THE EDIFICE ON GRAND AND MAIN STREETS.--THE ERECTION OF THE PRESENT
CHURCH OF THE CONGREGATION.--THE CORNER STONE LAYING AND THE
DEDICATION.--A DESCRIPTION OF THE CHURCH.
In 1863 Father William McNulty, the present pastor of St. John's
congregation, came to Paterson and took charge of the fortunes and
spiritual welfare of the constantly increasing congregation. The Oliver
street church had become too small and could no longer hold the large
numbers which crowded to it every Sunday for the purpose of attending
divine worship. Father McNulty consequently set to work preparing a new
edifice. It was his intention to provide a church which should be large
enough to afford every Catholic in the city all the conveniences of
attending mass and receiving the sacraments and at the same time he
intended to erect a structure which would be a credit to the liberality
and enterprise of the congregation. He accordingly entered into
negotiations with the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures and
in 1865 he purchased from it sixteen lots on the corner of Grand and
Main streets. The new enterprise seemed to infuse new vigor into the
members of the congregation and the full amount of the purchase money of
the real estate was raised in two months. Preparations were made for the
construction of the new church and on September 10, 1865, the corner
stone was laid.
The following account of the corner stone laying of the church is taken
from the Paterson Daily Press of September 11, 1865:
"An immense concourse of people, numbering probably ten thousand,
gathered at three o'clock at the site of the new Catholic Church of St.
John the Baptist, to witness the ceremony of laying the corner stone of
the edifice, by the Rev. Bishop Bayley, Roman Catholic prelate of this
diocese. Music was furnished by the band attached to the Church of the
Assumption at Williamsburgh, and a large choir of male and female
voices. The procession of clergy, preceded by a cross, and accompanying
the Bishop in full and splendid canonicals reached the southeast corner
of the church about half past two, at which time the pressure was
fearful. The corner stone after being crossed and blessed by the Bishop
was then laid with the ceremonials prescribed in the Pontifical. It is
carved with a cross on the two exposed faces, and has a cavity within,
wherein were placed the following articles:
"Specimens of the United States currency, gold, silver, copper and
paper; also copies of Paterson Press and Guardian of Saturday, copies of
the New York Tablet and Herald, and the following document:
"JESUS HOMINUM REDEMPTOR.
"Lapis hic angularis Templi ad Dei Unius Omnipotentis cultum, sub
Patricinio Sancti Joannes Baptistæ in hoc Patersoniensis urbe ædificandi
ab illustrissimo et Reverendissimo Jacobo Roosevelt Bayley, hujus
Novarcensis dioceseos, Episcopo Pio IX P. M., ecclesiam, per orbem
regenti, Patricio Moran Vicario Generali, Gulielmo McNulty Parocho,
Jacobo D'Arcy sacerdote coadjutore.
"Foederatarum Americæ Septemtrionalis Provinciarum Preside Andrea
Johnson, Novae Cæsareæ Gubernatore Joele Parker, urbis hujus Proctore
Henrico A. Williams, Architecto Patrico C. Keely, ædificationis,
delectis Carolo O'Neill, Roberto Hamil, Gulielmo Watson, Michaeli Morris
et Patricio Curran. Benedictus et positus est III Idus Septembri, Anno
Salutis MDCCCLXV. Hoc operato, concionem, maxime facundam magna civium
adstantium corona, habuit jam laudatus præsul decus gregis, quem diu
sospitem nostro sæculo servet,
"DEUS,
"Cui sit honor, laus et gloria in Sempiternum.
"The Bishop, and attending clergy, then traversed the foundations of the
edifice, the Bishop blessing them and sprinkling them with holy water.
Then returning to the corner-stone the Bishop proceeded to deliver the
following address:--'It is the custom of the Bishop in laying the
corner-stone of a new church to say something upon the occasion, and it
is always a source of great pleasure for me to lay and bless the
corner-stone of a new church. The circumstances, it is true, are not
always the most agreeable, the ceremony being performed in the open air,
and it is sometimes too hot, and sometimes too cold, or it may rain,
although to-day the sun has shone out most opportunely. But these, after
all, are slight inconveniences. As I officiate upon these occasions, it
is impossible for me to separate them from the source of the blessings
to follow to the individual and to society. The thought that is always
uppermost in my mind when I lay the corner-stone of a church is of those
wells in the desert spoken of so beautifully in the old Scriptures;
those fountains in the dry and sandy deserts of the East, made by the
old patriarchs, which still spread beauty and fertility around them, and
still refresh the weary traveller. The wild Arab ranging the desert as
he sees and drinks of those living waters, blesses the names of those
old patriarchs who made them flow. So it is with the Church of Christ.
