Half-century of community
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
For many Catholics who live and work along the busy Route 33 and 66 corridors, Holy Innocents Parish, Neptune, is the church around the corner.
Where those who work in the area are concerned, it is often the first place they turn to in times of trouble as happened throughout the day and evening of Sept. 11, 2001.
It’s frequently a place of comfort and consolation for those who visit or work at Jersey Shore Medical Center just down the road.
For parishioners, it’s where “we all come to celebrate and share what we have in common: our faith; our heritage; our common causes,” said Deacon James Walsh, who’s been a member of the parish since 1970.
Deacon Walsh was one of several members of Holy Innocents who came to sit a spell one early June morning in the office of the pastor, Father John T. Jakub, a comfortable space tucked amidst the Holy Innocents School and parish offices. There, they reflected on the 50-year history of the parish.
Celebrations of that anniversary were to culminate with a Mass, procession and social gathering on June 14, the Feast of Corpus Christi and so, there was a bittersweet sensibility to the morning.
The festivities, which had been unfolding monthly, would soon wrap up, as Denise O’Rourke, a pre-school teacher at Holy Innocents noted. It had been an enjoyable time, a time to celebrate all the aspects of being part of the community.
“We have so many things in common,” said O’Rourke. “People here are so very good, warm and generous. It’s really been good to celebrate that.”
Festivities started in January with a special Mass for all parishioners baptized in 2008. Deacon Walsh recalled it as a wonderful gathering that really got commemorations and festivities off to a special start by emphasizing the sacramental aspects of community.
In February, this parish which is home to people of so many nationalities, enjoyed “International Night”.
“This is where all the parishioners bring different dishes from their traditions,” said Deacon Walsh, who added that International Night is an annual event at Holy Innocents. “Everyone jumps in and contributes.”
On the menu were special dishes from Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, Latin America and all over the United States, he said. “It’s great. It’s symbolic of the (spiritual) food that unites us,” he said.
In April, Bishop John M. Smith and other notables joined with parishioners at a gala dinner dance at the Jumping Brook Country Club and in May, a May Crowning of a statute of the Blessed Mother was held and Father Jakub led a special Bible Study every Wednesday night, they said.
Parishioner Nancy Rose, whose parents, Edward and Joan Ziegler, were founding members, said the celebrations brought back a lot of memories – very good memories indeed.
Way Back When
Historically speaking, the greater Neptune area wasn’t known as a home to or haven for Catholics.
Episcopalians and Methodists set down roots early by establishing major houses of worship in nearby Asbury Park and Ocean Grove and formed the demographic backbone of the growing community.
In the post-war era, when the Garden State Parkway swept in, the demographics started to change and by early summer, 1957, Bishop George W. Ahr asked Father Francis L. Nolan, then pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Asbury Park, to initiative a census of the Catholic families in Neptune.
A history of Holy Innocents Parish records that a handful of “faithful Holy Spirit parishioners” who lived in Neptune accepted the challenge and went from door-to-door. They found that in the area between Corlies and Asbury avenues, there were 343 families, enough to organize a parish.
On June 30, 1959, the bishop named Father James A. Reilly, the curate at Holy Spirit, the first pastor of the new parish and chose “Holy Innocents” as its title. The boundaries were printed in that week’s edition of The Monitor.
When the Neptune Township Board of Education turned down an application by the new parish seeking to rent the Summerfield School Auditorium for Sunday Mass, Neptune City opened the door to the new congregation, granting them use of the Woodrow Wilson School gymnasium rent free.
Help came from another unexpected quarter when a Jewish friend of Father Reilly’s – a Mr. I.A. Fight and his son, Manfred – offered him the use of a house they owned on Corlies Avenue for a rectory where daily Mass was offered.
Another census was held in 1959 – this time showing some 686 families claiming membership in Holy Innocents Parish – enough to mount a capital campaign for a building that would allow for worship, fellowship and education at the present site on Bangs Avenue and Route 33 and set the stage for a free-standing church when resources permitted.
The campaign soon realized $166,315 – enough to start raising high the roof beams of that first structure.
On Sunday, June 5, 1960, Auxiliary Bishop James J. Hogan officiated at the ceremony of the corner-stone laying at Holy Innocents Church assisted by 35 religious and members of the clergy.
Old newspaper clips collected over the decades record the growth and progress of Holy Innocents Parish. A school and convent for the Filippini Sisters who staffed the school from the beginning followed in 1965.
Parishioners would have to wait until 1992, however, for the free-standing church with its beautiful rose window which faces Route 33.
That was then, this is now
As it stands now, Holy Innocents Parish is a vital representation of Catholicism on the landscape of coastal Monmouth County.
Some 2,000 families form a bustling community, guided by Father Jakub, whom Deacon Walsh refers to as the latest in a litany of “great priests who have served this parish. Father Jakub…he’s a blessing.”
Deacon Walsh continued his litany. “We have a great RCIA program. Great. All of us here are actively involved. We have a great religious education program. Sister Bernadette Schuler, the director, is a dream. This year, there were a little over 500 children attending. Father Lawrence Kunnel, who retired in residence after 20 years here, is very well loved.”
It is also home to several generations as parishioner Nancy Rose pointed out. “It mattered to my parents to be part of building this parish. It matters to them to be part of it still. It matters to me.
“I was married here. Our babies were baptized here,” said Rose, who faithfully attends 8 a.m. Mass on Sunday with husband Richard and their daughters, Hannah, 12 and Mia, 4.
Hannah, she proudly noted, is an altar server.
“Being part of Holy Innocents,” she said, “is something that runs like a thread through our lives.”
