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:

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:

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.