The History of the
Parish of St. Jude
Blairstown, NJ

The Church of St. Jude was established July 17, 1945, in a building still standing at the corner of East Avenue and Bridge Street in Blairstown’s village center. The true beginnings of the parish, however, go back even further, to the early 1930s. And much the credit for the parish’s humble genesis can be given to a man who was not even Catholic.

Frank Gordon was a medical doctor who settled in Blairstown at the turn of the century. Dr. Gordon noticed that many of his patients did not attend church services on Sunday. His Catholic patients might travel to out-of-town churches for baptisms, weddings and funerals, but these churches in Newton, Oxford, Belvidere, and Bangor, Pa., were too far to allow the immigrant farmers to attend Mass regularly. They just couldn`t make it home in time to get their chores done.
Then Dr. Gordon learned that if he could gather more than 200 signatures of Catholics from the area, the Diocese would establish a mission. It was quite a chore for the man who was so very concerned about his neighbor`s spiritual as well as physical well being, but eventually he gathered enough signatures to warrant the mission.

Rev. Edward Corrigan, pastor of St. Rose of Lima, Oxford organized the mission in Blairstown in 1934 at Hill`s Amusement Hall in the building on Route 94 that was most recently the home of the Blairstown Press. At that time, though, the hall was a place where families and young people could gather for a night out of square dancing or recreation. On the night of June 2, after the dancing was over, John Hill, the owner of the hall, and a few others stayed late to clean and arrange the meeting place for a special celebration. The next morning at 9 o`clock, Father Corrigan celebrated the first Mass in Blairstown. About 100 people participated.

Mass continued to be offered in Hill`s Amusement Hall each Sunday for several years. Often Father Corrigan or Father Graham, also from St. Rose of Lima would be the celebrant. Sometimes missionary priests came from Trenton to help.

But there were no church-related activities other than Sunday Mass. Catholics continued to travel to Oxford and other parishes for weddings and funerals. Behind the scenes, two laymen, Vincent Gleason and Jerome Kennedy, were at work trying to arrange for the mission to become a parish with a full-time priest. Finally, more than 11 years after the first Mass was offered in Blairstown, a parish was established. On July 17, 1945, Bishop William Griffin, Rev. Francis Nolan and others decided on the name, Church of St. Jude Blairstown. The bishop appointed Father Nolan the first pastor. Mr. Gleason and Mr. Kennedy were the first lay trustees.

The parish boundaries established at that meeting (updatd later) embraced an area of over 100 square miles. On the north, the parish extends to Sussex County; on the east, to Johnsonburg-Hope Road, then south to Liberty Township; and north through Hope and Knowlton townships to the Paulins Kill. The western boundary is the Delaware River.

Grateful as the people of the parish were to Mr. Hill for his amusement hall each Sunday for Mass, they were eager to have a church building of their own. Yet pre- judices of the day prevailed, and no one who had desirable property wanted it known that they had sold to a group of Catholics.

One of the Catholics in Blairstown, Jack Quigley, ran a hotel and restaurant on Main Street called Quigley`s Inn. He approached a private music teacher, Miss Elder, who inherited a house at the corner of Bridge Street. It had been the home of Dr. Carhart, a physician and state senator. Miss Elder sold the property to Mr. Quigley, who transferred the ownership to St. Jude Church.

The structure needed extensive renovations on the first floor to make one room large enough to seat 140 persons. The upstairs was remodeled as the priest`s residence and a place for parish meetings and activities. The women of the parish held a house shower to supply the residence with linens, dishes and other necessary items. Father Nolan commuted from Oxford until his quarters were ready.

A number of today`s parishioners remember those early days and fondly recall the spirit of fellowship that grew as the church did. Many people helped get the church build- ing ready and set the parish off to a strong start. For the first Mass, despite all their work, there wasn`t enough time to fasten down the seats. No one complained. During the first Easter celebration, a group of women stayed up until 3 o`clock in the morning on Holy Saturday sewing pinch pleat drapes from donated velvet fabric. The room was dressed properly for this joyous holy day.

Many early parishioners remember the social events with pleasure. The first penny sale, which became a great tradition in the 1960s and`70s, was organized and held in Blairstown High School in 1946 or 1947. The top prizes? A five-pound bag of sugar and a one-pound can of coffee!

On April 30, 1948, Rev. James J. Duffy was ap- pointed the second pastor of St. Jude`s Parish. Under his direction, three organizations were begun: the Rosary Society, which the women of the parish were invited to join; the Holy Name Society for the men and the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the young unmarried women.

Each of these organizations ran various affairs to support the parish and its growing community. Church members remember the fun they had at the card parties, carnivals and breakfasts that helped raise funds and foster fellowship. The biggest profit taken in those days was $68. Parishioners even traveled to Martins Creek, Pennsylvania, every other week to run a Bingo game and bring the profits back to the parish.

