THE FIRST
CHURCH
In the 1820s, Jersey City was still largely
unsettled, with less than 2000 inhabitants, and very few Catholics.
Until around 1830 public places of Catholic worship were against the
law in New Jersey; in this period circuit-riding priests sometimes
celebrated Mass in local private homes, and the Catholics in our
area also assisted at Mass in New York, in St. Peter's in Barclay
Street or the old St. Patrick's in Mott Street. Mass was also
celebrated here in private houses by a priest from St. Peter's
Church in Manhattan, who rowed across the Hudson. The first such
Mass, it seems, was on the first Sunday of Advent, 1829, at 52
Sussex Street, the home of the McQuaid family. Their son Bernard was
later to become the first bishop of Rochester, N.Y. , and the
present McQuaid Jesuit High School in Rochester is named for him.
In 1831 - eleven years after Paulus Hook
changed its legal ñame to "Jersey City" (Jan. 28, 1820), and nine
years before an act of the State Legislature created the new Hudson
County (Feb. 22, 1840) -the associates of the Jersey Land Company
deeded to the Catholics of this área four lots ton Grand Street for
the erection of a church. Thus St. Peter's parish through its
trustees became the first parish of Jersey City and of today's
Hudson County. Un til 1854_ the parish was part-of the New York
Diocese, and Bishop 'John DuBois, the third bishop of New York,
named Fr. William Byrnes the first pastor of St. Peter's.
The land grant of 1831 found the infant Church
of this area in poor condition, with less than one hundred Catholics
as the nucleus of the parish. With remarkable hope and enthusiasm
they began almost immediately to build what they hoped would be the
first completed Catholic edifice of this city. On a plot adjoining
the site of the present Freshman Building of St. Peter's Prep, our
first parishioners began to build. Inadequate piling foundations,
sunk into the marshy ground, caused the building to collapse before
it was completed. Mass continued to be celebrated as before, in
private homes, by Fr. Byrnes; the parishioners provided lodging in
their bornes for him and for many of his successors. In 1836 Fr.
Byrnes was forced by ill-health to give up his pastorate and he died
the next year and was buried in Plattsburg, N.Y.; he was succeeded
by the Rev. Hugh Mohán. Under the leadership of Fr. Mohán, the work
of the building went on so well that services were held in that
first completed St.
Peter ‘s Church in 1837.
Archbishop Hughes of New York dedicated the church building In 1839,
assisted by Bishop Fenwick of Boston and a hundred parishioners.
This first church, on the Northeast corner of Warren and Grand
Streets, was to serve the community for some thirty years.
From
1836 to
1844 there
were, in
addition to
Fr. Mohan,
four other
priests at
St.
Peter's: Fr.
Bernard O'Reilly,
later bishop of
Hartford, Fr. Walter Quartier, Fr. Patrick Kenny and Fr. John
Rogers. In 1844 the Irish-born Fr. John Kelly, arriving from
missionary work in Liberia, Africa, was appointed pastor and under
his leadership the parish "grew rapidly. The zeal of this wonderful
priest was not limited to the immediate neighborhood of St. Peter's.
We find him on missionary journeys to Hoboken, Hudson City, Bergen
Point, and other nearby settlements where he built churches and laid
the foundations of future parishes.
GRAMMAR SCHOOL
AND SISTERS
OF CHARITY
In 1836 John Carr opened the first parish day
school; it was the first Catholic school in New Jersey, and was
staffed by devoted laymen of the área and located in temporary
quarters in the basement of a home at Newark and Warren Streets. In
1844, when Timothy McCarthy was School Master, the school moved to
the church basement. It continued there until the first part of the
present parish school was erected facing York Street in 1861, and
completed in 1898 by the section now facing Van Vorst Street. In
1853 the Sisters of Charity of Mount St. Vincent, New York, sent
four Sisters to work in Jersey City, and their works included the
staffing of the St. Peter's grade school, with Sister Editha as
their Superior. In 1863 the first New Jersey Sisters of Charity í of
Convent Station carne, and in 1865 they replaced the New York
Sisters completely. Sister Ann Elizabeth Lynagh was the first of the
Convent Station Sisters to_act as the school's Principal. The
Sisters of Charity have continued their devoted service to the
school now for more than 130 years. For a period from 1861 into the
1870s the Christian Brothers also served the school.
