Most Blessed Sacrament in Franklin Lakes reopens with Mass five years after fire
FRANKLIN LAKES— A Mass of dedication celebrated the opening of the new $17.4 million Church of the Most Blessed Sacrament almost five years after it was destroyed by fire and two years after construction to rebuild started.
The new 700-person capacity sanctuary was filled with parishioners on Sept. 17 for the mass conducted by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, archbishop of Newark and the Rev. John R. Job, pastor of the church.
Former mayor and building committee chairman Frank Bivona read a proclamation during the ceremonial presentation of the building's plans to Tobin.
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“The joy of this community and its enduring perseverance is a great contribution to the archdiocese,” Tobin said. “You kept on keeping on, whatever the disappointments. God bless you for your faith, your trust, and your welcome.”
The new church was designed by Foresight Architects and LAN Associates. It retains the circular layout of the previous structure and includes a community gathering hall with a kitchen, a 90-seat chapel and rooms for children’s classes, and other functions.
Stained-glass windows were salvaged from the shuttered Sacred Heart Church in Jersey City. Sculptor Jay Hall Carpenter created the 8-foot-tall crucifix above the altar, Peragallo Pipe Organ Co. built the organ and Ramsey’s St. Paul Church provided the tabernacle.
The only part of the sanctuary to survive the fire was a brick tower holding three bells dating to 1875, cast at the Meneeley and Kimberly Foundry in Troy, New York. They were originally installed at St. Alphonsus Church in Manhattan, and moved to Most Blessed Sacrament when it was built in 1981. The tower could not be salvaged, but the bells were removed and sent to Christoph Paccard Bell Foundry in Charleston, South Carolina, to be cleaned and updated with new electromagnetic strikers. They are now housed in a tower over the church entrance.
“This new church building is the result of God’s grace working through a shared vision of the people who came together to study, reflect, and pray for the creative guidance of the Holy Spirit,” said the Rev. John R. Job, pastor. “We, as a parish community, encountered challenges and setbacks, but we never gave up hope. We persevered and, together, we relied on patient endurance, leading us to this most solemn and joyful day.”
The 2,000-family-member facility was destroyed by arson on Dec. 11, 2019. Parishioners have been worshipping since then in the all-purpose room of its adjacent Academy of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The church membership faced innumerable challenges, including planning and construction during the pandemic.
Church member and borough resident James Mayers, 26, was arrested at the scene of the fire in 2019. A year later he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was ordered committed to Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Morris Plains for what remains of an estimated 30-year sentence on combined charges of first-degree aggravated arson and third-degree burglary. He will remain under court supervision until December 2049.
For more information on masses and services, visit the church's website mostblessedsacrament.ws.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Most Blessed Sacrament in Franklin Lakes NJ reopens after fire
