Joyous Catholics of Filipino descent filled the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, Dec. 23 for the final night of Simbang Gabi, a pre-Christmas novena of Masses to honor the Christ Child through prayer, song and tradition.
Catholics of the Diocese of Metuchen gathered in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi Dec. 28 were united in joy with brethren from around the world as they declared they were “Pilgrims of Hope” at the start of the 2025 Jubilee Year.
When you care enough to send the very best, God-centered charitable works can reach through prison bars to touch the souls of those who live therein. This year, two Hunterdon County parishes teamed up with their Knights of Columbus council to show imprisoned men that they were not forgotten with the donation of more than 2,700 religious and secular Christmas cards intended for use by the inmates of East Jersey State Prison, Rahway.
“The Holy Father can open up the door for graces to flow for a special reason,” Father Timothy A. Christy assured those seated before him inside the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi. “It is not magic, it is faith.”
With a reverent blend of tears, laughter, prayer and patriotism, St. Thomas Aquinas High School celebrated the memory of one of its graduates who had accomplished much in his short, faith-filled life. The Edison Catholic school hosted a Nov. 13 prayer service and dedicated the Anthony Raspa Alumni Lounge, named for the Class of 2008 alumnus and New Jersey State Trooper who died in the line of duty in 2015.
Looking across a sea of blue-clad law enforcement personnel seated before him Oct. 30 in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen, Bishop James F. Checchio spoke for the hundreds of indebted citizens also present, declaring, “It is a privilege and honor to gather here. We are grateful for all you do for peace and harmony in our communities.”
With a congregation dressed in gaily colored ethnic costumes and bearing symbols of their shared Catholic heritage, Our Lady of Peace Church was a significant image of our multicultural Catholic Church.
Celebrating the day they chose to cleave together as husband and wife, forsaking all others, some 88 couples stood before family, friends and God to reaffirm their marriage vows during the annual diocesan Silver and Gold and Five Year Wedding Anniversaries Evening Prayer Service, held Oct. 20 in the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen.
A shower of blue confetti and happy cheering from the student body of St. James, Basking Ridge, filled the air at the announcement that the Catholic elementary school has been designated one of the nation’s Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence for 2024.
Faith and fellowship were on the menu Sept. 17 as some 400 individuals crucial in the life and work of the Diocese of Metuchen gathered in The Imperia, Somerset, for the annual Pride in our Priests dinner sponsored by the Knights of Columbus.
The seeds to a life of service to the Lord were planted deep within the future Brother of the Sacred Heart Richard Leven, an adoptee from a Philadelphia-area orphanage. His parents’ devotion to the Sacred Heart acted as a beacon toward which he joyfully walked, and he has continued to do so for 65 years.
“They’re coming!” The joyful declaration sprang from the lips of those standing outside St. Augustine of Canterbury Church as they spotted the group of pilgrims following behind a monstrance held high as it processed along Henderson Road the afternoon of May 28. The group, though weary, thirsty and sunburned after their 15-mile walk, nonetheless shared their joy with jubilant smiles as they entered the Kendall Park church for a program of prayer, Benediction and a talk by Father Roger Landry on the third of three stops in the Diocese of Metuchen.
The Diocese of Metuchen Historical Commission, led by Father Michael G. Krull, pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish, North Brunswick, and commission chair, sponsored a one-day pilgrimage April 20 to three notable Catholic sites in the Morristown area: the Shrine of St. Joseph, Stirling, now celebrating its 100th anniversary; St. Mary’s Abbey, Delbarton, and St. Elizabeth University, Convent Station, to visit the Shrine and Museum of Blessed Miriam Theresa Demjanovich, the New Jersey nun on the path to sainthood.
Robotics club members from Immaculata High School showed some Jersey moxie during a recent world championship in Texas. The Somerville Catholic high school’s “Team 1279 Cold Fusion” ranked 73rd amongst 600 competitors from around the world in the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition held April 17-20 in the George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston.
Reminding his brother clergy of the joy and responsibility in serving the people of the Diocese of Metuchen, Bishop James F. Checchio addressed the priests seated before him in Metuchen’s Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi during the March 26 Chrism Mass.
This is a great day to examine our relationship between modern culture and faith,” Bishop James F. Checchio assured some 150 guests inside the St. John Neumann Pastoral Center, Piscataway, March 16 for the 2024 Choices Matter Conference. Attendees included the deaconate candidates of the classes of 2024 and 2027, and some of their wives.
The Sacred Triduum, the holiest Three Days of the Church year, is the occasion when Christians recall the intense suffering, the heartbreaking death and the triumphant Resurrection of Jesus Christ.