That Church is, indeed, a fountain of living waters in the desert,
spreading fertility and blessings around it and refreshing and blessing
the weary traveller on his journey through life. It is indeed a great
and a good work we are engaged in. It is a work for the glory and honor
of the Good and Supreme Ruler of all things, and it cannot fail to bring
down blessings on ourselves and all who come after us. The erection of a
church is a noble and substantial act of faith; not expressed in words
but built up in enduring brick and stone, and thus stronger and more
complete than mere words. It shows that you honor God and love your
religion; that you are anxious for the glory of the House of God, and
wish its rites to be fitly celebrated. It shows, too, that you are
anxious that those who come after you shall bow at the same altars, and
be guided by the same precepts that you are guided by. Some would say,
looking at the foundations I have blessed to-day, Why an expense that
seems disproportionate to the means! It is, perhaps, a natural question,
and yet it is one that always sounds badly to the Catholic ear. We
should not speak of cost in connection with the house and glory of
Almighty God. The question I allude to was first asked by Judas,
concerning an act of charity and love done for our Divine Master. Let us
recognize by our generosity, by the size, cost and magnificence of the
temples we erect to Him, that God is ruler not only over the world, but
in our hearts. If you will visit Catholic cities you will find the most
beautiful buildings erected, not to purposes of science and art, but to
the glory of God, and for works of charity done in His name. The
Catholic Church has always been a church builder. She began with the
Catacombs, which you will find in many parts of Europe and particularly
at Rome. To those places the faithful were wont to flee from the light
of day to offer their rites and worship God in their own way. As you
pass along those corridors, cut from the solid rock and lined on either
side with the bodies of the dead, you find in places they expand into
chambers where church rites were held. I recall one near Naples, a
church called after St. Agnes, near the scene of her martyrdom, where
there is a beautiful church, with an altar and a seat for the Bishop. In
some of these churches where the light of day does not shine the walls
are decorated with frescoes, from subjects of the Old Testament. I need
not say that when the Church came up to worship God in the light of day
she continued to erect noble edifices to the glory of God, hence those
noble basilicas, churches and cathedrals we see in the old countries.
Those noble structures have been stigmatized as creations of the Dark
Ages. Some of you may have seen them. Those who have not can form no
idea of their beauty and grandeur, which impress even those of other
faiths who enter them. They are truly noble poems, built in stone under
the light of Heaven. It would be quite as easy for an ordinary person to
compose a stanza of Paradise Lost, or Dante's Divina Comedia, as to
construct even the slightest portion of one of those beautiful works. It
has been the theory of a certain school, now I am happy to say fast
passing away, that these noble buildings were the result of
superstition; that they were built by men of habits of great violence
and crime, who compounded with God, as it were, to keep a portion of
their stolen goods, while with the remainder they erected those noble
churches and monasteries. This theory was entirely false. These were men
like unto ourselves, as regards human nature: when they did wrong they
might offer reparation, but it was no superstition that found means to
build these churches. In our days men are recognizing a better theory;
that it was faith, piety and love for God that prompted these works.
Those men in erecting their churches gave expression to their faith, and
showed their love to God as you are showing it now.'
"(The Bishop said he could not enter into a description of these
churches. He would only refer briefly to one, the Cathedral of Chartres,
France, of which he found it noted in the chronicle of Haman that it was
seventy years in building. One is not surprised that it should have been
so, when he looks upon it. It has suffered from the tooth of time, but
many of its interior features, and especially its noble old stained
windows, are very perfect still. He had been told by an archæologist
that it would cost three or four millions of francs to restore it. This
noble cathedral was built not by the rich and titled, but by the hands
of poor men. There must have been thousands working on it night and day
for those seventy years. Thousands of noble persons were busy in
supplying provisions to the laborers. Delicate maidens might have been
seen carrying stones for the church. The whole population labored, not
merely the citizen, but the dweller in the province, to erect that
building that should stand until the end of time.)
