Among the Ghosts of the Faithful, Immigrant Churches in New Jersey Stand Vacant

May 23, 2004

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/23/nyregion/23church.html?ex=1086235200&en=99a38c23d96fd1ea&ei=5070

On May 23, 2004 The New York Times reported, "There was a time when a person could stand on Sixth Street and hear dueling organs swelling from back-to-back Catholic churches, and it all made sense. Faithful Italians would gather on one end of the block at Holy Rosary Church, which bills itself as New Jersey's first Italian parish. Devout Poles would fill the building abutting it, St. Anthony of Padua Church, which, as the oldest Polish Roman Catholic parish in the city, once boasted a congregation of more than 10,000. But now both churches stand on the hushed street like sentinels, quietly guarding a time that has long since left Jersey City."