to provide easy accessibility to Manhattan. To accomplish this construction, the state needed cheap and unskilled labor. This need was easily provided for by thousands of immigrants, mostly Irish, who with their coming to Jersey City, soon outnumbered the descendants of earlier settlers.

With the increased population of Irish in the city, it followed that the Catholic population also increased, as the Irish settlers were mostly Catholics.

In response to the need of places for worship for these many immigrants, Catholic churches were built in the city. Although the first church had been built in Jersey City as early as 1837, many of the subsequent churches were built between 1850 to 1870, and among these was St. Bridget's Roman Catholic Church.

The Rev. Patrick Corrigan, from St. Peter's Parish, initiated the erection of the structure of St. Bridget's Church. With the approval of Bishop J. Roosevelt Bayley, who was then attending the 1st Vatican Council, Fr. Corrigan laid the cornerstone of a little frame church on November 14, 1869,1 fronting Mercer Street, approximately 100 feet east of Brunswick Street (See Map A). Apparently, Fr. Corrigan himself or through the suggestions of his Irish followers, named the new church "St. Bridget" in honor of the Irish saint - whose name is interchangeably pronounced and spelled "Bridget" or "Brigid."

The parish outlook in 1869 was not promising at all. The area was filled with cabbage gardens, sand hills, and swamplands. But perhaps because of the great need of a church in that particular area, Fr. Corrigan persisted with his decision.

The land where the first church as built and its subsequent site, at the corner of Montgomery and Brunswick streets, together with that of the other Parish structures, had been originally owned by the Van Vorst family of colonial New Jersey. Fr. Corrigan and s successors, while attending to the spiritual and other related needs of the parish, had the added burden of managing its financial! needs; the payment of mortgages and other debts incurred to different banks and other lending agencies. Financial matters in Roman Catholic churches in the United states, were and still are entrusted to a Board of Trustees; this Board for St. Bridget's was formally organized and convened on December 30, 1870, the pastor being very much involved as a mandatory member.

Fr. Corrigan never neglected the financial problems of the Church, in fact, he was obviously very much preoccupied with them. For example, he had an original debt of $42,220.05 as reported to the bishop on January 1, 1871. In four month's time, he was able reduce it to $36,114.84. (Fr. Corrigan was most thorough in his financial reports.)

All the efforts of Fr. Corrigan, however, were rewarded. Just a year after his founding St. Bridget's, many residents began to settle in the area and the church became the center of not only religious but also social and cultural life in this portion of downtown Jersey City.

Religious instructions for the children of the parish was another .concern immediately addressed. In 1870, the Sisters of Charity residing at the Academy of St. Aloysius located on York Street, started teaching Sunday School at St. Bridget's.2 Probably conducted in some corner of the church in the beginning. In 1874, Fr. Corrigan built the church basement to provide better accommodations for the pupils and teachers of the school.

After completing this foundation of St. Bridget's, Fr. Corrigan resigned as pastor in 1875. He did not immediately leave the parish though but remained to help his successor, the Rev. Patrick E. Smythe. With his resignation, Fr. Corrigan knew that he had accomplished much which he could proudly look back on.

The First Rectory

The Rev. Patrick E. Smythe transferred from Madison to St. Bridget's to become its second pastor beginning in January 1876. As successor to Fr. Corrigan, Fr. Smythe seemingly was satisfied with the church and related structures as he found them, except for the priests residence. Thus, he focused his attention on that. A year after his appointment, Fr. Smythe, with the approval of the Board of Trustees., decided to have both the church and the priests’ residence painted. Not satisfied with this improvement, he initiated the meeting of the Board of Trustees in August 1882 specifically to consider the building of a rectory. His main complaint was that the old priests’ residence was too small to accommodate three priests and that it was situated in unhealthy surroundings. At this meeting, the Board empowered Fr. Smythe to borrow whatever money was required for the construction of the rectory.

Unlike Fr. Corrigan, however, Fr. Smythe was not meticulous in his financial reporting. It was discovered by his successor, the Rev. James Hanly, that Fr. Smythe incurred more debt than he had reported. Fr. Smythe even admitted later that his reporting of the debts was really understated as he had not included reports on taxes assessments, and a mortgage on the Mercer Street lot.

Nevertheless, Fr. Smythe accomplished what he had set out to. The first rectory was built as Fr. Smythe had envisioned a priests’ place of residence should be.

The formative period of St. Bridget’s Roman Catholic Parish, the, covers the time from its founding in 1869 to 1883. With the persistence and perseverance of its pastors, the first church and rectory structures had been built and religious instructions for children had started. With these provisions, the Irish immigrants must surely have found it easier to adapt to their new land.

The Period of Relative Stability

In his description of Jersey City near the end of the nineteenth century, Grundy pictured thus: “ In the decades immediately before and following the turn of the century, Jersey city came of age. No longer was it a closely knit community of small towns separated by such natural barriers as marshes and creeks, Bergen Hill towering over them. The former had long since been filled-in, the formidable trap rock formation that had separated the heights from the downtown had been, by now, penetrated by railroad cuts and tunnels, and with Montgomery Street and Newark Avenue extended up over the hill, it is one city now, and a thriving one of busy industries and attractive homes. More, it had become the leading railroad terminal of the nation.”

Specifically with regard to Montgomery Street, Grundy commented further, “Lower Montgomery Street was the city’s main business district at the beginning of the 1900’s”

Obviously, Montgomery Street was becoming a major city thoroughfare during the late 1800’s and St. Bridget’s Parish followed suit. With its predominantly Irish parishioners increasingly becoming mixed with settlers of other European descent, a suitably bigger church was called for . And to this end, its third pastor, the Rev. James Hanly gave his immediate attention. Thus, the term of Fr. Hanly marked the beginning of the period of relative stability for the parish.

The New Church and the New Rectory

The Rev. James Hanly succeeded Fr. Patrick Smythe in the pastorship of St. Bridget’s Parish beginning in January 1883. Fr. Hanly was transferred from Dover to ST. Bridget’s having previously served as assistant pastor at St. Patrick’s in Elizabeth, Philipsburg and St. John's in Paterson.

Undoubtedly, Fr. Hanly spent his earlier years at St. Bridget's serving the parish people at the ode small church on Mercer Street. Very aware of the needs of a growing congregation, however, he saw the necessity for the construction of a bigger church. But more than this, he wisely saw the greater attraction of a church located on the fast developing Montgomery Street. Fortunately, he had an advantage as the church land holdings were in a corner bounded by the three streets -Montgomery, Brunswick, and Mercer.

Fr. Hanly's idea of a more appropriately sized church was approved by Bishop Winand M. Wigger and the Parish Board of Trustees. For this project, the Board of Trustees was authorized to sign a bond and mortgage of $50,000 to pay off the balance of the ode debt of $20,400 and use the balance to start the building of the new church and a new rectory.

In accordance to the plans and specifications of Architect Rossi, the construction of the new church was begun in 1886. The church occupied the larger portion of the property and was located on the corner of Montgomery and Brunswick Streets with its main doors facing the former.

As envisioned by Rossi, the new St. Bridget's Church proved one of the more beautiful churches in Jersey City. Italian Gothic in concept, the exterior of the Church is executed in red brick and Ohio Stone with a slate shingled roof.

The church interior reflects unexpected grandeur and opulence for a neighborhood church. Its ornamental polychrome wall decorations were of Venetian Gothic. Its altar rail is made of colonnaded white marble. The interior columns of the church are of deep gray unpolished granite and are a handsome contrast to the soft background colors of pale green in the nave and old rose and dust blue in the apse. Large stained Windows of the side aisles, installed in the 1920's, are rich in detail and color. The clerestory Windows were originally operable by a system of rods and gears which could be manipulated from the choir loft.

With the efforts of Fr. Hanly and the artistry of architect Rossi, the new St. Bridget's Church stood grandly - and still stands - as the center of Catholic spirituality for its parishioners from one generation to another.

The new St. Bridget's Church formally opened its door to its parishioners and the general public at the midnight Christmas Mass in 1887. This first mass was said by its justly proud pastor, Fr. James Hanly.

