Being already in possession of a good and commodious church Father Hens devoted a great deal of time and energy to the establishment of a parochial school, that almost indispensable adjunct to every church. In October, 1871, he opened the parochial school in Main street with 35 children, the teacher being the organist of the church. The number of children continued to increase during the winter and in the following spring there was an attendance of over 80. An additional teacher was employed but during the summer of 1872 the Sisters of St. Dominic were engaged to take charge of the school. Father Hens at once provided a residence for the Sisters, purchasing the house and lot adjoining the church for $4,600. The parish grew rapidly under the able care of Father Hens. The modest church was improved and embellished both outside and inside; the school was enlarged several times and another story added to it. In 1874 the residence of the Sisters was rebuilt and in 1877 a chapel, 65×25 feet in size, was added to it. In 1879 the boys' department of the school was placed under the care of some Brothers of Mary who came to Paterson from Nazareth, near Dayton, Ohio. In the same year the present rectory, in the rear of the church, and a residence for the Brothers was erected. About this time the congregation sustained a serious loss in its membership, twenty families leaving it to attend St. Mary's Church on Totowa for greater convenience and the thirty-five families residing in the Stony Road district allying themselves to St. Bonaventure's Church. Despite this defection the congregation of St. Boniface continued to grow, and soon the church was not able to hold all that wished to worship within its walls. On March 19th, 1882, the feast of St. Joseph, the patron of the Catholic Church, Father Hens bought a plot of ground on River street, near the crossing of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad. Here the corner-stone of a new church was laid on September 4th, 1882, and on May 14th in the following year the new church was dedicated by Rt. Rev. Bishop Wigger. The church was placed under the protection of Our Lady of Lourdes. The erection of this church cut off from St. Boniface's congregation over one hundred German and Holland families, but their places were soon filled, so that at the present day, six months after the dedication of the new church, St. Boniface's congregation is as large as it ever was. Three masses are said every Sunday and the church is crowded every time. The number of families belonging to the church is about 400, and its parochial schools have an attendance of 350. In addition to his many other duties Father Hens has since 1879 had charge of St. Luke's in Hohokus. The ground for this church was given in 1864 by John Jacob Zabriskie, and the erection of the church was the work of Father McNulty. A cemetery adjoins the church.