"'They did not build in vain. Their time was well spent. That church has
been a constant sermon telling for over a thousand years the glory of
God. Who may tell what force such a church may add to a preacher's
words? Such churches have stood bearing witness against heresy and false
doctrine and helping Catholics to keep the faith. They have been
beacon-lights to warn men who wished to serve the true God from their
false philosophy. The spirit shown in the project of the large and
costly church here commenced is that which has always animated the
Catholic heart. I congratulate you, then; I congratulate your zealous
and faithful pastor; I congratulate you all; Catholics of this city, and
Protestants too; for this is a matter which concerns the interests of
all who believe in and love God, who reverence law, order and public
security, because all these are founded upon religion. In the place
where people do not believe in God, there must be degradation, violence,
insecurity and sometimes anarchy. Here we erect another bulwark against
irreligion, indifference and vice, which all must acknowledge are
spreading over our fair republic. He did not feel the necessity of
spending any more breath in exhorting them to carry on generously and
faithfully the great work they had undertaken. The rubric in the
Pontifical which I hold in my hand imperfectly translated says that it
is the duty of the Bishop before he lays the corner stone of a church to
take care that means are provided for its completion, and for the
support of its clergy, and the proper celebration of worship. But the
times are not as they once were. Now we do not find it necessary to wait
until all the means are provided. We depend now upon the wide-spread
liberality of our people, many of whom, it is true, are poor. We saw
to-day a woman, who from her dress and appearance, was evidently casting
her all into the treasury of the Lord's House. I cannot condemn her,
since the Lord once blessed such an act as hers. How dear will this spot
be henceforth! Here you shall worship God; here receive the holy
sacraments; here come to hear the words of eternal truth. May it indeed
be to you in the language of the old Patriarch, the House of God and the
Gate of Heaven. May you here obtain the grace of a good death and be
hence admitted to everlasting glory, to a habitation not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens.'
"While the address was in progress, baskets were passed among the crowd
for contributions, a handsome sum being realized. The congregation was
dismissed with the Pontifical benediction."
The erection of the walls of the church was at once proceeded with. P.
C. Keely, of New York, was the architect, but every day while work was
going on Father McNulty was present supervising the erection and
attending to the many matters which require attention in the
construction of so large a structure as St. John's Church. The building
was erected by day's work and is one of the most substantially built
churches in the country. Father McNulty was assisted by an advisory
building committee consisting of Charles O'Neill, Robert Hamil, William
G. Watson and others. The stone used in the construction of the church
was brought by canal from Little Falls and dressed on the ground as
required. The slate used in the roof was imported from England. The
chime of bells, the only one in the city, which had been used in the
Oliver street church, was transferred to the new edifice. Before the
completion of the main building a neat little chapel was built on the
north east corner of the property; this was at once fitted up and is at
present used for confessionals and other purposes. The total seating
capacity of the new church is 1750. The following brief description of
the church is taken from the recently published History of Bergen and
Passaic Counties:
"The church is eighty-eight feet front and one hundred and eighty feet
deep; twin turrets rise on each side of the front to the height of the
peak, ninety feet, but are to be carried thirty feet higher; on the
Grand street side there is a square tower, about one hundred feet high
at present; it is to be adorned with a spire rising to the height of two
hundred and twenty-five feet from the ground. The main entrance is on
Main street, through a fine doorway, the arch of which is about thirty
feet high. The roof is supported in the interior by graceful stone
columns, sixty feet high, from which spring stout arches of wood painted
to resemble stone. The ceilings and walls are decorated in the mediæval
style by two celebrated artists from Munich, Messrs. Lang and Kinkeln.
Symbolic paintings adorn the side walls, depicting the twelve stations
upon a background of gold flecked with blue. The windows are of stained
glass each contributed by some member of the congregation."
The sanctuary also contains five masterpieces of the painter's art,
being representations of the five principal mysteries of the life of
Christ, the Annunciation, the Birth, the Institution of the Holy
Eucharist, the Resurrection and the Ascension.
The following are the positions of the windows and the names of the
persons or societies who donated them:
ALTAR.
Rev. L. G. Thebaud, Rev. W. McNulty.
John Agnew, Charles O'Neill.
