3 years after fire, Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament breaks ground on new church
Kathy Reid recalls a cold, winter day in December almost three years ago, after the Church of Most Blessed Sacrament in Franklin Lakes had burned down. She placed flowers at the feet of the Blessed Mother, looked up, and saw the charred remains of the sanctuary – black wood against the white snow.
That memory could not be more of a contrast to Saturday, Sept. 17,– the day of the groundbreaking for the Most Blessed Sacrament’s new church. Reid stands a few feet away from that same statue of Mary, smiling alongside her friend and fellow parishioner, Karen Murphy. They are just two of the many beaming faces enjoying a sunny fall day, basking in the warm feeling of culmination after years of struggle.
“Struggle” is the precise word that Murphy uses, to sum up the 1,011 days from destruction to groundbreaking – but she adds: “the struggle was needed.
“Step-by-step, you can erect a church after you lose the former. Yes, it has brought us closer as a community – and because we were a community, we were able to do it,” Murphy said.
Murphy illuminates a vital fact when she reflects on the process of rebuilding: community doesn’t only refer to the Most Blessed Sacrament parish, nor only to those in Franklin Lakes, and not even only to Catholics.
When the Most Blessed Sacrament church burned down, she said that the Barnert Temple – five minutes down the road – offered up its space. West Side Presbyterian Church in Ridgewood did the same, knowing the struggle after losing its church to a fire in 2002 and having to rebuild. And the surrounding Catholic parishes immediately came to help in a show of support that Murphy calls “beautiful.”
“In the beginning, [St. Elizabeth Church in Wyckoff] lent us what we didn’t have – altar linens. We still wanted to celebrate Mass, but we lost everything yesterday,” she recalled.
But on Saturday, the community gathered to reflect on not what it had lost, but all it had gained as it celebrated a new beginning.
“A day for both joy and gratitude”
Parishioners like Murphy; Franklin Lakes Mayor Frank Bivona, who chaired the parish building committee; and Bishop Michael Saporito, who was the keynote speaker at the groundbreaking ceremony; all made sure to mention the resilient leadership of Father John Job. But when the pastor got to the podium, he made sure to mention God.
“God has provided, and we received that sign as a gift of the future things to come,” Father Job said. “Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022 is a day for both joy and gratitude. Joy because in God’s providence, He has brought us to this beautiful morning to mark the beginning of the construction of our new church building. Gratitude because we have been blessed with the support and encouragement of so many who have journeyed with us to celebrate this occasion.”
“A new beginning emerges from ashes”
Bishop Saporito’s voice boomed from the speakers that stood on the uneven ground where the new church would be built. Behind the shovels that would break that ground, he addressed how the healing process of the last few years will become a place of spiritual healing for the future.
“The cornerstone of any church is not simply the stone that will carry the date of the reconstruction, but the true cornerstone is Christ himself,” he said. “A church stands in the midst of a community to offer hope, encouragement, mercy, and love to all who enter into it, in the messiness and sometimes complicated dimensions of human living, by opening its doors to gather people seeking meaning in all of life’s challenges and circumstances.”
A few times throughout the day, the bishop alluded to his own experience of building a church from the ground up when he was pastor of St. Helen Roman Catholic Church in Westfield.
“I know what it’s like to stand on that day and welcome people back to their new home. I look forward, and I know that all of you do too, to celebrating with you when that new church is opened,” he said.
“The weather is predictive of success”
The parishioners of the Most Blessed Sacrament Parish couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day for a groundbreaking. The shining sun certainly fueled optimism.
Dan McBride, a longtime parishioner, marveled at the day: “This groundbreaking is a tribute to the strength and resiliency of our parishioners and our community. I feel that the weather is predictive of the success of this church.”
Dan’s cousin, Peter McBride, concurred: “It’s a wonderful day. It’s a good thing.”
Mayor Bivona said Saturday was a new beginning for the church.
“It was beautiful – Father John did a great job, the bishop was great, and the community came out, and that’s important. It’s a new beginning, and I’m excited to see it,” he said.
As the crowd left the ceremony, their footprints remained in the earth where their church would soon stand. Those footprints illustrated that the groundbreaking ceremony was one more step for a community that has walked a long way since Dec. 12, 2019.
As Karen Murphy put it: “We never have stopped being church and church we will continue. Almost three years ago, we tragically lost our church building – but not our church community. This day is a beautiful step forward.”
The Church of Most Blessed Sacrament burned down on Dec. 12, 2019 due to arson. Since then, the parish has been celebrating Mass in the adjacent Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament. They continue to raise funds for the $18 million building, which is tentatively scheduled for completion in 15-18 months.
Featured image: (L-R) Pastor Emeritus of Most Blessed Sacrament John Flesey, Auxiliary Bishop of Bergen County Michael Saporito, Pastor of Most Blessed Sacrament John Job, and Mayor of Franklin Lakes Frank Bivona pose for a picture after the groundbreaking ceremony.
on Sept. 17, 2022 (ARCHDIOCESE OF NEWARK / JOE JORDAN)