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For many Catholics who live and work along the busy Route 33 and 66 corridors, Holy Innocents Parish, Neptune, is the church around the corner.
Where those who work in the area are concerned, it is often the first place they turn to in times of trouble as happened throughout the day and evening of Sept. 11, 2001.
It’s frequently a place of comfort and consolation for those who visit or work at Jersey Shore Medical Center just down the road.
For parishioners, it’s where “we all come to celebrate and share what we have in common: our faith; our heritage; our common causes,” said Deacon James Walsh, who’s been a member of the parish since 1970.
Deacon Walsh was one of several members of Holy Innocents who came to sit a spell one early June morning in the office of the pastor, Father John T. Jakub, a comfortable space tucked amidst the Holy Innocents School and parish offices. There, they reflected on the 50-year history of the parish.
Celebrations of that anniversary were to culminate with a Mass, procession and social gathering on June 14, the Feast of Corpus Christi and so, there was a bittersweet sensibility to the morning.
The festivities, which had been unfolding monthly, would soon wrap up, as Denise O’Rourke, a pre-school teacher at Holy Innocents noted. It had been an enjoyable time, a time to celebrate all the aspects of being part of the community.
“We have so many things in common,” said O’Rourke. “People here are so very good, warm and generous. It’s really been good to celebrate that.”
Festivities started in January with a special Mass for all parishioners baptized in 2008. Deacon Walsh recalled it as a wonderful gathering that really got commemorations and festivities off to a special start by emphasizing the sacramental aspects of community.
In February, this parish which is home to people of so many nationalities, enjoyed “International Night”.
“This is where all the parishioners bring different dishes from their traditions,” said Deacon Walsh, who added that International Night is an annual event at Holy Innocents. “Everyone jumps in and contributes.”
On the menu were special dishes from Eastern and Western Europe, Asia, Latin America and all over the United States, he said. “It’s great. It’s symbolic of the (spiritual) food that unites us,” he said.
In April, Bishop John M. Smith and other notables joined with parishioners at a gala dinner dance at the Jumping Brook Country Club and in May, a May Crowning of a statute of the Blessed Mother was held and Father Jakub led a special Bible Study every Wednesday night, they said.
Parishioner Nancy Rose, whose parents, Edward and Joan Ziegler, were founding members, said the celebrations brought back a lot of memories – very good memories indeed.
Way Back When
Historically speaking, the greater Neptune area wasn’t known as a home to or haven for Catholics.
Episcopalians and Methodists set down roots early by establishing major houses of worship in nearby Asbury Park and Ocean Grove and formed the demographic backbone of the growing community.
In the post-war era, when the Garden State Parkway swept in, the demographics started to change and by early summer, 1957, Bishop George W. Ahr asked Father Francis L. Nolan, then pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Asbury Park, to initiative a census of the Catholic families in Neptune.
A history of Holy Innocents Parish records that a handful of “faithful Holy Spirit parishioners” who lived in Neptune accepted the challenge and went from door-to-door. They found that in the area between Corlies and Asbury avenues, there were 343 families, enough to organize a parish.
On June 30, 1959, the bishop named Father James A. Reilly, the curate at Holy Spirit, the first pastor of the new parish and chose “Holy Innocents” as its title. The boundaries were printed in that week’s edition of The Monitor.
When the Neptune Township Board of Education turned down an application by the new parish seeking to rent the Summerfield School Auditorium for Sunday Mass, Neptune City opened the door to the new congregation, granting them use of the Woodrow Wilson School gymnasium rent free.
Help came from another unexpected quarter when a Jewish friend of Father Reilly’s – a Mr. I.A. Fight and his son, Manfred – offered him the use of a house they owned on Corlies Avenue for a rectory where daily Mass was offered.
Another census was held in 1959 – this time showing some 686 families claiming membership in Holy Innocents Parish – enough to mount a capital campaign for a building that would allow for worship, fellowship and education at the present site on Bangs Avenue and Route 33 and set the stage for a free-standing church when resources permitted.
The campaign soon realized $166,315 – enough to start raising high the roof beams of that first structure.
On Sunday, June 5, 1960, Auxiliary Bishop James J. Hogan officiated at the ceremony of the corner-stone laying at Holy Innocents Church assisted by 35 religious and members of the clergy.
Old newspaper clips collected over the decades record the growth and progress of Holy Innocents Parish. A school and convent for the Filippini Sisters who staffed the school from the beginning followed in 1965.
Parishioners would have to wait until 1992, however, for the free-standing church with its beautiful rose window which faces Route 33.
That was then, this is now
As it stands now, Holy Innocents Parish is a vital representation of Catholicism on the landscape of coastal Monmouth County.
Some 2,000 families form a bustling community, guided by Father Jakub, whom Deacon Walsh refers to as the latest in a litany of “great priests who have served this parish. Father Jakub…he’s a blessing.”
Deacon Walsh continued his litany. “We have a great RCIA program. Great. All of us here are actively involved. We have a great religious education program. Sister Bernadette Schuler, the director, is a dream. This year, there were a little over 500 children attending. Father Lawrence Kunnel, who retired in residence after 20 years here, is very well loved.”
It is also home to several generations as parishioner Nancy Rose pointed out. “It mattered to my parents to be part of building this parish. It matters to them to be part of it still. It matters to me.
“I was married here. Our babies were baptized here,” said Rose, who faithfully attends 8 a.m. Mass on Sunday with husband Richard and their daughters, Hannah, 12 and Mia, 4.
Hannah, she proudly noted, is an altar server.
“Being part of Holy Innocents,” she said, “is something that runs like a thread through our lives.”
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