Built at the same time as the church, St. Bridget's rectory was situated on the east side of the church facing Montgomery Street. The building was designed in the style of a three-story, five-windowed townhouse arranged symmetrically around a central hall. Victorian in concept, it is executed in red brick with simple brownstone trim and elegant wood cornices. With its classical proportions, the structure exudes great restraint and good taste.

Though it took time to pay the mortgage and related debts incurred for the building of the new Church and rectory, Fr. Hanly and all his successors knew that the money put into it was worthwhile.

Just two years after seeing his accomplishments, Fr. Hanly died in 1889 in the new rectory. He was one pastor of St. Bridget's whose memory would linger with the visibility of St. Bridget's Church on Montgomery Street.

The Parochial School and The Lyceum

Fr. Hanly was succeeded by the Rev. Patrick M. Corr who became fourth pastor of St. Bridget's Parish in 1889. Fr. Corr had been born in Kildare, Ireland. He entered Seton Hall University in 1876 and was ordained priest on June 15, 1878. Before his assignment at St. Bridget's, he had been the pastor at Hackensack, New Jersey since 1885. Before that, Fr. Corr labored as a curate at St. James in Newark and St. Mary's in Jersey City.

As pastor at Hackensack for four years, Fr. Corr determined to awaken the congregation from its lethargy. To help him with this mission, he initiated the building of the sisters' convent there. He also improved the parochial school. He left his Hackensack parish in healthy financial condition.8

At St. Bridget's, Fr. Corr might not have seen the necessity of awakening his parishioners. But certainly, he saw the need for a parish school for the growing number of children in the parish now that the new St. Bridget's Church had become an attraction point to so many. Thus, just a few months after his appointment as fourth pastor to St. Bridget's, Fr. Corr concentrated his efforts on the establishment of a parochial school. For this, he got the approval of Bishop Winand M. Wigger for a mortgage for a school building.

The land within the church property chosen for the school building was the site of the ode church. After demolishing the ode church, St. Bridget's School was erected in 1890 as designed by Architect Thomas P. Houghton. Fronting on Mercer Street, St. Bridget's School is a handsome four-story structure of red brick with brownstone trim, wood and metal cornices, strongly influenced by Richardsonian architecture in the Romanesque idiom.

A man of seemingly outstanding determination, Fr. Corr upon having completed his major project, did not want anything in its way. For before St. Bridget's School had come into existence, there had already existed the Academy of St. Bridget in Mercer Street, a girls' institution which Mother Xavier had opened as a possible source of revenue after the establishment of the parochial mission. The property where the academy stood belonged to the Community of the Sisters of Charity. Fr. Corr as administrator of the parish, however, felt that the presence of a select school for girls in close proximity to the parish school militated against the democratic spirit which should prevail especially among Catholic children. Therefore, following his suggestion, Mother Xavier sold the academic property.

When St. Bridget's Parochial School opened in 1890, four hundred pupils registered. There were four Sisters of Charity who comprised its first teaching staff.

In addition to the parochial school, Fr. Corr also recognized the need for the building of a social and recreational center for his parishioners. For this purpose, St. Bridget's Catholic Lyceum was built in 1892. This lyceum was situated across the street from the rectory on Montgomery Street.

Unfortunately, Fr. Corr only stayed as pastor of St. Bridget's for four years. For in the fourth year of his term, his health began to fail. In the hope of regaining it, he went back home to Ireland. But died in his homeland on July24, 1893.

Quality Education for St. Bridget's Children

With the death of Fr. Corr, the Rev. William Henry Dormin took over immediately in 1893 to become fifth pastor of St. Bridget's. Born in New York on October 15, 1850, Fr. Dormin was educated at St. Charles and Seton Hall where he graduated in 1871. He was ordained priest on May 22,1875.

Before coming to St. Bridget's, Fr. Dormin zealously labored as an assistant at St. John's in Trenton, St. Patrick's in Elizabeth, and St. John's in Orange. His first parochial assignment was at St. Peter's in Belleville where his memory still lives. "

Fr. Dormin brought his mission from St. Peter's to St. Bridget's. In both parishes, he brought the schools to a higher degree of efficiency. At St. Bridget's specifically, he concentrated on his work for the children. He just loved the children. And with the help of the Sisters of Charity, he sought by every means in his power to fit them to fight successfully the battle of life.

Aside from upgrading the children's education, Fr. Dormin unlike his predecessors, did not attempt any tangible project of his own. On the basis of his notes of the minutes of the meetings of the Board of Trustees, he was so concerned about the debts of the Church that it could be concluded that he was more interested in paying than in doing more spending.

And this concern he showed even after his death. (Fr. Dormin died at the young age of 49 on July 4, 1899.) In the minutes of the Board of Trustees on February 23, 1901, the following statement was written by his successor, the Rev. John F. Ryan:

“The following resolution passed: Resolved that the Rt. Rev. Bishop be authorized to transfer to St. Mary's Hospital, Passaic esp. the money left by will of Rev. W. H. Dormin to St. Bridget's Church. The testation having in his last sickness verbally expressed this wish to the Bishop who promised to do all in his power to carry out the testations final will in the matter.”

The End to Most Indebtedness

With the death of Fr. Domin, the Rev. John F. Ryan was appointed. As pastor to St. Bridget's, Fr. Ryan had the longest reign, 42 years.

Fr. Ryan had been born in Dover, New Jersey on October 30, 1863. He studied at Seton Hall and graduated in the class of 1883. He was ordained priest on June 4,1887.

Before St. Bridget's, Fr. Ryan had worked at the Arlington Protectory. While there, he displayed an exceptional talent for administrative and executive ability. For example, he organized trade classes and found a market for the goods manufactured there.12

With his administrative and executive abilities, Fr. Ryan entered the life of St. Bridget's Parish at the right moment As said earlier, Montgomery Street had become the city's main business district in the early 1900's. Following the footsteps of his immediate predecessor, Fr. Ryan avoided spending money and instead concentrated on paying the church debts. With Montgomery Street as a business district, the churchgoers naturally were mostly businessmen and businesswomen who could afford to contribute to the church. Fr. Ryan also easily asked for monetary contributions for the church directly of individual businesses in the area.

His first major accomplishment was well documented, In the minutes of the Board of Trustees for January 26, 1908, Fr. Ryan as secretary of the Board wrote, "Financial statement for the year 1907, commenced, approved, and duly signed. The balance of the mortgage had been paid during the year and had left the Church property -except the Lyceum Building - free and clear of all debts."

Thus, as early as the ninth year of his 42 years as pastor of St. Bridget's, Fr. Ryan was able to set the church on its way to financial! stability.

The Sisters Convent

Halfway through his term, Fr. Ryan set out his structural projects. Most notable among these was the building of the sister's convent. For this, the Board of Trustees held a special meeting on March 19, 1923. At this meeting, this resolution was unanimously adopted as written on the minutes: "Resolved that the Board of Trustees authorized the President of the Board, Bishop John J. O'Connor, D.D. to sign all contracts necessary for the erection and completion of St. Bridget's Convent, Jersey City, NJ. according to plans and specifications prepared by W. T. Fauier, Architect, Paterson, N.J."

St. Bridget's Convent was the last building erected on the church property. Located on the east side of the rectory facing Montgomery Street, the convent is a three-story structure. It is executed in orange-red brick with limestone trim in the low rise urban housing vernacular with ecclesiastic decoration and eclectic entrance facade.

In addition to the building of the sisters' convent, Fr. Ryan also twice enlarged and improved the school. It was noted that there was marked progress in the school during Fr. Ryan's time. Credit for this, Fr. Ryan had to share with Sr. Maurice Stapleton who was described as zealous and indefatigable. Sr. Maurice spent the greater portion of her religious years of more than a half a century as guide and directress to St. Bridget's Parochial School. She concentrated her efforts not only on the schoolchildren but also on their teachers. She realized that the progress of the schoolchildren depended on God and their teachers. And to this end she saw to it that the teachers, religious sisters for the most part, were fitted to their assigned tasks. And for this, Sr. Maurice is still remembered by former students.