On April 29, 1854, after the diocese of Newark
had been created, Archbishop Hughes turned over to Bishop James
Roosevelt Bayley, the first bishop of the new diocese, the deed for
lots on which St. Peter's Church was built. (Bishop Bayley was
related to Mother Elizabeth Bayley Seton and to the two future
Roosevelt presidents).
THE SECOND
CHURCH
The parish was growing swiftly and the zealous
Fr. Kelly soon saw that the first church would be too small for the
increasing number of parishioners. In 1863 Fr. Kelly bought lots on
Grand Street on the site of the present church and parish offices.
Little by little he added to the property and built it up to its
present holdings. Work on the new church was begun in 1865 and the
cornerstone was laid in September of that year by Bishop Bayley. The
building was used for the first time on December 16th, 1865; the old
church became a public hall, known as the Grand Street Hall, until
the trustees of St. Peter's sold the old edifice to the Sisters of
Charity and they converted the building into a select school for
girls. Fr. Kelly did not live to see his work on the new church
completed. He died on
April 28, 1866, and was buried in St. Peter's Cemetery. His record
is remarkable, when one reflects that he had come to St. Peter's
from the missions of Africa in extremely poor health. Besides St.
Peter's Church, Fr. Kelly, aided by his brother Eugene Kelly, a New
York banker, helped build Our Lady of Grace in Hoboken and St.
Mary's and St. Joseph's in Jersey City.
Fr. Patrick Corrigan, the first native son of
the parish lo become its pastor, succeeded Fr. Kelly in May 1866. He
was in office less than seven months when fire threatened to destroy
the hardly completed church, but the city firemen brought the blaz^
under control before much damage was done. Work on the repairs was
begun at once, and in the following year, 1867, the church was dedi
cated.
SAINT ALOYSIUS
ACADEMY
Shortly
after the
Sisters of
Charity began work
in the
G r amina r school,
Fr. Kelly
requested Mother
Xavier to
open a
select school for
girls.
In 1865,
under Sister
Ann Elizabeth
Lynagh. the
school that was
to become
The Academy
of St.
Aloysius was
begun with
six little girls,
the first
of a
long line
of students,
in a
modest frame
building at
136 York
Street.
When the
number of
girls increased,
the Sisters
purchased? the
"Old Church"
property and
in 1867 Ihe
Academy was
moved to
Grand Street.
This building
served for more
than twenty
years,
until in
1889 the
cornerstone of
the new St.
Aloysius
was laid
in the
adjoining lot
on Grand
Street. The
Academy remained
here until
1920. when
it was
moved to
its new site
on Bergen
Avenue. "Old
St. Ál's"
served as
a
commercial school
and residence
for the
Sisters of
St. Peter's
until 1925,
when it
was purchased
by St.
Peter's Prep:
it now
serves as
the Prep's
English Building.
JESUIT ARRIVAL
The parish was now well established and as the
number of Catholics in Jersey City and the surrounding areas
increased, the need of higher institutions of learning was felt and
became a matter of concern to ecclesiastical authorities. On
September 8th, 1870, Bishop Bayley designated Fr. Corrigan to act in
his behalf and consult with the Jesuit Fathers with a view to taking
charge of the parish and opening a college. After some months of
discussion, the matter was settled and orí April 12th, 1871 the
Fathers of the Society of Jesus assumed charge of St. Peter's
parish. The Jesuit Fathers of the Mission of New York (their
corporate title at the time) assigned Fr. Victor Beaudevin, born in
France, as the first Jesuit pastor.
ST. PETER'S
COLLEGE AND
PREP
St. Peter's College was granted a charter by
the State of New Jersey in April 1872. but it was not until May 1877
that a building program at the present 144 Grand Street was begun
under Fr. John McGuaid, an Irish-born Jesuit who succeeded Fr.
Beaudevin in 1874. On
May 1st 1878 the Jesuit took up residence in the new building, and
on September 2nd the College received it’s first students, 125 in
number. Fr. McOuaid, in a true sense, built St. Peter's College and
the Preparatory School. During his long term in office, from 3871 to
1889. he was remarkable for his attention to the young college and
the growing Prep, and his pastoral care of parishioners, pastoral
care of the parochial
school children. carrying" on the great tradition of his
predecessors in the diocesan clergy. One cannot but be impressed by
the work of such men, founding the first Catholic church of this
city, the first parochial school, the first Jesuit high school and
college and the first Conference of St . Vincent de Paul, as. a time
when Catholics were poor and comparatively
few.
