HISTORY OF ST. MARY OF THE ASSUMPTION PARISH IN ELIZABETH, NJ
In 1844 there were few Catholics living in Elizabeth and no Catholic churches in the city. At that time construction of the now abandoned Central Railroad of New Jersey began. As local labor was scarce, the railroad company turned to Ireland as a source of workers. Over the 10-year construction period more and more Irish Catholics settled in the Elizabeth area. Most were Roman Catholic who wished to continue practicing their faith. Catholics who needed to attend Sunday Mass had to travel to St. John’s parish in Newark.
The roads between Newark and Elizabeth were mostly just horse trails and for the most part those going to St. John’s had to walk. In 1843 as the number of Catholics grew, the community petitioned Archbishop Hughes, Archbishop of New York, which Elizabeth was then a part of, to establish a parish in Elizabeth. In 1844. A newly ordained priest Fr. Isaac Howell was then assigned. No official church or rectory existed at that time and he took up residence in a house on Cherry St. On Palm Sunday 1844, the first Mass was held in a home on the corner of Rahway Ave. and DeHart Place. It was attended by about 25 people.
This group gradually grew until it outgrew the residence and the group once again petitioned the Archbishop for permission to acquire land and build a proper church. A parcel of land on what would become Washington Ave. was selected and construction began in 1845. The parish community was to be designated St Mary of the Assumption Parish and by the first Sunday in Advent 1845 enough of the church was ready and the first Mass was celebrated. The initial size of the community was now over 100 persons and growing.
By the 1860s the number of Catholics exceeded 4000 persons. With the ever increasing size of the community the need to expand the size of the church building continued and in 1866 the church was expanded, and a rectory added on Race St. A school was added to the parish grounds around that time and continued until the new facility was built in the 1930’s. Between 1867 and 1871 the front façade of the two towers and great steeple was added, and the church was considered complete. As our community continues to grow, the need to expand continues.
In the 1920’s land was acquired on South Broad and South Streets for the construction of a parish school. The old school was torn down. By the 1940’s the church and rectory were showing their age and work began to once again expand the church and replace the rectory. The façade and steeple were repaired, and the church expanded to Race St. The rectory was constructed where it is today and opened in 1947. The expanded church was completed by August 1950 and dedicated by then Archbishop Thomas Walsh.
Things stayed pretty much like that until 1985 when the main Altar was moved forward, and a wall was built for the daily Mass chapel. A platform was constructed to hold the Altar and the pulpit. The original Altar was moved to where it sits today. Material from the original pulpit was used to build the current pulpit. The pews on the sides of the church were turned inward so everyone had a view of the priest during Mass.