Fr. Ryan also made some improvements in the church. After the building of the convent and the enlargement of the school, Fr. Ryan focused his attention on the church interior. To add more beauty to it, he ordered the change of the church Windows to colorful stained glass depicting the mysteries of the holy rosary. This was attested to by an old-time parishioner who is still very much attached to St. Bridget's to this day.

A Truly Stable Parish

The end of World War I marked the end of the Progressive Era in the whole of the United States as it embarked on what President Harding called "A Return to Normalcy." In Jersey City especially, there was a building boom. Many ode white-collar, upper and middle class families were buying homes in the newly developing suburbs. Even the poor Irish immigrants with their American sons and daughters, now more affluent, were moving from downtown to the "Hill" l5

St. Bridget's Parish was very little affected if at all by this general trend. Except for a small influx of Italian immigrants, St. Bridget's was a very stable parish at this time. With two priests in assistance to Fr. Ryan, the church had six Masses on Sundays -proof that the parish had a fairly large population to serve. The records available for the years 1929 and 1930 as reported to the Chancery Office show that in 1929, the parish had a Catholic population of 6,738 and in 1930, had 5,539.

From the same records, it is seen that the parochial school had a teaching staff of 18 sisters and two lay teachers on both years. The number of pupils attended to by this staff, were 969 in 1929 and 995 in 1930 with girls slightly outnumbering boys.

In terms of finances, the parish was not only stable but progressive. For the first time in many years, specifically only during the latter term time of Fr. Ryan, the parish was shown to have surplus money. In the minutes of the meeting of the Board of Trustees on January 16, 1939, a sentence read as follows: "A resolution authorizing the Pastor to loan surplus funds in the church treasury to the local Catholic Diocese of Newark at a 2% rote of interest was approved." But previous to this 1939 resolution, St. Bridget's Church had already been helping other churches financially, notably the Church of the Holy Name in East Orange.

During the latter term of Fr. Ryan, there were only two incidents of note to have disturbed the parish. One was the small fire in the school which was caused by a short circuit in the electric fixture in a classroom on the top floor of the school building. Apparently, there was only a minor damage as the 900 children were able to return to their classes in twenty minutes. This fire took place on September 18, 1936 as originally reported in the Newark News.

The other incident was a far bigger one and happened on June 26, 1940. Msgr. Ryan had to replace a heavy limestone cross which because of a squall-like gust of wind during a rainstorm, crashed 60 feet from the church steeple. Even though the cross, which weighed a quarter of a ton and measuring 4 feet high and 3 feet wide, broke into several! pieces, no one was hurt, with no services in the church being held and the school children at their respective homes when the incident happened.

Except for the above incidents, the time of Msgr. John F. Ryan was characteristically quiet, stable, and even progressive for the church and its people. Reviving his memories of his three years of stay which was specifically from 1931 to 1934 at St. Bridget's, Msgr. Joseph A. Carroll was euphoric when he stated the following:

It was an honor to nave been assigned to St. Bridget's as my first appointment. It was a great parish with a great school. Fr. Ryan was a strict boss but kind and loving to his people. I enjoyed my stay at St. Bridget's.

Msgr. Carroll also amusingly reminisced his personal encounters with Msgr. Ryan. He recounted one pattern of such encounters as follows:

Msgr. Ryan was a tall man at 6 feet, and I, as you can see, am only an inch above 5 feet. The thing is Fr. Ryan always looked for everybody. As a young priest, I usually hid from him. And because of our heights, he would not always see me at once. As we went along, he just clapped his hands when looking for me. I would not respond immediately but finally I would appear and he would always ask me, "Where have you been?"

From his years at St. Bridget's, Msgr. Carroll has gone a long way. He became pastor of St. Cecilia’s church in Kearny from 1956 to 1968. He is now retired but still resides at St. Cecilia's. But mention St. Bridget's and he would always remember his first appointment with a twinkle in his eyes.

As even Msgr. Carroll would attest, Msgr. Ryan was really a person to be revered. Msgr. Ryan had outstanding qualities. He was strict with his priests, considerate and kind to his parishioners, and shared his sense of humor with both groups. In addition to the rank of monsignor, to which he was elevated in 1927, Msgr. Ryan also held the title of protonatory apostolic. He was bestowed this title on June 6, 1937 by Julio Cardinal Pacelli who later became Pope Pius XII.

For his achievements and personal qualities and his record performance of 42 years as pastor, it is affirmed that in Msgr. John F. Ryan, "St. Bridget's found a worthy pastor." Msgr. Ryan served St. Bridget well until his death on July 9,1941 at the age of 78. He died quietly in the rectory.

Maintained Stability Purina World War II

For some reason, Msgr. John F. Ryan did not have an immediate successor to the pastorship. His assistants were perhaps capable of meeting the needs of the parish. Nonetheless, the position of pastor of St. Bridget's had to be filled. And for this, the Rev. Thomas M. Curry became the sixth pastor to St. Bridget's in Octoberl941.

Fr. Curry was born in the horseshoe section of Jersey City. As if a preface to his religious vocation later, he had served as an altar boy and a choir boy under Msgr. John A. Sheppard while getting his elementary education at St. Michael's School. Upon graduation from the Jersey City High School, (now Dickinson High School), he entered Seton Hall College where he finished what was usually a four-year course in just three years. Following his college graduation, he entered the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception and was ordained priest on June 2, 1917 by Bishop John J. O'Connor.

Before coming to St. Bridget's, he had served at a number of parishes, first as curate at St. Mary's Church in Bayonne, then at St. Agnes in Paterson where he stayed for seven years. And for sometime, he was also assigned to St. Aloysius, Newark and St. Aedan's in Jersey City. After St. Aedan's, Fr. Curry became pastor at Holy Rosary Church in Edgewater on May 28, 1936. His major accomplishments as pastor at Holy Rosary were the clearing of all debts of the parish and the complete renovations of all its building.

Transferring his legacy from his church in Edgewater to St. Bridget's, Fr. Curry saw to it that remodeling was done to buildings that needed it. Coming to a financially stable parish, he did not have any difficulty in doing some remodeling to the school and the rectory. But his main structural project at St. Bridget's was the building of a nice auditorium in a remodeled basement of the church.

With all the buildings still really intact and with some recent remodeling, ode time parishioners described St. Bridget's Parish as the "best parish in the whole of Jersey City" in the World War II period and immediately after it. It became the refuge of the parish people during wartime. All six masses offered on Sundays were very well attended and in fact were at 'standing room' capacity. The priests in residence led by Fr. Curry even had to add masses which were held in the lyceum just across the street. The parish organizations which were very active then were the Holy Name Society and the Rosary Society with Fr. Curry as moderator to the latter.

As to his person, ode time parishioners remembered Fr. Curry as a strict but fair man. Apparently, he was not a sociable pastor as one parishioner commented, "He was hard to talk to."

Fr. Curry celebrated his 25th anniversary in the priesthood in 1942 at St. Bridget's. Sociable or not, he showed his dedication as a priest and his abilities as a pastor in both Holy Rosary and St. Bridget's.

Unfortunately, Fr. Curry did not live a long life. In his sixth year as pastor to St. Bridget's, he died of coronary occlusion on October 4, 1947 at the age of 55.

The Parish After World War II On to the Early Sixties

Eight months after his death, Fr. Curry was replaced by one of his assistant pastors, the Rev. Harold V. Fitzpatrick. Fr. Fitzpatrick was formally assigned pastor on June 19, 1948.

Fr. Fitzpatrick who was later on elevated to monsignor, was born to a family from Paterson. After attending St. Peter's Prepatory School in Jersey City, he entered Seton Hall College. Upon college graduation, he studied for the priesthood at the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception and was ordained priest on June 14, 1924 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Newark.

Before St. Bridget's, Fr. Fitzpatrick just had two short-term assignments, one at St. John's Church in Orange and the other at St. Michael's in Jersey City. After these assignments, just two years into his priesthood, he became assistant pastor at St. Bridget's from June 10, 1926 to the date he became pastor. He served then as assistant pastor, not only during the term of Fr. Curry, but even earlier in the term of Msgr. Ryan.