The College
continued in existence until June of 1918, when war had reduced the
student body and the College closed. In September of 1930 it
reopened, at first in a building al. No. 3 Newark Avenue, and from
September 1936 in its present location on Kennedy Boulevard: Fr.
Robert 1. Gannon was the first College Dean in 1930. The Prep has
continued from its first years in its present location. adjacent to
St. Peter's parish: in addition to the Jesuit residence, built in
the 1870s, and the English Building purchased in 1925} other
buildings were added at intervals: Mulry Hall (at the Northwest
corner of Grand and Warren Streets, on the site of the oíd parish
Clubhouse) was built in 1913t Hogan Hall ( immediately West of Mulry)
in 1941. the Gym (York Street) in 1948, Burke Hall Warren and York
Streets) in 1967.
THE PARISH
July 2nd, 1892 was a great day for the parish.
The debt on the second church, $48,000, had been cleared, and on
that Sunday morning bishop Wigger of Newark came to celebrate a
Solemn High Mass. The sermon was delivered by Fr. James Doman, a
Jesuit from Boston. A special Parish Choir sang under the direction
of Prof. Joseph berry, and the music was supplied by the famed
orchestra of the New York Metropolitan Opera Company.
In the period from 1890 to 1915, St. Peter's
became widely known as the Jesuit church," the only one in New
Jersey. The original parish list of 100 grew to 5,600; parish
interest was very high. At the turn of the century there were 800
children in the grade school. In 1910 Fr. McGrath organized the Holy
Name Society , and under Fr. Mulry the membership increased to
1,300.
It was while Fr. Mulry was pastor that the
Novena of Grace. March 4 to 12, carne into its own, and thereafter
flourished until the novena was introduced widely in other parishes.
During this time also the famous May Walks received great Impetus.
Members of all parish societies would march through the streets of
the parish and then proceed to the church, where Our Lady would be
crowned Queen of Heaven.
A high point in the life of the parish in Fr.
Mulry's lime was the erection and dedication of St. Peter's
Clubhouse in 1913 on the Northwest corner of Warren and Grand
Streets, preceded by several! remarkably successful social affairs
which substantially paid for the clubhouse even before completion.
The clubhouse with its music room, reading room, billiard rooro,
library, bowling alleys and even a gymnasium was enjoyed by the men
and women of the parish for many years.
In 1915 Fr. James McDermott succeeded Fr. Mulry
as pastor. Not long after he took office the church was severely
damaged by the Black Tom explosion in the summer of 1916. The
generosity of the people, however, enabled Fr. McDermott to repair
most of the damage. St. Peter's parish baseball team was active, and
the parish theatrical society "The Theatines" produced musicals and
plays.
.
The 1920s were a time of flourishing parish
life when "things were on an even keel." Toward the end of Fr.
O'Reilly's period as pastor plans were formulated for the reopening
of St. Peter's College, which took place, as indicated above, in
1930.
The severe depression of the thirties created
many difficulties for the parish as it did for the country as a
whole. and it was a continuing source of Financial anxiety for the
next two pastors, Fr. Joseph S. Dinneen and Fr. Dennis J. Comey.
Nevertheless parish activity and the various devotions were almost
miraculously carried on, again with the generous help of the people
and because of the spirit and organizational skills of Brother
Maurice Burke and his workers.
Father Comey's period as pastor was marked by
an intense interest in the youth of the parish. In 1937 he founded
the Shoestring Club for adolescents and young adults, which was
eminently successful as a means of advancing tiie spiritual as well
as the social life of the young parishioners. In the same year,
bingo also began. Brother Burke had them coming; froiu as far as
Philadelphia by bus to play bingo, not just in the cafeteria and gym
but in the classrooms as well.
During the Second World War the Sisters of
Charity established a two-year commercial school in the St. Peter's
Grammar School building to prepare students in office skills.
When Fr. Vincent J. Hart carne to St . Peter's
in 1943 as pastor, the country was at war: the parishioners' faith
and Fr. Hart's charm and devotion helped sustain the parish, Prep
and College through the difficult war years, when many young men
were going off to the battlefield. Later on when the war was won Fr.
