| Church of Our Lady of the Assumption Second & Main Wood-Ridge, NJ A Brief Sketch of the Parish In the early part of this century, Catholics of Wood-Ridge had to go to neighboring towns for the celebration of the sacraments as well as their Sunday Eucharist. It was not until the Spring of 1926 that Wood-Ridge would form a separate Catholic parish. The old church was built on the site of the present Friary. It's cornerstone was laid on August 15, 1926, the feast of Our Lady of the Assumption. Fr. Edwin Garrity, O.F.M. was the first pastor and he celebrated the First Mass in Wood-Ridge on November 28, 1926. The rapid growth of the parish coincided with that of the town itself. A convent and a school were built in 1938 by the then pastor, Fr. Edgar Barrett, O.F.M. By the time that Fr. William Hayes, O.F.M. arrived in the parish in the mid-fifties, plans were being formulated for a new church, an addition to the school, and a new friary. It was also during Fr. William's tenure that the friars first became residents of Wood-Ridge (formerly they resided at St. Joseph's in East Rutherford). The first friary was the old Goerner house at Second Street and North Avenue. Many of the present parishioners of Assumption remember the drive for the building of our new church, the beginning of the actual work on December 20, 1956 and dedication on December 7, 1958. One of the great beauties of the new church was the stained-glass windows. Much research and planning by Fr. William and Fr. Germain Badgley, O.F.M., as well as the artists and window-makers themselves, went into the design of the windows. The windows depict Our Lady as she appears under many titles. |
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