Having been assistant pastor for 22 years, it is not surprising that Fr. Fitzpatrick knew very well what his target would be now as pastor of St. Bridget's. Obviously, he did not place too much emphasis on the structural needs of the parish. In this aspect, he confined himself to minor projects relative to what his predecessors had done. He just concerned himself with fixing the wiring and the boiler system and changing the heavy oak front doors of the church to heavy aluminum, as they are today. On the latter, one of the parish crewman pointed out, "During Fr. Fitzpatrick's time, there was not really much to do in terms of construction. But he wanted the front doors changed because he himself had such difficulty opening and closing those oak doors."

But as mentioned, Fr. Fitzpatrick knew what his target project would be as pastor. Immediately after the Second World War, the trend beginning in Jersey City was for many residents to move out of the city to go to the suburbs. Apparently, these residents, specifically the war veterans, had better financial resources now to invest in better homes in the suburbs. Fr. Fitzpatrick still had, to a large extent, the same people in the parish that he knew when he was still assistant pastor. Unlike Fr. Curry, Fr. Fitzpatrick was pictured by another ode time parishioner as "very sociable, very outgoing, and mixed a great deal with people." It could then be construed that the main project of Fr. Fitzpatrick was to bring together and mobilize his parishioners to be closer to the church through different parish activities.

As proof, parishioners attested to the fact that during the term of Fr. Fitzpatrick, the parish was a beehive of different activities. Together with his four assistant pastors, among whom were the Revs. Joseph Costello who later became Bishop Costello, James Reilly, and James O'Neill, Fr. Fitzpatrick saw to it that the parish people were active in church organizations as the Holy Name Society and the Rosary Society. In addition, the youth were also encouraged to join the Catholic Youth League under Fr. Reilly. Moreover, Fr. Fitzpatrick with his four assistants also initiated religious and social gatherings for all age groups in the forms of novenas and dinners for Mothers, Teenagers and even Children.

Notably, Fr. Fitzpatrick did not confine his outreach to people of St. Bridget's alone. As was pointed out by one parishioner, "He was chaplain for the whole city." In this capacity, one of his activities was to give communion to some 600 to 700 policemen annually. This group of people was perhaps close to his heart because his father had been a police officer in Paterson, New Jersey.

With no reason documented as yet, the term of Fr. Fitzpatrick as pastor of St. Bridget's ended in 1964. Unlike most of his predecessors, his term ended not because of death but because of a transfer in assignment to the pastorate of Holy Cross Church in Harrison.24

As seen from this chapter in the history of St. Bridget's, its period of relative stability was only reflective of the relative stability of the whole of Jersey City. With this period, which ran from 1884 to 1964, just 20 years short of a century, St. Bridget's Parish had a stronger foundation compared to the formative period. Within this time frame, St. Bridget's was rebuilt, grew, and was firmly established through the various unique contributions of the pastors in this period. Because of this, the subsequent period was a source of great fear and worry for the entire parish.

THE PERIOD OF GREAT UNCERTAINTY

Immediately after World War u, Jersey City started moving toward a different direction from financial stability - if not prosperity, to poverty. Little by little, the city was being abandoned by the original immigrants notably the Irish, the Italians, and the Polish. These immigrants, now into their American born second, third and even fourth generations, were increasingly attracted to the suburbs. In turn, the city became more and more attractive to African Americans and Hispanics. Most of these who carne to the city after the war were from the overcrowded Harlem in New York City. Many of the Hispanics carne directly from Puerto Rico. Ironically, both groups were poor and were particularly attracted to Jersey City to work in factories which were scattered over the city.

Concretely, Grundy,25 described the change in Jersey City as follows:

Jersey City had been an immigrant community for many years. By 1920 the Italians formed the largest group of foreign-born whites; ten years later they totaled more than 44,000 in foreign-born and mixed parentage. The Poles constituted the third largest immigrant group in 1930. But there had been a steady migration out to the suburbs beginning in the 1920's. Still, the population was overwhelmingly white. In 1940 blacks composed only four percent of me population and Puerto Ricans less than one percent. A big change had taken place by 1970; blacks had increased to 21 percent and Puerto Ricans to 6.2 percent. As these waves moved in, more and more whites moved out and the city's over-all population declined. The city became a home for the poor and the elderly, with increased demands for social services. Added to this was a decrease in tax-able property due to the flight of industry, bankruptcy of the railroads, abandonment of the waterfront and loss of the middle class business and professional residents, complex problems arose which the city had never experienced before in its history. A bad image as the result of too much petty political strife and proven corruption, broadcast nationally by all the news media, compounded the ills. After 1950, Jersey City was longer the thriving and owing community of an earlier time. Its people were demanding more than the city could offer.

As the change was felt all over the city, the downtown area was not spared. In fact, the change made its biggest impact in this area of the city. St. Bridget’s Parish was affected, but the parish did not immediately feel the downward trend perhaps because of the great ability of Fr. Fitzpatrick in diverting the attention of his parish people from the harshest realities of Jersey
City life which, nevertheless were surely becoming more and more pronounced through the passing of days. Those who had to courageously confront the realities and the consequent difficulties of running the parish in the troubled times ahead were the two pastors after Fr. Fitzpatrick, the Rev. James O'Neill, but most especially, the Rev. Martin R. Kelly.

The First Tides of Change

With the transfer of Fr. Fitzpatrick to Holy Cross Church in Harrison, one of the assistant pastors, perhaps the most senior, the Rev. James W. O'Neill, was named next pastor of St. Bridget's.

Born in Glen Falls, New York on February 4, 1913, Fr. O'Neill received his earlier education from St. Augustine's Grammar School in Union City and Xavier High School in New York. For his college, he attended Fordham University and Seton Hall College. Following his college graduation, he entered the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington and was ordained priest on June 3, 1939.

Unlike all his predecessors who served other parishes before St. Bridget's, Fr. O'Neill, just twelve days after his ordination, had his first assignment at St. Bridget's and served nowhere else during his priesthood. On the other hand, he was active in other endeavors outside of parish work. He was instructor of nurses in St. Francis Hospital in Jersey City from September 1942 to January 1952. He also became a member of the editorial board of the archdiocesan newspaper, the Advocate, a position he held for nine years. Most importantly, he was chairman and founder of the original Downtown Committee for the Redevelopment of Jersey City.

At St. Bridget's, Fr. O'Neill served as assistant pastor for 24 long years before becoming its pastor in 1964. His experience with St. Bridget's extended from the time of Msgr. Ryan on through the times of Fr. Curry and his immediate predecessor, Fr. Fitzpatrick. Thus, he saw the facets of change in the parish. First, he saw a very stable parish under Msgr. Ryan. Just like Msgr. Joseph Carroll in 1931, who had his very first assignment to St. Bridget's, Fr. O'Neill must nave felt the sense of pride and honor of being assigned to the "best parish " in Jersey City. But unlike Msgr. Carroll who was transferred to other parishes, Fr. O'Neill for some reason, had his first and only assignment at St. Bridget's.

And as seen, because of the general population trend in Jersey City, St. Bridget's did not remain unchanged. And by the time Fr. O'Neill became pastor, it was moving on toward decline. He saw the continuous abandonment of the parish by familiar people who had been the source of stability, be it financial or otherwise. Next he saw the replacement of these people by a new population, who themselves were seeking fortunes in an area that he knew at the time was being economically drained.

Nevertheless, pain-ful as it might have been, Fr. O'Neill faced the realities of the parish situation. Out of just mere necessity perhaps or a sense of regaining the hold of the good old days, Fr. O'Neill in 1965, initiated an extensive remodeling of the church interior. Strangely so, old time parishioners seemed not to have remembered any construction done during his time. Instead, one of these parishioners recalled Fr. O'Neill as very careful about being up-to-date when paying parish bills. Apparently, Fr. O'Neill was careful about finances as this same parishioner stated, "Money was gone during Fr. O'Neill's time and nothing was coming in."

