Morristown parish celebrates 175th anniversary at Christmas Day Mass

The faith community of Assumption Parish in Morristown welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated the 10 a.m. Mass on Christmas Day in the church. The liturgy marks the Nativity of the Lord, but this year, it also commemorated Assumption’s 175th anniversary. The first church, a wooden structure, was built in 1848. The first school opened in the basement of the church in 1850. With a growing influx of Irish immigrants to the “Little Dublin” area of Morristown, Assumption built a larger, Gothic Revival-style church in 1873. The parish established Holy Rood Cemetery in 1875. Much of the structure of the church was destroyed in a fire in 1985. The restored church was rededicated in 1988. Over the years, the school expanded through various buildings on the property until finally residing on neighboring Macculloch Avenue. Today Assumption is a dynamic parish that serves 2,500 registered households.