The next major accomplishment was building a parish hall. When it originally bought the property, the parish agreed that an elderly groundskeeper, Dr. Carhart would have lifetime rights to a small house at the rear of the lot. When the elderly gentleman died, the parish decided to replace his cottage with a parish hall to house the larger activities. Parishioners donated materials, time and labor. By the winter, the partially completed structure had a roof, but with the winter came one particularly heavy snowstorm. The temporarily braced walls and roof could not bear the weight, and they collapsed with a thunderous roar. Only the front door frame remained intact. That spring the parishioners pulled apart the debris, salvaging as much as possible, and began rebuilding.

In May 1952, Rev. Thomas J. O`Dea became pastor. He applied his artistic talents to the interior decoration of the church and to landscaping the outside. Lawns and shrubs replaced the vineyards that had been in the care of Dr. Carhart`s helper. Fr. O`Dea installed a statue of Our Lady of Grace on the front lawn and planted shrubs around it.

The parish hall which served as the site for many dinner dances coordinated by Charles Joseph Meister, president of the Men`s Society, would have another round of bad. luck. In 1955, Hurricane Diane which spread such devastation along the Delaware River, also caused rampant flooding in Blairstown. The waters of the Paulins Kill were three feet deep in the parish hall. Tables, chairs, and other equipment were badly damaged, but the building stood firmly. Repairs were made and the hall continued to be used for monthly Communion breakfast meetings of the Holy Name Society, a tradition that continued through the 1970s.

The parish had the spiritual leadership of a quick succession of pastors for the next few years. In April 1957, Rev. John J. Reilly became the new pastor. This tall, heavyset gray-haired gentleman who walked with a cane continued to encourage the programs that the vigorous parishioners had undertaken. It may have been a parish small in numbers but the parishioners were active.

Father William H. McKenna was appointed pastor in September 1958. Rev. Michael Garry, a native of County Claire, Ireland, succeeded him in July 1962. During his tenure the second Vatican Council was held. The decrees and constitutions of that 1963-65 Council soon began to make themselves felt in the area.

Lively discussions at regional and parish meetings covered a number of topics: turning altars around so the priest faces the people during the Mass; resurrecting funeral liturgies; saying Mass in English instead of Latin; changing the style of the Sacrament of Penance; celebrating Saturday Mass and having laymen as readers during Mass. Other parishes began instituting these new ways, but St. Jude`s remained unchanged.

The most Rev. George W. Ahr, who had become bishop of Trenton in 1950, convened a Diocesan Pastoral Council, one of the first in the United States, founded on the Vatican Council documents. Fr. Garry nominated Ellis Schweitzer as the delegate from St. Jude`s. The bishop told the delegates that he wanted local councils formed in each parish.

Rev. Michael A. McNulty arrived in Blairstown as pastor on December 18, 1968. Shortly thereafter the altar was turned around so the priest faced the people during the Mass and Fr. McNulty selected laymen to help with the readings. That winter Fr. McNulty, Mr. Schweitzer and other parishioners organized a parish council. After much study, a council was elected and installed on May 15, 1969.

In the early 1970s many new families moved into the parish, bringing with them an energetic spirit of parish involvement. In 1977 a parish study found about 35 percent of the people in the area were Catholics. Parish enrollment in 1970 had been 125 families. By 1977 there were 247 registered families. That year Fr. McNulty formed a committee to consider expanding the parish facilities. The congregation had grown to such an extent that Father said three masses on Sunday and one on Saturday evening each week to accommodate the crowds. The congregation was standing in the aisles, vestibule, and on the steps and sidewalk at the two later Masses. Something had to be done.

The credit for the parish`s current location goes to Fr. McNulty. The late Robert Keating, a faithful usher and manager of the Blairstown Press, introduced Father to Thomas H. Benton, a stock and securities trader, who owned about 600 acres and lived on Benton Road in town. In friendly discussions, Father McNulty made it known that the parish needed land to expand, and he chose a parcel of 13 acres, perhaps the most choice of all of Mr. Benton`s property. The price of land was high, and Father explained that the parish could not afford the going rate; it could not even pay $5,000 or $10,000 an acre.

"No doubt St. Jude overheard the conversation between Mr. Benton and myself," said Father at the time. "St. Jude knew this was indeed a difficult or even hopeless case and interceded on behalf of the parish."

Mr. Benton generously offered to sell the land for $3,500 an acre. The parish bought 10 acres first near Benton Road in 1970 for $3,500 per acre, in 1975, purchased an additional 3.75 acres adjacent to the original purchase. The next chore was raising the capital to build a new church.

The existing property in town, including church, two-car garage, parish hall and land, had a market value of $125,000 in 1975. Nearly 100 parishioners, under the lead ership of fund-raising chairmen Charles O`Connell and Thomas Quinn, worked on a campaign that realized $150,0000 in pledges. Using both the pledges and the value of the property as collateral, plus $25,000 in savings, the parish received sufficient mortgage money to build and furnish a new church and parish hall for an estimated $390,000.

Fr. McNulty offered the first Mass in the new church on Mother`s Day, May 13, 1979. The rectory adjacent to the church was completed in January 1980. Bishop John C. Reiss blessed the church and parish hall on September 14, 1980.