W. G. Watson, S. H. Wall.
Miss E. Carr, Mrs. M. Freel.
Christopher McKiernan.
Robert Hamil, Mrs. B. Mack.
St. Agnes' Society, Rosary Society.
St. Patrick's T. A. B. Society, Mrs. C. Cameron.
United Sons of Erin, United Sons of Erin.
ENTRANCE.
P. J. St. Lawrence, In memory of P. McKenna.
The stained glass windows in the chapel were given by Elizabeth Mooney,
Mary Freel, Anna Sullivan and Hannah St. Lawrence.
The following is the estimated cost of the various parts of the work:
Cutting of the doors, windows, columns, corbels, &c. $ 30,000
Interior decorations 7,000
Main altar--a gift from a member of the congregation 2,000
Windows 8,000
Organ 10,000
Masonry and rest of the work 143,000
--------
$200,000
The present debt of the church is $27,000, and its annual income about
$30,000 from all sources, barely sufficient to meet all the large and
numerous demands on the treasury. The number of Catholics in the city
is estimated at 20,000, more than one-third of the population.
The church was dedicated on the 31st of July, 1870. The following
account of this ceremony is taken from the Paterson Daily Press of the
next day:
"Yesterday was a great day for the Roman Catholic population of
Paterson, and a proud day for the Rev. Father McNulty, the energetic
pastor of St. John's Church, to whose remarkable energy and zeal his
people are indebted for so grand a design as the erection of the
splendid church which was solemnly dedicated yesterday with all the pomp
and magnificence of the Roman Catholic ritual. Before the hour for
commencing the services an immense throng had collected in the vicinity
of the old and the new church in upper Main street to witness the
ceremonies outside while the church was crowded by a vast congregation,
admitted by tickets at one dollar each to see and hear the splendid
service within. Of the church itself, its main architectural features,
dimensions, etc., we have so often spoken that we need not refer to it
particularly here save to notice what has been added by the way of
furnishing and decorations. The building is yet far from completion and
no doubt its full embellishment will be the work of years. It already,
however, gives promise of being a very beautiful church. It is frescoed
in stone colors, crimson, green, blue and gold. The sculptured capitals
of the stone columns are elaborately decorated and gilded. The arches of
the clere-story are stone color, edged with maroon, and gold stars, the
tracery in relief being light green. The side walls are salmon drab. The
seats are of hard wood, walnut, ash, etc., seemingly fashioned more for
durability than beauty. The altar, reached by two steps, is placed in a
spacious chancel, flanked by commodious chapels. The walls and ceiling
of the chancel are frescoed in the same colors as the body of the
church, and contain numerous paintings of scenes in the life of our
Savior and St. Peter, and other saints. Its large east window has not
its glass in yet. The other stained windows of the church are complete.
They are very beautiful, and each bears the name of its donor, some of
the faithful of the congregation having contributed the money for each,
and as long as the church stands the indelible record of their
generosity will endure. The chancel is covered by a handsome carpet of
brown and blue. The altar is painted white, mauve and gold. It is
elaborately ornamented with vases, pictures and flowers, and hung with
white lace embroidered with gold grapes. A wreath of vivid green leaves,
interspersed with white lilies, is twined in the front. It contains a
multitude of tapers, and is surmounted by a figure of Christ upon the
cross. The pulpit placed within the body of the church is small, and far
from imposing in its appearance.
"The ceremonies of dedication commenced outside of the church, where a
procession was formed of the clergy and societies, the latter consisting
of the Sons of Erin, and the St. John's and St. Patrick's Temperance
Societies. The procession was headed by two taper bearers and a crucifix
bearer, several of the officiating priests, and the Right Rev. Bishop
Wood, of Philadelphia, who conducted the ceremony of dedication. The
Bishop was clad in magnificent robes of white satin superbly embroidered
in gold devices, and silk flowers of glowing colors. He wore his mitre
and carried a gorgeous crozier. The procession marched around the church
chanting the Miserere, the Bishop sprinkling the walls with holy water.
