History of the Catholic Church in Paterson, N.J.: with an Account of the Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Establishment of St. John's ChurchShriner, Charles A. (Charles Anthony)
History
History of the Catholic Church in Paterson, N.J.: with an Account of the Celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Establishment of St. John's Church
Shriner, Charles A. (Charles Anthony)
Catholic Church -- New Jersey -- Paterson; Paterson (N.J.) -- Church history; St. John's Church (Paterson, N.J.)
Father Langton was the second priest who celebrated mass in Paterson.
The Gillespies had removed to Belleville and so a room for the holding
of divine service was fitted up in the residence of Barney McNamee on
the corner of Broadway and Mulberry street. Here the Catholics attended
mass for several years. Father Langton was also a missionary priest,
going from New York to Paterson, to Macoupin, Bottle Hill and other
places; then returning to Paterson, which was a more important Catholic
settlement than any in this part of the State. On his return to New York
from Paterson Father Langton stopped at the residence of Mr. Gillespie
at Belleville and after celebrating mass there proceeded to Newark,
where there were very few Catholics, and from thence to New York. This
seems to have been the route taken by the earlier Catholic clergymen,
for even Father Bulger, who was not ordained until 1815, said mass in
the residence of Mr. Gillespie.
Father Richard Bulger was educated at Kilkenny College, Ireland, and was
ordained a priest in 1815 by Bishop Connolly. He was for some time the
assistant pastor of the Cathedral in New York but spent most of his nine
years of priesthood in administering spiritual consolation to the
Catholics in Paterson and vicinity and continuing the work in which
Fathers Larrissy and Langton had preceded him. It was he who in 1820
erected the first building used exclusively for divine service by
Catholics in Paterson and he was the first parish priest in this city.
Previous to this time he followed in the footsteps of his predecessors
in journeying from place to place, preaching the Word of God by the way
and saying mass and administering the rites of the Church whenever
opportunity afforded. In 1821 Mr. Roswell L. Colt in behalf of the
Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures offered to all the various
denominations in Paterson ground on which to erect houses of worship.
This generous offer was accepted by the Catholics and in this way they
came into possession of a piece of property situated on the southwest
corner of Congress (now Market) and Mill streets. The deed was given to
the Catholics "for the purpose of erecting, maintaining and keeping a
building or house for the public worship of God," a clause in the deed
providing for reversion of the property to the donor as soon as the
property was used for any other purpose than that of divine worship.
There were at that time only twelve Catholic families in Paterson, but
the prejudice against the Catholic Church which characterized its
earlier history in this country had subsided, and the Catholics received
aid from persons of other denominations. This, added to their own
generous gifts of money and labor, produced a building 25×30 feet in
size and one story high. The room was furnished with a plain altar and a
number of wooden benches without backs, which served as pews, and the
attendance on Sundays did not exceed 50, unless there was an influx of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account