PATERSON Construction started last month on Phase 1 of an ambitious two-phase, $4.5 million project at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here, titled “Building on Tradition,” — first to renovate its Bishop Frank J. Rodimer Center by December and then build a new two-story, 16,000-square-foot, 16-classroom Catechetical and Educational Building. It will house formation programs to help faithful of all ages to get to know Christ and answer his call to evangelize the “Good News” of the Gospel.
“This project will help St. John’s foster a greater sense of community by providing more space for its many ministries on a regular basis, such as religious education; by expanding our social outreach to the local community; by enhancing our evangelization efforts; by helping us continue to be a Catholic presence in the City of Paterson; and by allowing for future initiatives, such as day-care and Catholic education,” Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects, told parishioners at all Masses here last weekend in English and Spanish.
In his homily at these Masses, Msgr. Sylva unveiled details about the project, which will coincide with the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of St. John’s, the Mother Church of the Paterson Diocese. He spoke at the ambo of the cathedral, while he operated a slide presentation on two large screens at the front of the altar. He also invited parishioners to complete pledge cards to donate to the project, which has received Bishop Serratelli’s approval.
The “Building on Tradition” project kicked off in October with the start of improvements to the Rodimer Center for Phase 1. It will expand office space and upgrade heating and air conditioning as well as security in and around the building. The renovation also will create a handicapped accessible entrance that will be relocated from the center of the façade on Grand Street to the corner nearest the cathedral. The façade also will feature a new state-of-the-art electronic sign to publicize St. John’s events and spiritual messages. The center’s reconfigured lobby will display the cathedral’s original altar from 1865, which a parishioner, who is an art restorer, will refurbish, Msgr. Sylva said.
In February, construction is anticipated to begin for the new Catechetical and Educational Building in Phase 2. It will enable the ever-growing St. John’s to offer a full catechetical ministry for faithful of all ages and to provide space to its many ministries, communities and movements. They include its newly established Knights of Columbus Council, the new Young Prophets youth ministry and “From Mercy to Hope,” a new social services outreach. With expected completion in 2021, the new building also will enable the parish to partner with diocesan agencies, such as Catholic Charities and St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard in Madison, Msgr. Sylva said.
“Today, God is continuing to call all of us to sainthood. Your donation will provide classroom space in Paterson for people to come to know Jesus, so that when he calls — and he will call — they will answer him. They will receive him with joy and then shine the light of his Good News throughout the city and the world,” Msgr. Sylva said. “It is God’s will that we build the Catechetical and Educational Building — our legacy to leave behind to form people in the faith for generations to come,” he said.
Phase 2 will start with the demolition of two older buildings next to St. John’s that will make way for the Catechetical and Educational Building. Workers will raze 24 DeGrasse Street, which was built in 1920 and previously housed the diocesan Chancery. It now houses several Catholic Charities offices. Also to be razed is 26 DeGrasse Street, which was built in 1899 and once served as St. John’s catechetical building. Both buildings would cost too much — more than $6 million — to salvage, Msgr. Sylva said.
The “Building on Tradition” project will cost $4.5 million, offset by $3.1 million already raised. Msgr. Sylva is asking parishioners to raise $350,000 over three years so that they will feel a true sense of ownership in this important legacy. He said he will raise the rest of funds from outside the cathedral.
The new and improved facilities come at a critical time for St. John’s, which has been experiencing recent growth. Its religious education program has increased by 100 children, while 56 people in its Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program anticipate being received into the Church at the next Easter Vigil, Msgr. Sylva said. Near the conclusion of the 11:30 a.m. Mass last Sunday, a group of religious education students sang a hymn — a sign of hope for the future.
Developed in consultation with many parishioners and others from around the Diocese, this capital project builds on the rich legacy of St. John’s, the oldest Catholic community in New Jersey with a resident priest. That includes the work of Dean William McNulty, who built the cathedral, and Msgr. Mark Giordani, a retired diocesan priest and St. John’s rector emeritus, who preceded Msgr. Sylva. Next year, St. John’s will mark the 200th anniversary of the parish, which began on Market and Mill streets in 1820, as well as the 150th anniversary of the dedication of the cathedral in 1870. The Rodimer Center was built in the 1990s. The cathedral received a $17.4 million renovation before Bishop Serratelli re-dedicated it in 2017.
“In the 19th century, the Oliver Street church [St. John’s second house of worship] wasn’t big enough, so the new Irish-immigrant Catholics built a neo-Gothic, stone cathedral: the heart of the Catholicism in the city. Its steeple is the highest point in Paterson. In the 20th century, the parish needed a place to socialize and play, so it built the Rodimer Center. Now in the 21st century, we need an educational space not only for youth, but also for all ages, so we will build the Catechetical and Educational Building,” Msgr. Sylva told parishioners.
After the 11:30 a.m. Mass on Sunday, Freddy Perez, a Knight of the cathedral, told The Beacon that the project is “a great idea.”
“The parish community needs the Catechetical and Educational Building. If it’s God’s plan, then it will happen and be a success,” Perez said.