Hart was able to give more time to parish activities and he
undertook a major rehabi1itation of the lower church and a thorough
cleaning of the exterior of the church.
THE THIRD
CHURCH
High tides and winds have always been a problem
at St . Peter's,. but a climax came in November of 1950 when Fr.
Walter J. Malone was pastor. Severe damage was done to the wooden
floor of the lower church by a hurricane when water carne flooding
in. Some months later Fr. Malone decided to suspend services in the
lower church and lay a terrazzo floor fortified underneath by
reinforced concrete.
Though the new floor laid under the direction
of Fr. Malone was expertly built to last apparently for generations,
the oíd church built by Fr. Kelly was soon to see its last days,
even before the end of the decade. For the soil beneath the
reinforced floor deteriorated, the friction piles upon which the
church rested gradually sank and the pillars of-the upper and lower
church began to lean out of plumb with consequent damage to the roof
and other parts of the building. Fr. John B. Morris, who was pastor
at the time, was advised to abandon the church.
The church was closed from December 15, 1957:
Masses were offered in the school auditorium as the church was
demolished (summer 1958) and the statue of St. Peter above the altar
of the church was removed to the foyer of the Grade School, where it
still stands. A drive was conducted for funds to build a new church
and again zealous workers of the parish came forth to enlist
contributions and the parishioners and friends of St. Peter's gave
most generously, so that at long last in 1961 our present church was
completed. Anticipating the liturgical directives of the Second
Vatican Council, Fr. Emmet Norton, the pastor, moved its altar away
from the wall toward the people. It is fervently hoped that this
church will continue to stand for at least a century for the good of
the people and the honor and glory of God.
THE PRESENT
(THIRD)
CHURCH
Simplicity
is the
keynote of
our present
church.
The web like
black steel
frame clearly
defines the
support of
the church.
The redwood facing
of the
confessionals
and balcony
rail adds
the warmth of the natural wood to complement the more rugged
appearance of the block walls. The long narrow slots of stained
glass introduce colored light. The rhythmic vertical pattern in
wood, block a mi glass is carried through on the confessional walls,
balcony rail, rear wall and the sanctuary wall. A selection of
simple primary colors, emphasized at the Baptistery, shrines and
altar canopy, together with the use of daring techniques for the
symbolic stained glass Windows and the cut glass stations of the
cross, complete the design.
The stained glass Windows tell the theology of
the Sacraments. The Stations of the Cross and the Reredos behind the
altar are executed in an unusual medium: cut glass of various colors
embedded in concrete. Notice that the First Station is preceded by a
special panel, the Cross of Calvary, and the fourteenth is followed
by the Cross of Glory. The Stations and Reredos, and the statue of
St. Peter with the net in the church vestibule, are the work of the
artist Charles Blase Vukovich of Maywood, New Jersey; he also
designed the stained glass windows.
SECOND HALF
OF 20th
CENTURY
In the 1950s began a large-scale immigration of
Hispanic peoples to our area, and in 1954 Fr. Joseph Faulkner
welcomed them to St. Peter's. The first Spanish Mass was celebrated
in the Prep chapel, with nine in attendance. ' Later, as numbers
grew, the Mass was moved to the lower church. With the help of the
diocese, Fr. Faulkner opened El Centro Católico to meet the needs of
the new immigrants. Some of our most active parish organizations are
now Hispanic, especially the Legion of Mary, whose members are
selfless in their devotion to Our Lady and their service of the
sick, the Congregation of the Sacred Heart, and the Daughters of
Mary. These organizations are moderated today by Fr. Richard Caplice.
In 1967 Fr. John McGinty became the first full
time pastor, and refurbished the school, parish offices and social
life. Filipino parishioners and students arrived in this period and
took their place in the community. The block rosary and an impetus
to parish retreats is testimony to the welcome presence of our
Asian-American parish members.
In 1975 our dedicated sacristan, Mario Violone,
known for his love of the poor, passed into eternal joy and bliss
after a life of service of God and people.
Also in 1975 Deacon Modesto Reyes was the first
deacon ordained from St. Peter's parish, followed by Eligió Reyes
arid Prudencio Pérez in the following year, Luis Medina in 1978 and
Jaime Ortiz in 1981. In 1990 Brother Louis Mauro, ordained Deacon in
the Diocese of Buffalo, joined our parish staff.
