Clifton parish marks 80 years

CLIFTON  St. Andrew the Apostle Parish here came together on Nov. 30 to celebrate 80 years as a “tight-knit” faith community that today remains “spiritually alive” with a variety of devotions and an array of ministries that get parishioners of all ages involved in the parish. During an anniversary Mass that day, St. Andrew’s also commemorated its legacy as one of the first parishes founded after the establishment of the Paterson Diocese on Dec. 9, 1937.

Current and former St. Andrew’s clergy, staff, parishioners as well as members of the former parish school filled the church on Mount Prospect Avenue for the 4:30 p.m. Mass on this past Saturday on the Feast of St. Andrew. The parish has an active youth group, Boy Scout troop and Knights of Columbus Council with outreaches that include a Thanks­giving food drive and a Christmas gift collection. The 900-family parish also has a daily Mass, a Mass for the sick on first Fridays, a novena for the Miraculous Medal on Monday nights and three choirs, one each for children, youth and adults, said Father Jeider Barraza, St. Andrew’s administrator since July.

“St. Andrew’s has been very welcoming to me in a beautiful way. The parishioners know each other. It feels like home here,” said Father Barraza, who noted that the parish has remained largely Irish in heritage and it has welcomed a newer sizable Filipino community. “This parish is spiritually alive and we try to nurture that,” he said.

Concelebrating the anniversary Mass with Father Barraza were Msgr. Patrick Scott, a retired diocesan priest in residence here; Father Richard Kilcomons, former St. Andrew’s pastor and current pastor of St. Therese Parish in Succasunna; and Salesian Father David Moreno, who serves as secretary of the Salesians’ Province of Canada and Eastern USA. The liturgy was followed by a reception at the Upper Montclair Country Club in Clifton for parishioners.

St. Andrew’s legacy began when Bishop Thomas McLaughlin, the first bishop of Paterson, commissioned new parishes for the fledging diocese to be named after the first men Christ called to be Apostles. Even before World War II, the populations of Paterson and Passaic had started to pour to the farmlands of mostly rural Clifton. Three months after his installation, Bishop McLaughlin asked the opinions of area pastors because “frequent and insistent requests have been made for the establishment of a church in the western section of the city of Clifton,” he said. The bishop founded St. Andrew’s on Dec. 21, 1938 in the Allwood section of Clifton, effective on New Year’s Day 1939, according to Msgr. Raymond Kupke, diocesan archivist and pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne, in “Living Stones,” his book on the history of the Diocese of Paterson.

St. Andrew’s first pastor was Msgr. Carmel Scanlan, who made arrangements with the City of Passaic to lease its “Poor Farm” on Mount Prospect Ave­nue and had the former almshouse renovated for the celebration of Mass. Then, property was purchased and plans were made for the construction of a church, which Bishop McLaughlin rejected at first for being “too elaborate” — and too expensive — Msgr. Kupke writes.

“Eventually the bishop relented and approved the expenditure of $52,431 for St. Andrew’s church and rectory,” writes Msgr. Kupke, who noted that Bishop McLaughlin dedicated the church on May 26, 1940.

St. Andrew’s — along with the rest of the U.S. — experienced tremendous growth after World War II. In his seven years here, the parish’s second pastor, Father Francis Doogan, constructed a convent and built and began a parish school, staffed by the Presen­tation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The school opened on Feb. 2, 1953 with 150 students, grades K-4, the parish history states.

The next pastor, Father Gabriel Stone, oversaw the expansion of the church and school to accommodate the influx of families into the Allwood and Richfield sections of Clifton. This included adding two wings to the church in 1962 to double its seating capacity to 1,000 and adding six classrooms to the school and enlarging its cafeteria. In 1971, Father Eugene Romano became pastor and made changes in the church in line with the norms set by the Second Vatican Council, such as removal of the altar rail, relocation of the organ from the loft and the “moderation of the altar’s appearance,” according to St. Andrew’s history.

Under the leadership of Msgr. Peter McHugh, who was installed as pastor of the parish in 1997, the parish embarked on the most ambitious building project to date: the renovation of the church’s front foyer, including the installation of an elevator and welcoming area. Due to financial issues and a dwindling student enrollment, the parish school was closed in 2018, according to parish history.

One parishioner celebrating the 80th anniversary was John Smith, 55, who was born into St. Andrew’s, received his sacraments here and was graduated from the school. Single and now retired, he has taught in the school and religious education in the parish, coached CYO basketball, ran a soccer program, organized youth events and has served as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, a lector and on many parish committees.

“St. Andrew’s is a tight-knit community that has had great people and great priests who have worked with parishioners. I have enjoyed my many friendships here,” Smith said. “The parish is good at listening to the new ideas of the young people, while also considering the experience of the elders. That’s what this parish is: using each other’s talents to push things forward and progress. This is a parish that tries to stay active,” he said.