Our Lady of Mount Carmel revival with oratory designation, new rector, robust Mass schedule

Jaimie Julia Winters

Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Montclair has been declared an oratory and will be assigned a full-time rector.  

After reopening following the pandemic to a once-a-week Mass on Saturday evenings, Masses at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Oratory (OLMC) will now be celebrated six days a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 8:30 a.m., Saturdays at 4:30 p.m., and Sundays at 11 a.m.

In addition, Our Lady of Mount Carmel community welcomed Father Giandomenico Flora as the newly appointed rector at a Mass held on Sunday, Aug. 28.

Baptisms, first Communion, confirmation, weddings, and funeral Masses will also be celebrated at the church.

In 2016, Our Lady of Mount Carmel merged with neighboring parish, Immaculate Conception, creating one, new parish to better utilize resources. The merged parish was named after St. Teresa of Calcutta to coincide with her Canonization on Sept. 4, 2016. The parish has been overseen by Father Amilcar Benito “Benny” Prado since 2017.

The announcement of OLMC’s designation as an oratory and Father Flora’s appointment also coincided with the church’s traditional St. Sebastian Feast and Carnival.

“As we celebrate the annual St. Sebastian Feast this weekend, there is no better time to bring joyous news to the Catholic faithful in Montclair. On behalf of Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the Archdiocese of Newark is pleased to announce that Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been established as an oratory that will continue to serve the community of faithful with a newly appointed designated rector and a full schedule of weekday and weekend Mass celebrations,” said Father John J. Chadwick, S.T.D., Vicar General, Archdiocese of Newark.

Father Prado said making the announcement during the feast which began in 1926, was a good opportunity to exemplify how traditions keep “our faith going.”

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Oratory will remain a church under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Newark, operating fully and independently, yet within the parish community of St. Teresa of Calcutta.

According to canon law, an oratory is a church, or a physical place of Catholic worship to be used for prayer, Masses and sacraments, but not established as a parish due to certain circumstances. Small parishes that may be struggling with viability can retain use of the church building through the classification of “oratory,” according to the Archdiocese.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church was established in 1907 to serve the needs of newly arrived immigrants from Italy. A wooden structure served for worship until 1937, when the current church and rectory were constructed. The Religious Sisters Filippini arrived in the church in 1939 and remained until June 1971.
The church has struggled over recent years, but the faith community has pushed for a dedicated pastor and more robust Mass schedule.

This year, more than $300,000 in repairs have been made to the church building and an additional combined $55,000 in grant funding is being provided by the Archdiocese to fund renewal and furnishing costs, according to the Archdiocese.

The primary reason for establishing the classification of ‘oratory’ is to respect the strong bonds people develop with their faith communities and church buildings. The oratory classification allows the faith community to help discern next steps and the future use of the church in consultation with the rector and the Archdiocese, according to the archdiocesan statement.

See photos of the Mass and St. Sebastian Procession here.

Determining factors being weighed for OLMC’s future include increased Mass attendance, active volunteer participation, active pastoral council membership, increased participation in sacramental life — baptism, first Communion, confirmation, matrimony, and Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults — and fiscal viability.

A pastoral council and finance council will be established to help oversee the oratory’s administration and vitality. The councils will work with the rector and community to ensure “robust attendance and sacramental and financial benchmarks are met,” according to the Archdiocese.

“These benchmarks will be monitored and reviewed within a designated period of time to ensure the endurance and continuation of the oratory’s self-reliance,” Archdiocese officials said.

After a three-year period, a review of the oratory’s standing will take place by the Archdiocese.

Father Flora called Cardinal Tobin’s decision to designate OLMC an oratory a “good move for the faithful of the church” who have been calling for a “regular” Mass schedule.

He said, the Catholic church overall is still feeling the effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic, which has left some pews empty on Sunday mornings.

“But this is a new beginning with the oratory to come back to worship together,” Father Flora said, adding he would like to institute Masses in other languages with Spanish being the first.

Father Flora was born and raised in Italy and began his formation as a seminarian at the “Redemptoris Mater” (Mother of the Redeemer) seminary in Newark, N.J.  He was ordained a priest in May 2006.

He has served as parochial vicar of St. John the Evangelist in Bergenfield, N.J., as rector of St. Raphael Parish-St. Margaret Shrine in Bridgeport, Conn. and as the Spiritual Director of the new Redemptoris Mater Diocesan Missionary Seminary of Bridgeport in Stamford, Conn.

This summer, Cardinal Tobin called him back to Newark, N.J. to assign him as the new rector of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Oratory.

Father Prado said he is happy for Father Flora to begin his ministry in Montclair.

“I will support him in anything he needs,” Father Prado said.

“We now depend on the active participation of our faith community to help Our Lady of Mount Carmel Oratory thrive and grow. We look forward to celebrating the good news of the Gospel in this repaired and restored place of worship,” Father Flora said.

The Archdiocese also created a website and Facebook page for Our Lady of Mount Carmel Oratory

For more information, visit Our Lady of Mount Carmel Oratory online at www.OLMCMontclair.org or the Archdiocese of Newark online at www.rcan.org.

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Featured image: Father Amilcar Benito “Benny” Prado of St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Montclair and the new rector of Our Lady Mount Carmel Oratory in Montclair celebrate the first Sunday Mass held in years at OLMC. (Joe Jordan)

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