In
1977, our
pastor Fr.
Thomas McCall
left for
prison work, and
Fr. Thomas Creen returned to St. Peter's "with smile and tool box in
hand" to become the new pastor. On October 4th, 1981, the parish
celebrated its one-hundred and fiftieth anniversary. Archbishop
Peter Gerety was present, and especially commended the dedicated
labors of the Sisters of Charity over so many years.
In the early 1980s the problem of the needy in
our área led Fr. Daniel Campbell to forra a program to aid the poor
with food and clothing; supported by the generosity of parishioners,
this work is still continued by Fr. Timothy Curtin and a very
generous staff.
In the ten years in which Fr. Damián Halligan
has served as pastor, the parish, like the rest of downtown Jersey
City, has adjusted to ongoing construction and "gentrification" of
our neighborhood, a process not without problems for people of the
parish. Under Sister Anne Moroney the grammar school is known as one
of the best in the area, and continues the excellent education it
has given to generations of children. Sister Miriam Evanoff has
served the school for 28 years; she and Fr. Michael Browne and our
generous lay faculty have had outstanding success in preparing our
students, who have won spelling bees and other academic awards
locally, state-wide and nationally. With its long tradition of love
of the Lord and of each other, our parish is still very much alive
as a center of worship and community and service.
PASTORS OF
ST. PETER'S
PARISH
Rev.
William Byrnes
1831-1836
Rev.
Hugh Mohán
1836-1844
Rev.
John Kelly
1844-1866
Rev.
Patrick Corrigan
1866-1871
Rev.
Víctor Beaudevin,
S.J.
1871-1874
Rev.
John McQuaid,
S.J.
1874-1889
Rev.
Peter Cassidy,
S.J.
1889-1892
Rev.
John Harpes,
S.J.
1892-1901
Rev.
Joseph Zwinge,
S.J.
1901-1902
Rev.
John Fox,
S.J.
1902-1907
Rev.
Edward McGrath,
S.J.
1907-1911
Rev.
Joseph A.
Mulry, S.J.
1911-1915
Rev.
James F.
McDermott,
S.J.
1915-1921
Rev.
Thomas Graham,
S.J.
1921-1925
Rev.
Joseph O'Reilly,
S.J.
1925-1931
Rev.
Joseph Dinneen,
S.J.
1931-1937
Rev.
Dennis J.
Comey, S.J.
1937-1943
Rev.
Vincent J.
Hart, S.J.
1943-1949
Rev.
Walter Malone,
S.J.
1949-1955
Rev.
John B.
Morris,
S.J.
1955-1961
Rev.
Emmet J.
Norton,
S.J.
1961-1967
Rev.
John J.
McGinty,
S.J.
1967-1976
Rev.
Thomas D.
McCall,
S.J.
1976-1977
Rev.
Thomas Green,
S.J.
1977-1982
Rev.
Damián Halligan,
S.J.
1982-
PRINCIPALS OF
ST. PETER'S
GRAMMAR SCHOOL
(from 1865)
Sister
Ann Elizabeth
Lynagh,
S.C.
Sister
Irene, S.C.
Sister
Augustine,
S.C.
Sister
Callistra, S.C.
Sister
Demetria,
S.C. (recalled
twice)
Sister
Mary louis,
S.C.
Sister
María Angela,
S.C.
Sister
Mary James,
S.C.
Sister
Joseph Gregory,
S.C.
Sister
Maria Helen,
S.C.
Sister
Agatha Maria,
S.C.
Sister
Mary Gerard
Wilson, S.C.
Sister
Rita Carmel
McEeever, S.C.
Sister
Margaret Daniel
Mahoney, S.C.
Sister
Francis de
Sales Moroney,
S.C.
Sister
Anne Philip
Beggans,
S.C.
Sister
Joan Louise
Ciampi,
S.C.
Sister
Maryanne Tracey,
S.C.
Sister
Anne Moroney,
S.C.
Gratitude for help with this account to: Sister
Elizabeth McLoughlin S.C. (Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, P.
O. Box 476, Convent Station NJ 07961-0476); Mrs. Mary Pardo; Mr.
Joseph Duffy; Sr. Miriam Evanoff, S.C.; Fr. Edward Snyder, S.J.; Fr.
Charles Dolan, S.J.
home
CHURCHES