In terms of the way he related to the people, the ode time parishioners described Fr. O'Neill as a reserved person who did not really mix with people. From another angle, Mr. Gustavo Rodriguez, who served until recently as deacon to St. Bridget's and a native of Puerto Rico, had this observation, "Fr. O'Neill did not speak Spanish. Perhaps that was one reason why he did not communicate well with people, with us Hispanics especially."

Surely Fr. O'Neill sought to address the needs of his parishioners, the remaining whites and the new arrived Hispanic people, mostly Puerto Ricans. Because of the general population decrease, he reduced the number of Sunday masses from five to four. In accordance with the decrees of the Second Vatican Council, the masses then were not said in Latin anymore but in English. To accommodate his new Hispanic parishioners, Fr. O'Neill introduced one Spanish mass on Sundays. For this, he relied on one of his two assistants. According to Mr. Rodriguez, first Fr. Quinn said the Spanish mass. Later, the Archdiocese recognized the need of the parish for a priest who could not only understand and speak the language, but also understand the culture of the growing Hispanic community. For this, the Archdiocese assigned the Rev. Martin R. Kelly as assistant pastor of St. Bridget's.

Fr. O'Neill did not last long as a pastor. He held the position for five years until his death on September 12, 1969. He passed away at the age of 56 due to a heart problem. He was buried in his native town of Glen Falls, New York.28 Fr. O'Neill would be remembered for his dedication to the Parish, having spent his entire 30 years of priesthood at St Bridget's.

The Parish in Deterioration

With the death of Fr. O'Neill, the Rev. Martin R. Kelly was appointed first as an administrator of the parish. Fr. Kelly had arrived at St. Bridget's in September 1967. As already mentioned, he became assistant pastor to Fr. O'Neill, specifically to take care of the Hispanic community. After being parish administrator for sometime, he eventually was named pastor.

Born on September 22, 1921 in New York City, Fr. Kelly first went to a public school in Palisades Park for his kindergarten and first grade, then transferred to St. Matthew's in Richfield where he finished his Grammar School. For High School, he attended St. Cecilia's High School in Englewood. Upon High School graduation, he entered Seton Hall College as a divinity student. After Seton Hall, he entered the Major Seminary in Darlington where he studied for the priesthood for six years. He was ordained priest on July 21, 1947 by Archbishop Thomas Joseph Walsh at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Newark.

As a priest, he was first assigned to St. Bridget's Church in Newark where he was assistant pastor for six years. After this, he spent another 6 and a half years as assistant pastor at St. Catherine's Church, Glenrock in Bergen County.

In February 1960 , Fr. Kelly joined the St. James Society, one aim of which was to send Catholic priests to South America. Through this Society and under the sponsorship of Cardinal Cushing of Boston, he volunteered to go to Bolivia where he labored from 1960 to 1967. While in Bolivia, Fr. Kelly studied Spanish, then was assigned to work in a parish in Santa Cruz. During his seven years in Bolivia, Fr. Kelly not only mastered the language, but also the culture and the lifestyle of the people of South America.

Fr. Kelly returned to the United States in July 1967. He stayed with the Archdiocese until September of the same year. With his knowledge of the Spanish language and culture, the Archdiocese saw that he was the best man for the needs of St. Bridget's. With no definite idea of what the immediate future of his new parish in Jersey City would be, Fr. Kelly easily accepted the positions as they carne along.

During his first few years in the parish, old-time parishioners remembered Fr. Kelly as active. For one, he became easily attached to the Hispanic community. True to his original mission at St. Bridget's, he motivated the Hispanic people to have a closer relationship with their church. He initiated their joining church-related organizations, among which were the Spanish Holy Name Society, Daughters of Mary, and Society of the Sacred Heart.

Even through the difficult times, he served his term as pastor of St. Bridget's, Fr. Kelly managed to engage himself with other commitments. He was appointed dean of Deanery 11 in downtown Jersey City for two terms. He also was a member of the Archdiocesan Parish Aid Committee since its inception.

Notably, unlike all his predecessors, beginning with Fr. Corrigan right to Fr. O'Neill, Fr. Kelly had to forcefully renew his spirit every now and then just to keep the parish intact - to save its very existence. Beginning in the late 60*s, St. Bridget's Parish had started to feel the impact of the deterioration which the whole city was experiencing, but which was somewhat heightened in the downtown area.

In the Parish area specifically, a large part of the population of European descent had already left, leaving behind them houses and tenement houses which were by then already ode and dilapidated. The few who were left behind, and the newly arriving African-Americans and Hispanics, however, still saw some of these houses and tenement houses as manageable living quarters. And among these people, Fr. Kelly found his parishioners, at least during the early 70's. Because of the smaller total number of residents, Fr. Kelly had to adjust his services to these people in accordance with the need of the situation. For instance, he had to reduce the number of Sunday masses to two, one in English and the other in. Spanish.

Despite the realities of the situation, with the lack of finances as outstanding, Fr. Kelly had to meet the needs of the parish with faith and hope. In 1973, for example, the parish school needed some improvements. And on this, Fr. Kelly related his experiences as follows:

About 1973, we did the school over. And that was the most difficult three months in the entirety of my whole life. That was the most difficult time, because we attempted to do that work ... I had an architect who promised to work for me. And then an engineer and contractors helped. We did it with volunteer help. And we had men working at night And we did the job. And I brought in small contractors to do the jobs we could not do ourselves. And we were greatly helped by these contractors in particular by Jack Johnson, an artisan and the chargeman. We had tapped the Sipersteins. And the Sipersteins were a great help to us in giving materials. And so it was a combination of many people helping us, the volunteers in the parish working night and day and all that. We started it in June and we were two or three weeks laid off and sometime before the end of September, we were able to open the school.

And throughout the passing of the trying times in the parish, Fr. Kelly had to rely more and more on volunteers. During a good portion of his work as pastor for instance, he did not have the benefit of assistant pastors. Thus, when the opportunity for assistance arose, he gladly accepted it. And this carne through in 1976 in the person of Mr. Gustavo Rodriguez who became deacon at St. Bridget's. Mr. Rodriguez himself related his initiation to the diaconate thus:

St. Bridget's community was a nice place to live in then. When I carne to the parish in ‘50 or '51, the first thing 1 did was to register in church and to register my children in school. All of them graduated from the Grammar School here. I also became active in the Holy Name Society. In 1973, there was the deacon's program. As a man who wants to work for the church and the community, I easily signed for the deacon's program. It ran for three years. It involved classroom study for four hours twice a week, Monday and Thursday. We studied the Bible especially the Gospels, Moral Theology, and a course on orientation to people's problems. In 1976, I was ordained a deacon.

When Mr. Rodriguez became deacon, Fr. Kelly immediately recommended that he be assigned to St. Bridget's. In relation to St. Bridget's, Fr. Kelly observed, "This is the only place where a deacon is assigned as a volunteer."

Chaos and Destruction in the Parish Area

Beginning in the late 60's through the 70's on to the early 80’s, the conditions in the area around St. Bridget's Parish made no improvement. Instead, they went from bad to worst. The few people who still bravely remained in the area decreased each day as deterioration gave way to chaos and destruction.

Two Sisters of Charity from the parish school and convent explained the events in better terms. Sr. Maryanne Van Note, the school guidance counselor stated, "Life here deteriorated because the housing deteriorated. It's a psychological malaise that takes place in people. It led people not to do their best." In addition, Sr. Maryanne Rattigan, an eight grade teacher, had this observation, "Once deterioration begins, you don't have a sense of community. You don 't have that caring about your houses. And once fear starts, it spreads rapidly. It's contagious.”

Thus, the people of the parish, now predominately Hispanics mixed with some blacks and a few whites, living in a generally deteriorating environment, had little opportunity to nave a sense of community and therefore had no sense of belongingness. The community area then, with few caring for each other, became a target point of vandalism, mischief, carelessness, and threats to human life.

Fires, riots, shoot-outs, and later the promise and the "threat" of urban renewal, pervaded St. Bridget's neighborhood for more than a decade. The old and dilapidated tenement buildings were the main focus of these elements which depleted the spirits of those living in the area. Media reports for instance, indicate that from the early 70's to the early 80’s, there were from 22 to 27 fires in the parish area alone. Ironically, many of these fires happened in the years 1979 and 1980 when urban renewal was at its height.