It then entered the front door and proceeded up the centre aisle to the
alter, the Bishop and procession chanting alternately the Litany of the
Saints. The Bishop and attendants then traversed the interior limit of
the church, the walls of which were sprinkled with holy water by the
celebrant, the priests solemnly chanting the while. During this ceremony
the candles on the altar were lighted, and all was made ready for the
celebration of a solemn mass in the presence of a Bishop. This was
celebrated with the utmost pomp. The Bishop commenced the mass and
proceeded as far as the Confitieor when the celebrant, Father Senez, of
Jersey City, proceeded in the usual form. Father Hennessy, of Bergen,
acted as Deacon, Dr. Garvey, of Hackensack, as sub-Deacon, and the Rev.
P. McCarthy, of Seton Hall, as Master of Ceremonies. Among the clergy
present were the Rev. Monsignor Seton, Chaplain of the Convent at
Madison; Dr. Corrigan, President of Seton Hall College; Father Corrigan,
of St. Peter's, Jersey City; Father Byrne, of Camden, and the clergy of
the church, Fathers W. McNulty, Thebaud and Vescelle. The Bishop's
secretary and several of the seminarians of Seton Hall College were also
present.
"The sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Byrne, of Camden, from the 6th
Chapter of the Second Book of 'Paraleipomena,' or 'Book of Things
Omitted,' and was an earnest and eloquent appeal in behalf of the
Catholic faith, which he said makes sermons even of stones, and by its
grand and solemn services impresses the mind even of the stranger. The
preacher told an anecdote showing how powerfully a Baptist lady had been
impressed while visiting Bishop Wood's Church in Philadelphia, so that
she dropped upon her knees and prayed as fervently as any. The speaker
paid a glowing compliment to the zeal and generosity of the
congregation, and especially to the worthy pastor, for the erection of
this noble offering to God. It was beautiful architecturally, but it had
a beauty for the child of faith, the earnest Catholic, before which all
its outward beauty vanished as the glory of the earth before the glory
of the heaven. It is the glory and beauty of the indwelling of Christ.
"After the close of the mass, the Bishop addressed a few words of
congratulation to the congregation. He said they had reared a beautiful
and spacious temple and had reason to be grateful to God who gave them
so earnest and devoted a pastor to lead them. It is an evidence of His
special love. They should have but one sentiment. Thanks be to God; from
God all good things come. They must give him all he asks with grateful
hearts. He regretted that their own noble Bishop was not there and yet
he ought not to regret it, for in that case he (the speaker) should have
probably lost the great pleasure of being there. Remember the more God
bestows, the more he requires. Their struggle here will only cease with
life. There are signs on the horizon, that a special struggle may be
coming following the action of the General Council now in session. The
storm may come but God will direct it, and it will pass away, and be
succeeded by a longer and more glorious sunshine.
"The music of the mass was remarkably fine, under the skillful direction
of Prof. Davis, the organist of St. John's church. Only a small
temporary organ had been set up, it being the intention to order a
superb new organ, of dimensions suitable for the church. The full
effect, therefore, of the pieces could not be given, but they were
rendered with great skill and effect. The Kyrie and Gloria were by
Cerutti, the Offertory by Millard, the Credo by Farmer, the Sanctus by
Mercadante, and the Agnus Dei by Farmer. The solos were finely rendered
by Misses Graham and Maggie O'Neill and Mr. Hensler, bass, and Nauwerck,
tenor. The latter is the only one who does not belong to the regular
choir of the church. The other members, all of whom did admirably, are
Misses Theresa O'Neill, Bowen, Quin, McGuire, Sheehan and Hawley.
"The entire services were very impressive and occupied three hours in
all. Among the crowded congregation were a great many prominent citizens
not of the Roman Catholic faith. The ushers attended with great courtesy
to the comfort of all."
The time occupied to build the church as it stands at present was
fourteen years.
In 1872 the congregation purchased four lots of land on Grand street,
east of the church building, from the Society for Establishing Useful
Manufactures, paying therefor the sum of $10,800. The property was
bought for the purpose of erecting a parsonage and work on this was
begun soon after the acquirement of the real estate. The parsonage is a
handsome structure built in the same style as the church and of similar
materials. The mason work was done by Patrick J. St. Lawrence, the price
being $7,000. The erection of the building cost altogether about
$15,000.
The congregation retained the old church property in Oliver street but a
number of important alterations were made. The building was changed into
a hall for lectures, concerts, entertainments and the like and is known
as St. John's Hall. A portion of the building is used for school
purposes to relieve the parochial school which adjoins it.