The church seats 360 persons, including chairs in a glass-walled Blessed Sacrament Chapel which is used for daily Mass and on Sunday, as a children`s room.

One of the most striking features of the structure is the stained glass window, the work of Rudolph Buenz of Newton who learned his art in Germany in the 1920s. The side windows depict St. Jude and three Americans, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, and St. John Neumann. The main window represents Christ, King of the Universe, with biblical prophecies and their fulfillment in Christ. Small panels below this depict several popes and saints. Flanking the main windows are four small panels representing the four evangelists: Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

The main altar and baptismal font are of Botticino marble from Italy, standing on bases of dressed stone to match the facade and reredos. Outside the main entrance stands a Carrara marble statue of St. Jude.

The parish continued to grow throughout the 1980s. Bolstered by a real estate boom that significantly increased the population of the local communities, by 1995 the parish of St. Jude`s parish numbered about 600 families.

St. Jude`s has always had an active program for the catholic education of the parish`s children. In 1968 when Fr. McNulty arrived, the C.C.D. classes were conducted in the parish hall of the old church in the village. The Daughters of Divine Charity, who traveled each week from the Villa Madonna Convent in Allamuchy, taught the classes. Five sisters came each week and were helped by lay volunteers from the parish. That charitable arrangement was in place until 1980 when, because of the paucity of vocation to the convent, the Sisters could no longer supply teachers. The only one who kept teaching was Sister Benigna, who continued to travel from Allamuchy until health and age prevented her. In 1980, once the parish was settled in its new location, Fr. McNulty asked Dr. Arthur P. Sullivan to become director of the C.C.D. program. Dr. Sullivan, then a professor and head of the psychology department at Fordham University, led St. Jude`s catholic education activities with a team of lay volunteers for 15 years. Helen Lehner was assistant director. Some of the teachers from this era are still teaching including Mrs. Lehner, Karen Montanya, Michael Sullivan and Frank Seeley.

In 1986 six new classrooms were added to accommodate the increasing C.C.D. enrollment which by by 1995 topped 400. In 1995 a new director had to be appointed when Dr. Sullivan`s professional duties made it difficult for him to continue to give so much time to the program. Liz Shulte-OBrien, an experienced teacher with an administrative background, took on the job. Again, Mrs. Lehner graciously offered to assist.

During this time, another St. Jude`s institution put down strong roots. St. Jude`s Guild started in 1982 to support the church. Today more than 40 members raise funds, organize social events, manage the baptismal classes for new parents, and foster spiritual development in special meetings.

The Church of St. Jude`s never stays still for long which is one sign of an active and vibrant constituency. In the late 1980`s, for example, a series of fortuitous events brought the parish the donation of the lovely statues of the Blessed Mother and children, which now grace the hilltop outside in the Lady of Fatima Shrine. Sr. Helen Paul, the sister of Sam Starr, a member of St. Jude`s parish, and a nun at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, which was closing, offered the statues to St. Jude`s. The late Walter Liebel of St. Jude`s made a generous donation to start the shrine.

The rest of the funds came from a woman just opportunely passing through Blairstown. In devotion to St. Jude, she stopped in to visit Father McNulty and ask what she could do to help the church. Before she left that day, she wrote a check for $3,000 to finish the shrine.

In 1995 the day care center, The Giving Tree, was built to provide a safe and attractive environment for children of working parents in the community. The center is run by Director Joann Graupe and a staff of trained child care specialists.

On April 19, 1997, Msgr. McNulty died after a long battle with cancer. His Funeral Mass was celebrated by Bishop Edward Hughes, second bishop of Metuchen. Father Michael Driscoll, pastor of St. Patrick Church in Belvidere, New Jersey, delivered the homily. Msgr. McNulty is buried in the priest`s plot of Holy Cross Cemetery in South Brunswick, New Jersey.

On May 30, 1997 Father William J. Smith, was appointed pastor of Saint Jude`s by Bishop Edward T. Hughes. On June 10, 1997, he celebrated Mass for the first time in the Church of St. Jude. On July 27, 1997, Monsignor Anthony Lusini, Episcopal Vicar, officially installed Father Smith as pastor.

Fr. Ronald L. Jandernoa was assigned by Bishop Paul Bootkoski as the administrator of St. Jude Parish effective in June of 2002.  Fr. Ron Jandernoa was formally installed as Pastor in July of 2003.  

St. Jude has sponsored a bus each year since January 2003 to the Pro Life March in Washington D.C.

On September 11, 2005 St. Jude celebrated the 6Oth Anniversary of the parish with an outdoor picnic on a perfect day.  The weather was great.    We began with an outdoor memorial for the 4th anniversary of those who died in terrorist attacks leading to the destruction of the the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City.  We celebrated an outdoor Mass.  Then we had a great picnic with food, fun, and games.   

Much has changed in the history of this parish, yet the underlying strengths remain the same. St. Jude`s will face future years confident in the grace of God; confident our prayers will be heard and that St. Jude`s will be a steadying influence on the lives of the people it touches.

St. Jude intercede for us!


Thanks to Ms Joanne McFadden who dedicated many hours bringing most of this page (History) to life.