Before urban renewal, the big fires within the parish limits noticeably clustered in the years 1975 and 1976. In April of 1975, two buildings across from the church at 339 and 341 Montgomery Street, were gutted by fire. This fire left 56 people homeless. Later in the same year, three separate fires within the parish boundaries, took place, all on one day in November. One was at 122 Bright Street, another at 330 Monmouth Street, and the last at 175 Mercer Street. More than 20 families were left homeless by these fires.

The next year in August 1976, another big fire occurred. This one was quite near the convent, the rectory, and the church. Of unknown origin, the fire started at 356 Montgomery Street and spread to the adjacent buildings at 354 and 358. This fire left a hundred people homeless.

In the two years following 1976, it seemed that St. Bridget's community was given a respite from the fires. At least for the years 1977 and 1978, there were no reported big fires in the area related to the tenement buildings.

In 1978, however, the city government started introducing the concepts of relocation and urban renewal, embodied in what they called the Gateway Project. The idea was to relocate the people with an allotment of relocation money, while the city built new apartment buildings in place of the ode and dilapidated tenements and vacant lots left by the fires. Even with the assurances that they would be given right-to-return certificates, the Gateway Project was just too hard a concept to comprehend specifically for as already deprived a group of people as the residents in the vicinity of St. Bridget's. These residents were just too skeptical over the whole concept of urban renewal. After one meeting between the project initiators and some 200 residents, Kenny described the residents' reaction as follows:

...many residents expressed disbelief that the new units are being built for them. The skeptics are most low-income blacks and Hispanics. "It's rich white people that are going to get those houses," some shouted. The thing they're gonna do here is clear us out of Jersey City," a man shouted into the microphone, and the residents rose to their feet and shouted their agreement

The Gateway project was seen as necessary however, and the government went on with it with the philosophy, "The Gateway Project must be urban renewal, not cynical tenant removal.”

With the residents' feelings detached further from their community, another series of rioting and big fires broke out in the parish area. This time, arson was almost always the pinpointed cause of the fires.

In the year 1979 alone, there were five of these huge fires within St. Bridget's boundaries. The first one took place in January at 358 York Street. Seven persons perished in this fire. The next one was another deadly fire which happened in March at 192 Mercer Street. This took away another six lives. The third big fire in this year happened in June which brought down 333 Montgomery Street. Three days later during the first week of July, fire again struck in the same row at 329 in Montgomery Street. This one left a fireman injured. In October, two firemen were hurt as they were trying to put out the blaze at 168 Mercer Street This fire spread quickly to the adjacent abandoned building at 170 of the same street

In 1980, as if intended to be the end of a long series, four fires broke out in middle February. The target of all four fires was vacant tenement buildings in the redevelopment area of the Gateway Project, 185 Mercer St, 356 Montgomery St, 347 Montgomery, and 354 York St. All four fires happened in just one afternoon and were separated by just 15 minutes to an hour's interval. In these fires, a police officer had a leg injured as a fire fighting apparatus accidentally strucked his motorcycle during the 347 Montgomery fire.

There have been, as yet, no conclusive findings on why arson becomes such a prevalent crime at certain times. In serial fires such as those in Jersey City's Gateway Project area, Goodwin cited some explanations from experts. And he wrote:

Why arson has grown to such proportions is not clear, though experts say there apparently are several contributing factors. One is the continued deterioration of inner city neighborhoods and the frustration that seems to accompany life there. Crimes of all types are increasing in such areas, including intentional fires. Many arson fires are started by vandals in vacant buildings. Another reason is the financial rewards to owners whose buildings are worth more in fire insurance than they are through sale. Further, officials say, fire has become a weapon to be used in settling personal disputes.

The Church and Urban Renewal

Concretely, the Gateway Project, or mere officially known as the Montgomery Gateway Redevelopment Project, started in 1978. Its evolution was described by Minner as follows:

In 1978, Jersey City received a federal Urban Development Action Grant for $7 million to begin renewing the area. The city's redevelopment agency started condemnation proceedings to buy most of the properties in the 100 acre project. The properties were turned over to two New York development companies, Sana Proposals, Ltd. and Urban Home Ownership Corporation (UHOC) which obtained 40-year mortgages totaling more than $25 million from the New Jersey Housing Finance Authority (HFA). The city received an additional $3 million through a federal Community Development Block Grant. UHOC plans to build 195 apartments, including 72 one-bedroom, 87 two-bedroom, and 36 three-bedroom units along with five three-bedroom townhouses. Sana is building 201 units, while the Jersey City Housing Authority has issued bonds to pay for an additional 146. A few blocks to the west, three private developers, Gendom Construction, Manila Realty and Morris Realty, are building 200 one-family, and two-family homes.

The scope of the government redevelopment area is illustrated by Map C.

As beautiful as the described plans had been, the Montgomery Gateway Redevelopment Project as an urban renewal project, was implemented through the sacrifices of so many -particularly the 360 families which comprised the entire neighborhood. The developers' plan opted for the displacement of all 360 families, even amidst protests from the Montgomery Gateway Residents Committee. This group was formed in early 1979 by the residents primarily to promote a phased approach to redevelopment. With this approach, developers would have begun work first on vacant lots and abandoned buildings. With new units on these lots, residents could nave availed themselves of them and therefore would have been able to stay in the neighborhood. The developers, however, said 'no' to this approach as they saw that phased development would triple the time needed for construction and would double the construction cost per apartment

With phased development out of the picture, the residents had to face me pain of displacement Very luckily, they were not left alone to suffer the pain. St. Bridget's Church was there. Fr. Kelly and the Sisters were there to sacrifice and empathize with them, to lend them a helping hand, and to make sure that they would come back and form a community again.

Although they were not exempted from the doubts of being able to survive in this area fraught with a lot of uncertainties, Fr. Kelly and the Sisters were helped to face each new day as they renewed their faith in the mercy of God.

At the inception of the Gateway Project for instance, Deacon Rodriguez disclosed that Fr. Kelly expressed fear that no one would go to church anymore. Asked later on why he did not simply close the church, Fr. Kelly had this to say:

No matter what we did, we did the best we could. the Lord would take care of it. Perhaps the Lord said, "Do not close down." And so we did not close down. Instead we always sought the help we needed There is an old expression in that 'Dios provide.' ('God will provide.') And for once in my life, I had to use it.

With the pastor always around for support, the Sisters chose to remain, "even though they could have chosen otherwise," according to Fr. Kelly. With the able leadership of Sr. Barbara Nesbihal, the principal, the school remained open from the time the riots and fires began through the time of redevelopment Remarkably, the school enrollment remained fairly stable at 300 students. This, the Sisters attributed to families, who despite their removal from the community, still sent their children to school at St. Bridget's. And this was one factor which kept the neighborhood bond alive even with such tremendous inconvenience to parents.

But running the school in those days seemed but a side responsibility for the Sisters. From the time the neighborhood began deteriorating to the time of the Gateway project, the Sisters attuned themselves to the bigger responsibilities of attending to the whole community. Sr. Barbara, for instance, seemed to have extended her position as principal of the school to being principal of the St. Bridget's community. She is one person who always wanted to know what help could be extended in any kind of situation. During one riot which occurred in the late 70's for instance, her fellow nuns just could not forget what she did. Said Sr. Jeanette Swan, a resident sister then, "Everybody was watching. And the police accepted that the Sisters were there. And Sr. Barbara went to the police car and asked what they (the sisters) could do. And the police told her to go back to the convent. But she knew what to do and told the sisters to tell the women to bring the children back into their houses. -And they did. The women and children went back to their houses! With the women and the children already inside, everybody apparently followed suit until the police car was the only one left on the street."

But even during the height of the shootings, Sr. Barbara was on the front steps of the convent. As Sr. Maryanne Rattigan recalled about reminding her, "Barbara, remember these are real gunshots." To add to this, Sr. John Mary, another resident sister then, recalled. "Barbara was by the window and she watched the whole thing."

