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Our Lady of Sorrows / Saint Anthony's Parish      
    3816 East State Street Ext., Hamilton, NJ  08619-2499
Directions            (609) 587 4372    Info@OLS-SA.org 

May Crowning                  Youth Group Photos 5/13

CYO Track Meet 5/3/08

4/19 11:30 AM First Communion at St. Anthony's

 
Msgr. Thomas Gervasio, Pastor

Property on South Olden Avenue, Hamilton (just beyond the Trenton city limits was purchased for the church and other buildings.  A little more than a month later, Mass was offered in a newly erected “temporary church.”

          Fr. Lehrsholl wasted no time in planning to build an elementary school.  A cornerstone was laid on August 7, 1921.  Students were welcomed on November 28 of that year.  The opening of the school heralded the arrival of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia.   The first principal was Sr. Emily.   A convent for the Sisters was built and dedicated on November 2, 1923.      

          Fr.  Lehrsholl served until 1926.  He was succeeded by Fr. Sylvester Ahlhaus (1926-1932) who saw to the construction of the rectory dedicated on November 30, 1927.  Fr. Raymond Werdge was appointed the third pastor and completed the Franciscans’ commitment to the Diocese in 1935.  The pastoral care of the parish then passed to the Diocesan Clergy with the appointment of Rev. Msgr. Linus Schwarze. (1935-1952).

          The parish was expanding into Hamilton Township especially in the Mercerville section.    In 1938, Msgr. Schwarze was appointed administrator of the Mission of Our Lady of Sorrows, Mercerville.   Father Peter Teston, parish assistant arranged to celebrate Mass at the Mercerville Firehouse on Christmas Day, with fifty people in attendance.  This would be the spiritual home of the mission until the building of a church.

          In the autumn of 1939  twelve acres at the corner of Nottingham Way and East State Street  were purchased for the site of the church.  After numerous fundraising events, a ground breaking was held for the building of the mission church in the summer of 1941.  Monsignor Schwarze was assisted by Fr. Thomas O’Dea, parish curate. On October 18,1942, Bishop William A. Griffin officiated at the laying of the cornerstone and the blessing of the new church.  In June 1943,  the Bishop raised the mission to the status of an independent parish.   Father John McKeon was appointed its first pastor.   

          By this time it was obvious that the temporary church was inadequate for the needs of a growing parish.   The financial burdens of building a school, convent and rectory never permitted the Franciscan Friars to realize their plans for a new church.   The Depression and the Second World War further delayed the realization of this dream.  In 1949, Monsignor Schwarze took up the challenge.  

          Viewing the grand results of this endeavor, his letter to the parishioners seems almost humorous:  “We are forced to abandon the elaborated plans of the Fransciscan Fathers in favor of a more modest yet dignified church building.”

          A groundbreaking was held on October 18, 1949 beginning a two year project to build the current church.   It was opened and blessed by the Most Reverend George W. Ahr, Bishop of Trenton on June 24, 1951.   Its completion was hastened due to the illness of Msgr. Schwarze.  He entered eternal life on May 3, 1952.

          Bishop Ahr appointed as the fifth pastor of Saint Anthony, Monsignor Michael P. McCorristin, who as a young priest had served as Monsignor Schwarze’s assistant at St. Francis of Assisium, Trenton  and at the time, Pastor of Holy Angel’s Parish, Trenton.

          This pastor served the Diocese, selflessly for many years, as Vicar General of Bishop George W. Ahr.  He was appointed to this position when Monsignor Richard Crean lost his life in the Cathedral fire in March 1956.  In addition, Saint Anthony’s Church served as the Cathedral until the new Cathedral was opened three years later.  

          The long tenure of Monsignor McCorristin (1953-1988) would however be characterized by his unwavering commitment to Catholic Schools.  In 1961, under Monsignor McCorristin’s leadership, the parish undertook the commitment to establish a parish high school to meet the needs of many students displaced by the closing of Trenton Catholic High School.  Monsignor  McCorristin  aka “Iron Mike”  took on the task of bricklayer and general contractor, with the help of many willing volunteers, insured that St. Anthony High School would open on September 9, 1962.   The spacious campus is located at Leonard Avenue and Kuser Road in Hamilton.   The Sisters of St. Francis responded generously to the needs of the community.  Sr. Georgiana Evans was appointed principal.   A convent for those sisters teaching in the high school was also built.     In recognition of his devoted service, in June 1979, Bishop Ahr directed that high school be renamed “McCorristin High School.”  

          During his tenure, the needs the elementary school students did not go unnoticed.   The high enrollment warranted the building of an additional larger building on the South Olden Avenue campus in 1968. 

