It has often been stated that the church at Madison—which in the early part of the century was called Bottle Hill—was an offspring from St. John's Church of Paterson; this statement has also been frequently contradicted, and it is certainly safe to say that it is doubtful whether Paterson can lay claim to establishing Catholicism in Madison. St. John's has, however, sufficient glory, for it is the undoubted source of the origin of a number of churches in this vicinity. There is no doubt that the same missionary priests who labored in Paterson also visited other places; thus it has been ascertained that Father Larissy, who according to well authenticated statements was the first priest to read mass in Paterson, subsequently attended the churches in Staten Island and a number along the Hudson places; still St. John's could hardly lay claim to the parentage of these churches, no more than St. John's could be called a child of the church in Newburg because Father Langton paid periodical visits to Paterson from Newburg.[A]
It will suffice for the purposes of writing a history of Catholicism in this county to take a glance at the churches whose origin was undoubtedly in St. John's congregation. As has been stated on a previous page, missionaries visited Macopin before they came to Paterson, but there is no doubt that a church was erected in Paterson long before the erection of the church in Macopin. It was not until 1830 that the Catholics of Macopin proceeded to erect a building to be devoted exclusively to the service of God. This church, under the patronage of St. Joseph, was dedicated in 1830 by Rev. Dr. French, from New York, and Rev. Mr. O'Donoghue, from St. John's Church, this city. For many years this church was attended by priests from St. John's Church and subsequently from St. Boniface's Church. Even to this day it has no stated pastor and is attended by priests having charge of churches in the vicinity.
The German Catholics of this vicinity did a great deal towards establishing the Catholic Church on the firm footing it has found in this county and too much praise cannot be bestowed on the work of the early German Catholics and their priests. The most prominent figure in the work among the German Catholics is Father Nicholas Hens, the respected and zealous pastor of St. Boniface's Church in this city. This gentleman has spent the best days of an active and useful life among the German Catholics and his labors in the Lord's vineyard have borne excellent fruit. Rt. Rev. Bishop Bayley kept a journal of the more important actions of his life and from this journal the following extract is made:
"On Sunday, July 1st, 1860, at half past five, I laid the corner stone of the new German Catholic Church of St. Boniface, which Father Schandel is endeavoring to build. We went in procession to the spot—the cross before, with acolytes, children—Erin's Society as a guard—banners flying—the big missionary cross borne before my carriage by the Germans. There must have been from 8,000 to 10,000 persons present—hot and dusty, but no disturbance. I pitched into Martin Luther for the edification of the multitude."
The following is another extract from the same journal:
"December 1st, 1861, on Sunday, I blessed the new German church at Paterson."
Before this time, however, the few German families gathered once a month or once a fortnight in the basement of St. John's church in Oliver street to have special German services. Among those who attended were John Ratzer, Martin Bauman, Christian Geissler, Leander Kranz, Michael Thalhammer, Joseph Merklin, Joseph Durgeth, Philip Brendel, Mr. Zentner, Mr. Yost, Mr. Schnell and a few others. The services were conducted by Father Hartlaub as early as 1854. On April 18th of that year Father Hartlaub baptized in this church Joseph August Geissler, at present parish priest in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and on December 18th following Emma Mitch, who subsequently attained considerable renown as a singer, was baptized there. Father Hartlaub attended for four years to the spiritual wants of the German Catholics and was succeeded on July 18th, 1858, by Father Louis Fink, at present Bishop of Leavenworth, Kansas. About the first of August, 1859, Father J. J. Schandel succeeded Father Fink and was appointed permanent priest for the Germans. His first baptism was performed on August 11th, and the first marriage at which he assisted was on the 30th of the same month, the contracting parties being Michael Courtade and Miss Anne Mary Brotchie. Father Schandel was very popular amongst all classes of people and his name is still frequently mentioned with reverence and affection. He worked very hard among his countrymen and it was he who conceived the idea and furthered the project of building a church for German Catholics. He purchased the ground on the corner of Main and Slater streets where St. Boniface's Church now stands, and erected that structure which has a seating capacity of 900. The German Catholics in Paterson were few in number and not blessed with worldly riches and Father Schandel was obliged to work for his support in outside missions, a labor to which he devoted himself with assiduity. For a long time he visited regularly every month St. Joseph's Church at Macopin; he also visited occasionally the Catholics in Ringwood and attended to the spiritual needs of the Catholics at St. Francis Church, Lodi.
In 1869 he visited Passaic regularly and secured ground for and erected St. Nicholas' Church. Before that time the Catholics of Passaic had worshipped in a room in one of the factories. The interest awakened in the Catholic Church by Father Schandel and the immigration of a number of German Catholics soon gave the worthy priest more to do than he could attend to. He accordingly asked Bishop Bayley for an assistant priest. His prayer was granted and on August 5th, 1869, Father Nicholas Hens, who had just been ordained, came to Paterson. This worthy priest followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, and Fathers Schandel and Hens worked together energetically and in the greatest harmony. The silk mills at this time attracted large numbers of persons to Paterson and Father Schandel concluded that it would be well to erect the Catholics in Passaic into a separate congregation. Bishop Bayley thought well of the plan and on July 21st, 1871, Father Schandel was transferred to Passaic and Father Hens was appointed pastor of St. Boniface's in this city. Father Schandel remained in Passaic until 1873 when he was succeeded by Father Schneider, the present efficient and well-beloved priest of the church. At present there are about 250 families in the congregation in Passaic, and the parochial school, in charge of the Sisters of Charity, is attended by nearly 300 children.
Being already in possession of a good and commodious church Father Hens devoted a great deal of time and energy to the establishment of a parochial school, that almost indispensable adjunct to every church. In October, 1871, he opened the parochial school in Main street with 35 children, the teacher being the organist of the church. The number of children continued to increase during the winter and in the following spring there was an attendance of over 80. An additional teacher was employed but during the summer of 1872 the Sisters of St. Dominic were engaged to take charge of the school. Father Hens at once provided a residence for the Sisters, purchasing the house and lot adjoining the church for $4,600. The parish grew rapidly under the able care of Father Hens. The modest church was improved and embellished both outside and inside; the school was enlarged several times and another story added to it. In 1874 the residence of the Sisters was rebuilt and in 1877 a chapel, 65×25 feet in size, was added to it. In 1879 the boys' department of the school was placed under the care of some Brothers of Mary who came to Paterson from Nazareth, near Dayton, Ohio. In the same year the present rectory, in the rear of the church, and a residence for the Brothers was erected. About this time the congregation sustained a serious loss in its membership, twenty families leaving it to attend St. Mary's Church on Totowa for greater convenience and the thirty-five families residing in the Stony Road district allying themselves to St. Bonaventure's Church.
Despite this defection the congregation of St. Boniface continued to grow, and soon the church was not able to hold all that wished to worship within its walls. On March 19th, 1882, the feast of St. Joseph, the patron of the Catholic Church, Father Hens bought a plot of ground on River street, near the crossing of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroad. Here the corner-stone of a new church was laid on September 4th, 1882, and on May 14th in the following year the new church was dedicated by Rt. Rev. Bishop Wigger. The church was placed under the protection of Our Lady of Lourdes. The erection of this church cut off from St. Boniface's congregation over one hundred German and Holland families, but their places were soon filled, so that at the present day, six months after the dedication of the new church, St. Boniface's congregation is as large as it ever was. Three masses are said every Sunday and the church is crowded every time. The number of families belonging to the church is about 400, and its parochial schools have an attendance of 350.