Sr. Barbara really did watch the whole riot scene, but she had a definite purpose as she herself related: "I remember after the riot, going to the Mayor. I had to discuss with him that after the riot the people had no communication with any authority. They didn't understand what they were being instructed and what could be done. They needed to have an Hispanic paper distributed so that they would know, and could be kept posted. And he promised me everything. He promised me a newspaper, he promised me police protection, a visit to the people. And I remember coming out of there feeling like a millionaire."

During the implementation of the Gateway Project, the Sisters went whole-heartedly to community outreach from the beginning to the end. At the start of the project for instance, some landlords turned off water and Utilities and stopped routine maintenance of their buildings. The sisters brought water to the families and cared for those with no heat.

By and large, however, all the families in the area had to go. The first group left their tenements in the spring of 1979. More had gone by October and by December of that year, only 50 families remained in the neighborhood.

Many of the families moved to nearby Hispanic neighborhoods either within Jersey City itself or within Hudson County. Other families returned to their birthplaces in Puerto Rico and Guatemala. The very few residents who remained, made it a point to try and find their former neighbors.

Fully supportive of the wish of the remaining residents to find the large number of displacees, the Sisters worked hand in hand with Stephen St. Hilaire of Hudson County Legal Services representing the Montgomery Gateway Residents Committee. To give more credence to the involvement of the church in this urban renewal program, Bishop Jerome A. Pechillo, then vicar for Hudson County, endorsed the efforts of the Committee. In a letter, he wrote: "Morally speaking, each of the displacees has the right to return to the Montgomery Gateway UDAG project in low cost housing presently being constructed or rehabilitated. The Committee's objectives are clear, logical, and morally sound.

Apparently, locating the former residents was not an easy task. Lucy Ortiz, chairperson of the residents' committee, said, "We were stuck al one point, so we tacked a list of the families we needed to reach on a bulletin board at St. Bridget's Church. Before we knew it, they were writing the new addresses next to the names of the people we could not find.

Once application for the new apartments was underway, the Sisters opened the doors of the convent. The basement of the convent was used as a base of operations to accept applications from displacees. Said Ortiz, "Using St. Bridget's convent as a meeting place made it easier to pick up applications for apartments. The convent is a central point in this area. Ninety five percent of the displacees know where the convent is.”

Asked about the church involvement in the Gateway Project, Sr. Barbara said, "It has kept the displacee issue from becoming a 'political football.'" On the more serious and deeper level, she described their involvement as follows: "It's nothing new. It's basically the gospel message. We feel a responsibility to stand on the side of the poor. Our experiences with the developers have helped us to realize the frustration and powerlessness the people would feel in the absence of legal help. "

The Parish After Redevelopment

Through the combined efforts of St. Bridget's and the citizenry of the residents' committee, in only a year after the redevelopment project, 124 families had been approved to return to their ode neighborhood. On this, an authority on urban renewal, gave this comment. "I can't say that this has never happened before. I will say this is highly unusual It happens very rarely in urban renewal projects that any of the original residents come back."

Redevelopment of Montgomery St. included both governmental and private projects. The "Montgomery Gateway West", handled by the three private Realtors, was completed ahead of that of the government's. Those who bought houses on this project were mostly Asian immigrants, namely: Filipinos, Chinese and Pakistanis. Many of these immigrants were attracted to the area because of its proximity to the Jersey City Medical Center where they were employed. The first residents of this area came in January 1981.

Exactly a year later, the government redevelopment project was completed and began welcoming home the former residents turned displacees. The residents were happy. The developers were happy. But happier, and perhaps most relieved, were Fr. Kelly, the pastor, and the Sisters. "He 's got his body, soul and heart into it," noted one resident-returnee of Fr. Kelly's work with them. "Fr. Kelly went right in and grabbed a hand. His parish is coming back and it's really going to be beautiful around here. '

By 1984, 70 percent of the displacees had begun living in their new units. Of these, 99 percent were minorities, with 92 percent of them Hispanics and 7 percent black.55

Thus, St. Bridget's Parish by the middle 1980's was well into its normal ministry. Redevelopment notwithstanding, the parish remained poor, for despite their new homes, the Hispanics who could be appropriately considered the permanent Catholic parishioners, at least relative to the middle 80's, were still economically limited And the total congregation remained quite small as population density of the area had dramatically decreased.

About this time also, the Asians from the Montgomery Gateway West, primarily Filipinos, were also becoming active in the parish. Up until this time, they had never worked together as a cohesive group of St. Bridget's parishioners. For example, as early as 1981, according to one Filipino resident, the Filipinos formed a choir to sing for the English Sunday mass. This choir sang for two years, but with no permanent organist nor even a guitarist, the group soon dismantled.

Coming from the only Catholic country in Asia, the Filipinos in general have no sense of belongingness to one particular parish. Filipino social scientists and religious leaders attribute this to the fact that the Philippines is a country of islands wherein geographical boundaries are difficult to delineate, especially in the provinces. In big cities like Manila, where geographical separation is not an issue, people are born into a practice of the Catholic religion. But a practice which can take place at any church of one's own choice. Filipinos coming to the United States thus, have needed to educate themselves to an unfamiliar concept of parish belongingness. Notably, many of them express surprise to find out that they should formally register to belong to a parish.

Thankfully, however, some of these Filipinos gradually began to join their fellow Hispanic and white parishioners in doing volunteer work for their new parish of St. Bridget's. Outstanding among them is Marcelo David. If the Hispanics had Deacon Rodriguez as representative assistant to St. Bridget's, the Filipinos have the young David as representative assistant. Mr. David, like Deacon Rodriguez, found his interest in working for his church and his community. In a way, through his example, other fellow Filipino parishioners followed suit to the extent of overcoming their initial shyness, a trait inherent in Filipinos. On this, Mr. David himself admitted at one time, "In becoming an active worker for the church, I overcome my shyness. If before this I was hesitant, especially in speaking to the public, now you can bring me anywhere and I will speak with the people."

Eventually, sharing one religion, the Hispanics, the Filipinos, and the white families who remained throughout, became a composite population of St. Bridget's Parish. These three groups, specifically during the latter 80's, looked to their church from entirely different perspectives. The Hispanics looked forward to its continued spiritual and moral support. The Filipinos had yet to find their identity in it by first unraveling the mystery beyond what seemed to be the abandonment and neglect of such a very huge and beautiful church. And the white families, some of whom no longer lived in the neighborhood, saw in it the pictures of their growing years and still attended its services partly for sentimental reasons.

For all of what happened, Fr. Kelly and the Sisters knew that all their earlier sacrifices and struggles were not in vain. Only few people know all that Fr. Kelly and the Sisters had to personally sacrifice to find support to the church and the parish as a whole. Fr. Kelly's own income was not sacrosanct as he instigated relatives and friends to give support to church finances. The Sisters, too, through their congregation, had given their share of money contributions. The congregation relieved them of their salary contributions to the mother-house. Instead, the money was used for food funds for the needy families of St. Bridget's. With all this, St. Bridget's survived. And the "survival" according to Fr. Kelly "is our greatest achievement."

On October 25, 1987, St. Bridget's Parish celebrated the l00th anniversary of the "new" church wherein the first mass had been celebrated on Christmas day. Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick, joined the now Msgr. Kelly in celebrating the anniversary mass. On this occasion, Msgr. Kelly noted, "Jersey City has grown tremendously in the past 100 years, and so has St. Bridget's. Each has prospered from the increased immigration, each has felt hard times and both shall continue into the future ... not the 1990's, but the next century." And on the church alone, Msgr. Kelly said, "Today St. Bridget's can be seen from the New Jersey Turnpike to the World Trade Center in New York City. Parishioners are proud and happy." In relation to this, he added, "Our parish has been called the smile on Montgomery Street."

Three decades of uncertainty had passed. These decades spelled general deterioration of a once beautiful neighborhood, fires and riots adding to its decay, and the uprooting of the entire neighborhood. And St. Bridget's stood through all these years with open arms. And because of this openness, St. Bridget's managed to survive and look forward to the future with renewed energy.