In 1988 Monsignor McCorristin retired from active priestly ministry and resided at the rectory until his death on December 5, 1990, a few months shy of his ninetieth birthday. 

As his successor, Bishop John C. Reiss appointed, Monsignor James P. McManimon who was once an altar server to Monsignor McCorristin at Holy Angels, Trenton.   He sought to modernize accounting practices, make repairs to parish facilities and bring greater lay involvement into parish life.  Illness forced Monsignor McManimon to retire in April 1992.    Bishop Reiss appointed as “temporary administrator” a former associate pastor, Monsignor Leonard Toomey, retired pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Trenton.  

On June 22, of that year, a new chapter opened in the life of the parish with the appointment as pastor of Father Joseph L. Ferrante.  He was transferred from the pastor of St. Gregory the Great, Hamilton Square.  For a few weeks, he served as pastor of both parishes, until his successor in Hamilton Square was named.

Almost immediately, Father Ferrante undertook the extensive renovation of the church.    On Sunday, November 6, 1994, Bishop Reiss solemnly dedicated the newly renovated church.   In addition to the church, extensive renovations were undertaken in the rectory and convent.   Improvements were made to the high school facilities and elementary school.  During his tenure, the parish celebrated its 75^th anniversary of its foundation and the arrival of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia.  Father Ferrante was recognized for his pastoral ministry when Pope John Paul II named him a Prelate of Honor” with the title, “Reverend Monsignor” in September 1994.     On April 18, 1999 the parish joined in celebrating Monsignor’s silver jubilee of priestly ordination.  Only five months would pass when in the early morning of  September 23, 1999  the community learned  that Monsignor Ferrante had died while preparing for morning Mass.

Bishop Smith appointed the parochial vicar, Rev. Michael Lankford administrator until the appointment of a pastor.

          On December 20, 1999, Bishop Smith  transferred  the Reverend Msgr. Thomas N. Gervasio, from the  Pastorate of Saint Joachim, Trenton to that of Saint Anthony.   In order to met the changing needs of the community and to make better use of the parish’s extensive facilities, the elementary school on South Olden Avenue was consolidated at the high school campus on Leonard Avenue.  An extensive renovation was undertaken to house the elementary school in a wing of the high school that had not been used.  The elementary school buildings on the church campus were then leased in order to generate revenue for the parish.  Morever, the parish during this period, the parish was able to complete its payments on the one million loan that was taken for the church renovation begun in 1992.

          The majestic parish church began the setting for a number of concerts by well known artists:  the Choir of  Westminster College, Princeton; the Greater Princeton Youth Orchestra; the South Jersey Chorale, and the Choristers of Tewkesbury Abbey, England.

          In November 2002, the parish welcomed a delegation from the Diocese of Kasana-Luweero with which Trenton Diocese is twinned, led by its Bishop, the Most Reverend Cyprian Lwanga.  In July of the following year, the parish was honored to offer hospitality to Archbishop Francesco Pio Tamburrino, Secretary of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments who was on a personal visit to the United States.  In 2004, In the course of his visit, the Archbishop celebrated Mass along with Bishop Smith, Msgr. Gervasio,  staff members of the Vatican congregation and priests from Italy.  The parish house was honored to host in 2004, the Most Reverend Jose’ Sorra, Bishop of Lepazi, Phillippines, during his visit to Fr. Oscar Sumanga, parish adjunct.

          In 2003, Saint Anthony Parish was involved in the “Trenton Ward Study” process that sought to restructure the parishes of the greater Trenton Area.  This was a response to changing demographics, the clergy shortage, and the pastoral needs of new immigrants from Haiti, Africa, and Central America.   Bishop Smith endorsed the recommendations of the study resulting in the changes described above.    Before the parish merger and school closing, the parish honored the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia for their ministry to the parish which spanned 84 years.

Our Lady of Sorrows

Established 1943

       By 1943, it was apparent to Bishop William A. Griffin that the Mission of Our Lady of Sorrows, founded in 1939 as a mission to Saint Anthony, Trenton had so developed that it was canonically erected to the status of a parish on June 19, 1943.  The first pastor was the Reverend William  P. McKeon (1943-48).   As a temporary residence, the Father McKeon rented a house on Nottingham Way until a rectory could be built.  During his pastorate, the debt incurred for the building of the church was paid, stained glass windows were installed in the church, and the Holy Name and Rosary-Altar Societies were established.

          On December 18, 1948, Father McKeon was transferred to another pastorate and was succeeded by Father Paul A. Grieco (1948-67).  He immediately undertook the construction of the rectory.  A groundbreaking took place in September 1949 and the house was completed by January of the following year.

