Sisters pledge to rebuild chapel

NORTH HALEDON  Prayers from near and far have been pouring in for the Salesian Sisters of St. Jo­seph’s Province after an early morning blaze on May 18 destroyed the chapel at Mary Help of Chris­tians Academy here — a tragedy which has torn at the spiritual heart of this dynamic religious community and the school it operates.

Despite the significant loss, the Salesians expressed thanks to God that no one was injured in the four-alarm fire, which devastated the interior and structure of the chapel — the spiritual home of many of the activities of Mary Help and the Province, since it opened in 1976.

Undaunted, the Salesians immediately pushed ahead with their commitment to rebuild the beautiful, 450-seat chapel within hours of the pre-dawn fire. So far, they have collected more than $18,000 in donations as of Monday morning. The Salesians launched a fundraising campaign on the Province’s website, www.salesiansisters.org, and on social media websites, such as Facebook.

“This has been a loss to the family of both Mary Help and the Salesian Sisters. It was the heart of both the campus and the school. It was a place where we went in happy moments and in moments of sadness. It has seen us grow,” said Salesian Sister Marisa DeRose, principal of Mary Help, an all-girls school, and one of many Salesians who live in another building on campus. She led a prayer service for the Mary Help community that morning. “Many of our girls walked by the chapel on the morning that the fire happened and began to cry. The great loss of this chapel of memories is heartbreaking,” she said.

The fire alarm in the chapel sounded at 1:29 a.m. May 18. The four-alarm blaze brought responses from the fire departments of North Haledon, Hawthorne, Franklin Lakes and Paterson, which extinguished the blaze by 4 a.m. The fire charred the chapel’s brick-and-wood interior, including the altar and pews, and melted the Peragallo Pipe organ. Yet, no one was harmed and the firefighters were able to rescue the most precious item in the chapel: the tabernacle. The fire appears to be electrical in nature and seems to have started in the ceiling, although it remains under investigation by the North Haledon Fire Department, Sister Marisa said.

Almost immediately, prayers started to pour in for the Salesians and the community of Mary Help, which opened in 1924. That day, Bishop Serratelli spoke about the fire with Salesian Sister Joanne Holloman, provincial superior, and then sent a letter to priests and deacons of the Diocese, asking them to keep “Sister Joanne and the Salesian Sisters in your prayers, as they face rebuilding, but also at the same time, thanking God that no one was in the chapel when the fire broke out.”

It was the Bishop who rededicated the chapel on April 17, 2016, after it had received extensive renovations to repair water damage and update it for Mary Help’s 75th anniversary that May. For the ritual blessing, he sprinkled holy water on a new altar and the congregation and anointed the altar with Holy Chrism, followed by the censing of the altar.

On the day of the fire, St. Philip Preparatory School, Clifton, took to Facebook to share the sad news of the destruction of Mary Help’s chapel. Recently, Mary Help housed St. Philip’s upper-grade students during restoration and cleanup efforts following a fire at St. Philip School on Jan. 11.

“Like our own school, they will rebuild this sacred space that stands at the heart of their school and community and we offer our prayers for the sisters and the school community, who welcomed us so lovingly into their school home for almost four months,” St. Philip’s posted on Facebook.

The Diocesan community prayed on May 19 for the Salesians and Mary Help during a Mass celebrated by Bishop Serratelli to honor 79 religious sisters and priests, who are celebrating significant anniversaries in religious life this year, and to commemorate World Day of Consecrated Life.

The destruction of the chapel has sent Mary Help and the Province scrambling to find places to hold events that were set for the sacred venue in the next few months. Now, Mary Help will hold its Baccalaureate Mass for graduating seniors on June 1 at St. Anthony Church, Hawthorne, and its graduation on June 2 in its gym. The chapel has housed such activities as the induction of freshmen and National Honor Society members, Masses, a regular evening of Adoration and Confession and Masses for students and staff of Salesians’ annual summer camp, Sister Marisa said.

The Province has found other locations for the following upcoming events: an annual Province-wide gathering from June 16 to 17; a jubilee for its sisters who are celebrating significant anniversaries this year on July 22; and the first and final profession of vows of sisters on Aug. 5. In fact, Sister Frances Gumino, who celebrates her 75th anniversary this year, expressed heartbreak, because she will not be able to mark the milestone in the chapel. She was raised in the former St. Michael Orphanage, Paterson, once run by the Salesians, said Sister Mary Rinaldi of the Province’s development office.

“The chapel is at the heart of our community. It held many major events around the table of our Lord, including Masses, along with rosary and prayer services,” Sister Joanne said. “We are so thankful that no one was hurt in the fire,” she said.

[Donations to help rebuild the chapel can be made to Sister Mary Rinaldi at Mary Help of Christians Academy, 659 Belmont Ave., North Haledon, N.J. 07508; through the website at www.salesiansisters.org; or by calling Sister Mary at (973) 904-0120.]