THE PERIOD OF RESTABILIZATION

Toward the 90's, the area of downtown Jersey City moved well on its way to normalcy and renewed stability. Near the waterways, for example, plans were being implemented for building high rise residential and commercial establishments and a huge shopping mall, converting this portion of the city into a financial district.

Going further west in the vicinity of the New Jersey Turnpike where St. Bridget's Parish is located, one could see that the neighborhood is now completely restored. The newly formed neighborhood might not be as great and grandiose as it had been in 1887 when the new St. Bridget's Church was built in Montgomery Street, but there is the return of the sense of community and in addition, with every need within only a walking distance, Aside from St. Bridget's Church, rectory, convent, and the parochial school, there is the Jersey City Ferris High School and Public School #9 located immediately to the west of the church properties. Toward the east, crossing the street from the church and passing the rows of new apartment houses on Brunswick Street, the newly built Ode Colony Place houses a variety of small business establishments which include a Laundromat, several eating places, a beauty shop, a card store, a small shoe store, and a small store of ladies' dresses and accessories. In addition, there is a small bank, a fairly large Pathmark supermarket, and a MacDonald's.

Seeing this neighborhood intact again, new residents in the area could not imagine that it had once been likened to a "ghost town " particularly during the time of displacement ".

But while the new neighborhood was becoming more of an attraction to many, Msgr. Kelly considered his accomplishments and the future needs of his beloved parish. Some parishioners speculated that perhaps he simply was not able to erase from his mind what the older residents had endured. He could no longer evoke the energy to start again to introduce programs which were necessary to attract more people to the church. While the Spanish Sunday mass was quite well attended, the English masses were attended by only ten to twenty people. Set in such a huge church, a new Filipino parishioner characterized the English Sunday mass as "serene but sad."

But Msgr. Kelly was very well aware of the need for innovative ideas. However, these ideas would and could not come from him and he tendered his resignation as St. Bridget's pastor in May 1990. In describing his resignation, Msgr. Kelly said, "I was there a long time. I think the parish needs new blood, new direction ... and I am seeking for a new horizon. I am getting tired. However, I look at the citizens and I felt that this is good for the parish."

A New Beginning for the Parish

Following post Vatican n directives, Bishop Jerome Pechillo asked Msgr. Kelly to recommend members of the parish who could meet with him on the subject of selecting a new pastor. Msgr. Kelly made sure that his list was representative of the different groups which made up the parish. And among those selected were the resident Sisters and two lay teachers for the school, Deacon Gustavo Rodriguez for the Hispanic group, and Mr. Marcelo David for the Filipino group. And these members of the of the parish asked for two particular characteristics for their future pastor. One of these was that the new pastor, just like Msgr. Kelly, should be knowledgeable about the Spanish language and culture, and the other was that the new pastor should have a great concern for children.

For these desired traits, Bishop Pechillo did not have any difficulty as he accepted the application of one of his favorite sons in the priesthood in the person of the Rev. Gregory J. Studerus.

Fr. Studerus was born on March 31, 1948 in Orange, New Jersey. For his grammar school and high school, he attended the Our Lady of the Valley Parish School. He went on to Montclair State College where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Arts Education.

Before answering his calling for the priesthood, Fr. Studerus took his time in searching for what he really wanted to be. After college graduation, he became a teacher in the West Orange Public School System. He taught arts from Kindergarten to eighth grade. He also trained and served with the U.S. Army in the National Guard. During his art teaching career he also was co-owner of an art gallery in Orange, N.J.

Still not fully content with his endeavors in the past years, he started, as he put it, "to search for the meaning of life. " He decided he would find it in terms of the philosophy, "Love more and give more to others."

With this philosophy, he entered the Immaculate Conception Seminary in New Jersey in 1976. For three years, he studied Theology intensively. In 1979, he became deacon at the St. John's the Apostle Parish in Linden, New Jersey. And in May 1980, he was ordained priest by Archbishop Peter L. Gerrity at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark.

Fr. Studerus spent the first ten years of his life as a priest at St. Aloysius Parish in Jersey City. While there, he did, as he himself expressed it, "a whole variety of everything," including teaching art in the parish high school and initiating a Youth Ministry.

In 1983, due to the growing Hispanic community at St. Aloysius, he went to México for a month to take an intensive course in Spanish. As it later proved, this one month course was not nearly enough to serve the needs of the Hispanic community. Thus, in 1985, the Archdiocese, at the recommendation of Bishop Pechillo, sent Fr. Studerus again to another South American country, the Dominican Republic. This time, he was away for five months. He spent two months in the Dominican Republic intensively studying both the language and the culture. After this, he was assigned to work for a parish in Puerto Rico for three months for immersion in a truly Hispanic community.

As there was a formal agreement that he would go back to the same parish after this five months work study program, Fr. Studerus stayed with St. Aloysius for five more years. With no language barrier

and with a deeper understanding of the Hispanic culture, he became an effective minister for the Hispanic group at St. Aloysius specifically working with and for the teenagers.

After 10 years at St. Aloysius as assistant pastor, the youthful Fr. Studerus was set for another change. Upon learning of the opening for the position of pastor as St. Bridget's, he readily applied for it. And meeting the two qualifications set by the people of St. Bridget's Parish, he was designated as pastor in June 1990. With great celebration, he was formally installed as pastor in September of the same year. It was a happy occasion for him and for the people, as the three months between June and September had proved to be months of becoming familiar with his people.

As an energetic and active priest, Fr. Studerus is proving to be an effective agent of change in the parish. While he maintained some silence before his formal installation, he no longer contained himself after this. He started doing things as he saw fit for the betterment of the parish. One of his first moves was to reveal to the people the true financial state of their parish as he delivered this message very clearly, "Our parish is very poor. We need your help." And for the first time in so many years, St. Bridget's parishioners became aware of the level of poverty of their parish. As one Filipino parishioner observed, "Fr. Kelly never complained about money. Fr. Studerus does. But one good thing about the approach of Fr. Studerus is that he is able to move people into action."

As of this writing, one year after his being designated as pastor of St. Bridget's, Fr. Studerus has a long list of current parish activities. It is simply too early to comment on any of them. But there is one thing sure even at this very early stage in time, and that is, God has sent Fr. Studerus to St. Bridget's to make that smile on Montgomery Street broader.

June 1991

Editors Note:

As the 125th anniversary of the founding of St. Bridget's approached, renewed life and interest in the parish gained momentum. In June of 1991 parishioners once again carne together to show their handiwork by renovation of the sanctuary and baptistery areas of the church building. The tabernacle in the main old altar was restored while a "new" altar of sacrifice was created and placed in the midst of the congregation. Members of the parish climbed into the rafters above the ceiling to clean and relamp the old, little used chandeliers. A special Mass of thanksgiving for the project was celebrated on Thanksgiving Day.

Other new projects were also initiated. The school received a face lift from much donated paint, and the auditorium and kitchen were renovated to accommodate after school programs. The alumni of the parish got very much into the act as 400 people carne together for a fund raising event on November 14, 1993, the first day of the 125th year. It was a huge success, that also served to initiate founding of an alumni and former parishioner association.

Parish staff and finance council recognized that the parish's single resource, beyond its dedicated congregation, was its buildings. Planning for more effective use of them began with superficial renovations of the upper floors of the rectory - to eventually serve as a convent for the Sisters of Charity, who continue to serve the parish with dedication. And construction of an apartment for the pastor, in the ground floor of the building, got under way. A creative group of business and professional people carne together to make plans for utilization of the convent building as a pre-school to serve the needs of the commuting business community and other activities that would support the work of the church in downtown Jersey City.

During these last years, the parish became known in the community for a series of fund raising events: an annual Winter Festival of Christian Music and a Spring Street Festival. Art Exhibits also became part of the parish life.

As this book finally goes to press the parish looks forward to the celebration of its 125 year history as a clearly Christian presence in downtown Jersey City. On April 30, 1995 the parish will again welcome Archbishop Theodore McCarrick to celebrate the love which God has poured out upon his people for so many years through the presence of His Son in the Eucharist. May God continue to use St. Bridget's as the vehicle of his grace to the people of Jersey City for years to come.

March 1995