          The post-war period witnessed a tremendous growth in the population of Hamilton Township.  Masses were added to the schedule and the basement of the church served as a Sunday chapel. By 1953, the Hamilton Square area of the township had grown so much that Bishop George W. Ahr appointed to the See of Trenton three years earlier, erected the Parish of Saint Gregory the Great, the first of his episcopacy.

          During this period, the parish committed itself to the mission of maintaining its own elementary school, which was staffed by the Mrianite Sisters of the Holy Cross.     The school’s construction began in 1954.  The Sisters were housed in a temporary convent on East State Street Extention.   In September  1955, Bishop Ahr laid the cornerstone and blessed the school which opened with an enrollment of 279 students in Grades 1-4.   Upper grades were gradually added to the school.   A convent, large enough to accommodate 21 sisters was completed  and dedicated on November 24, 1963 by Monsignor Michael P. McCorristin, Vicar General.

          By 1959, it was apparent that the church did not adequately serve the growing population of Mercerville.  While the construction of a new church was considered, it was finally determined to add to two wings to existing structure.   The basement would also be altered to accommodate a “lower church.”   This project was completed by June 1960.   One of the first ceremonies in the expanded church was the school’s first graduation.

          Father Grieco’s pastorate also witnessed the joy of the ordination of two native sons to the priesthood: Father Paul A. Gluth (May 1959)  and Father Louis Stingel (May, 1960).

          On June 1, 1967, Father Grieco died suddenly at the rectory.  His associate, Father Raymond Griffin was appointed temporary administrator. 

          As successor to Father Grieco, Bishop Ahr appointed Father Edward O’Keefe  (1967-1986).  In the wake of the ecumenical movement given momentum at the Second Vatican Council, the parish joined with the United Methodist Church and Grace Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in services marking the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.    When a gas explosion destroyed  United Methodist, Our Lady of Sorrows Parish offered the use of its facilities.  While Sunday Masses were offered in the church, the Methodist congregation utilized the lower church. 

          Father O’Keefe oversaw the implementation of the liturgical reforms mandated by the Council.  In 1974, the first Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion were commissioned for service., 

          In the early 1980’s the parish hosted regional celebrations marking the centennial of the Diocese of Trenton (1981) and then the episcopal ordination of  the Most Reverend Edward U. Kmiec, Auxilliary Bishop of Trenton.   Bishop Kmiec, a native Trentonian, would later be named Bishop of Nashville and later, Bishop of Buffalo. 

          Within the church building, Father O’Keefe oversaw a number of improvements:  the installation of air-conditioning, replacement of the flooring and lighting.  The interior was repainted and the accommodations were made to house the Altar of Eucharistic Reposition in a side room. 

          Perpetual Adoration of the Holy Eucharist was instituted in 1985.  Over 800 parishioners committed themselves to devoting time for prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.  It was the single largest response to a perpetual adoration program nationwide to that date.    Initially housed in the church, adoration was later moved to the convent chapel. 

          The pastoral ministry of Father O’Keefe was duly recognized by the Church when he was named a “Prelate of Honor” with the title of “Reverend Monsignor” at the recommendation of Bishop John C. Reiss.   Monsignor O’Keefe retired from the active priestly ministry in 1986.  His retirement would be short lived.  He died on October 14, 1987.

          Father Daniel Sullivan was appointed pastor on October 19, 1986.   Under his tenure, lay involvement in parish activities grew.  The ranks of liturgical ministers swelled and included women. The work of liturgical music, adult education, and community functions increased.   Initiatives were undertaken to expand the parish’s care of the sick and bereaved.   Father Sullivan implemented a “Board of Commissions” to coordinate the pastoral activity of the parish.

          The  church underwent a few modifications during this time.  In addition to a new altar of sacrifice, the images of the Resurrected Christ, the Holy Family, and the Via Crucis  were installed.  The church was repainted, the convent underwent a renovation to include additional classroom space for the school.  

          A number diocesan events were hosted by the parish in the early 1980s.  In 1981, Mercer County’s celebration of the Diocesan Centennial was held in the church.  In 1983, the newly ordained auxiliary bishop of Trenton, the Most Reverend Edward U. Kmiec celebrated Mass for faithful of Mercer County.

           In 1989,  the parish celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its creation as a “mission church.”   The year’s festivities began with a liturgy at the Mercerville Fire House, the site of the first mass.   A “Peace Garden” was created,  the parish field was dedicated to the memory of Fr. Grieco and  the lower church hall was remodeled as a parish meeting hall, dedicated to the memory of a native priest son, Fr. Paul Gluth who died on January 26, 1987.  On September 15, the patronal feast, the anniversary mass began with the procession from the Fire House to the church where Mass was offered by Bishop John C. Reiss.   The anniversary year was also graced with the priestly ordination of another native son, Father Ken Szepesy.