E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. — St. Joseph’s Parish here is planning several events beginning with the feast of St. Francis to commemorate its 135th anniversary.
The festivities include:
• Oct. 3 7:30 p.m. Transitus in the church
• Oct. 6 3:30 p.m. Outdoor Mass in lower parking lot
• Oct. 6 5:00 “Open mic” to share stories about St. Joseph’s followed by dinner and dancing
• Oct. 7 11:30 a.m. Mass followed by coffee and cake to commemorate deceased members of the parish
• Oct. 7 1:30 p.m. Blessing of animals and renaming of a nearby municipal park in honor of former pastor Mychal Judge, OFM
Information about these events is available from Eileen at the parish office (201-939-0457). Among those planning to commemorate the church’s anniversary are pastor Joseph Hertel, OFM, Raymond Selker, OFM, and Joseph Juracek, OFM.
The parish was founded in 1872 by a group of mostly German immigrants who worked tirelessly to fulfill the needs of the community. It has been under Franciscan care for 94 years.
Some milestone dates of the parish include:
1873 – Completion of the church
1874 – Blessing of the church
1878 – Establishment of St. Joseph School
1879 – Sisters of St. Benedict come to teach
1931 – Documents filed with the County of Bergen to change official title from Establishment of St. Joseph’s School in the Village of Carlstadt” to “St. Joseph Church of East Rutherford.”
1913 – Holy Name Province accepts request from bishop to care for the parish
Hilary Reinhold, OFM, was the first Franciscan pastor. Others have included friars Leonard Walsh, OFM, Capistran Petrie, OFM, Donald Hoag, OFM, Emmanual Duffy, OFM, George Reilly, OFM, and, more recently, Mychal Judge, Richard Husted, OFM, and Francis Gunn, OFM.