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Elizabeth – St. Patrick’s

A scaled-down copy of the great cathedral of Cologne can be seen from the New Jersey Turnpike and from planes landing at Newark Airport. The church, under construction from 1889 until 1901 is constructed of gray granite with white dressed granite trimmings. Its estimated cost was $400,000. It seats 1,600. The pastor who oversaw the construction was Rev. Martin Gessner. According to parish history, Father Gessner and parishioners carried stones to the site and assisted in the construction to reduce costs. The builder was Frank Mulligan. Interior carpentry work was done by James Cantwell, and the finishing by P. J. Kiely, both of Elizabeth. The interior marble statues by Joseph Sibbel are of Italian marble.

“St. Patrick’s Church, Elizabethport, New Jersey, which was recently dedicated, is a remarkable edifice.  Having been in course of construction since 1889 under the personal supervision of its rector, Rev. Martin Gessner. No debt has existed at any time, from the inception to the completion of the edifice.  Father Gessner raised the money among his own parishioners.  He refused to borrow on bond or mortgage.  When money was not in hand he stopped work until money accumulated to keep up the ‘pay as you go’ principle which he maintained from beginning to end of building operations.  The structure is in the medieval Gothic school of architecture. The material is gray granite from Maine, with white dressed granite trimmings and granite columns and capitals in the interior.  The towers are 212 feet tall.

All the marble statuary in the interior is by Mr. Joseph Sibbel, sculptor, who journeyed to Italy for the express purpose of selecting it in the quarries, made famous by Michael Angelo.”

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3, January 18, 1900, page 27.

Elizabeth, NJ 07206

About The Building

Architect(s)

  • William Schickel

Architectural Style

  • Gothic Revival

Interior Designer(s)

  • Joseph Sibbel - Marble Statues

Fabricator(s) of Windows

  • Franz Meyer

Notable Works of Art

  • Hook and Hastings 2,900-pipe organ
  • Altar of Tyrolean marble, Italian marble, Algerian and Mexican onyx. Tabernacle and communion rail of Algerian onyx. Cost in 1899 - $47,000.
  • Communion rail of onyx. 42 stained glass windows by Franz Meyer, characterized by bubble glass, translucency, and varying thicknesses.
  • Stations of the Cross by Franz Meyer.
  • Marble statues by Joseph Sibbel, sculptor.

Renovations

  • 1940 - The church was cleaned and painted. 1961 - Several pinnacles and gargoyles were removed from the towers for safety. 1994 - The sacristy was gutted by fire and repaired. The church was undamaged. 1995 - The sanctuary ceiling was restored and the church and the Stations of the Cross were repainted. The statues were cleaned.

Current Status: In use

Interior Pictures

Exterior Pictures

Year Opened: 1899

10 Comments

  1. Alex zimmerman
    Alex zimmerman September 18, 2023

    Alex zimmerman
    September 12,2023
    I attended St.Patrick Grammar and High School
    from 1964-1972 and graduated while Father Muenzen was Pastor and Sister Dorothy was the H.S. principal.I will always have them in my heart for they and the staff were very good Christians. I served as an altar boy for two years and served
    Mass with Father Muenzen. memories of those times will always be there with me.God Bless !

  2. George Murphy
    George Murphy August 24, 2023

    Visited last evening and played the beautiful Hook and Hastings organ, which volunteers are working to restore.
    An imposing edifice to our Christian Faith!

  3. Edward F Olearczyk Jr.
    Edward F Olearczyk Jr. December 28, 2022

    My mom grew up on Anna Street and was from the last class to graduate from Sacred Heart 1945. There were at least 2 large Lynch families (11 kids) in that part of Elizabeth.. Although they were litterally on the same block as SH I can’t believe they did not worship at St Patricks too. Grandad was a EPD man in that area. Post WWI to 30’s.

  4. Christina Ripoll (nee Zelichowski)
    Christina Ripoll (nee Zelichowski) September 17, 2022

    The teaching sister were the Sisters of Charity. I was fortunate to attend from 1950 to 1963 (kindergarten through high school).

    The shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes was dedicated in 1957 and we (school children) were asked to write our desire for person prayer needs to be placed in time capsule.

  5. RUTH SULLIVAN
    RUTH SULLIVAN December 13, 2021

    There is a shire to Our lady of Lourdes next to the St Pstrick’s elementary school, are there any pictures of the dedication of that shrine. I think it was Father Stanley who was pastor of St Patricks Church (Elizabethport NJ) when the was the statues dedicated. I know it was around 1957-1959

    Thank you

  6. Mary
    Mary July 27, 2021

    What order of nuns were at the school in the 1960’s?

  7. Steffie H.
    Steffie H. June 2, 2021

    My grandfather was the organist and musical director from 1953 for about 40 years. My parents were married there and my mother sang alongside with my grandfather. I was baptized and married there as well. I have a deep love for this church. I grew up in that balcony, I can forever here the music of this sacred gem.

  8. Jerry Kallinger
    Jerry Kallinger November 6, 2020

    My name is Jerry Kallinger. I was a student at St. Michael School on East Jersey Street when Father Muenzen was a priest there. In 1985, I helped restore the structural wall at St. Patrick Church. Father Muenzen married my daughter on April 16, 1983. I wish to contact Miss Susan Muenzen Comeaux.

    kallingerj@aol.com

  9. Susan Muenzen Comeaux
    Susan Muenzen Comeaux May 21, 2019

    Mr. Ferrari, your cousin’s family must have known my father’s first cousin, Rev. Roland Muenzen. He was ordained at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in May, 1947 and was Pastor there for many years.

  10. Patricia Ferrari
    Patricia Ferrari February 9, 2019

    Thank you for this lovely history of the church. I am writing a genealogy for my cousin, whose family worshipped here , probably from its inception, through at least 1956. From 1910- to at least 1925, members of the Cassidy family attended the parish school as well.
    I will include the link to the blog in my genealogy.

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