Tag Archives: Holy Cross Church

Time for Holy Cross Dedication

September 18, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

Here’s the new Holy Cross Church, here’s the steeple. Pretty soon the doors will be open and there will be people, as a Rumson twist on the classic rhyme goes.

If you drive by the revamped Holy Cross Church in Rumson, you’ll see that it’s ready for parishioners.

However, as Catholic church discipline dictates, there must first be a dedication before a Mass is celebrated in a new or rehabilitated house of worship.

That dedication will take place on Saturday at 4 p.m. A reception will follow in the gym of the school on the campus.

Read more about the church’s revamp and see old photos by clicking here. (For history, click on each of the links.)

For more about the dedication tradition, click here.

— Elaine Van Develde/photos and story

Local Life

Holy Cross Reopening on Hold

June 17, 2015 Elaine Van Develde Leave a comment

“Here’s the church, and here’s the steeple
Open the door and see all the people.
Here’s the parson going upstairs,
And here he is saying his prayers.”

It isn’t quite as simple as the old finger-acted nursery rhyme goes when it comes to the restoration/expansion of Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church in Rumson.

The church is there. The steeple is there. But, it’s not quite ready for opening the door to welcome and see all the people, according to a letter sent out to parishioners by Fr. Michael Manning a couple of weeks ago.

The delay was estimated by Fr. Manning to be a couple weeks or more. Depending on “a realistic assessment of the time needed for each subcontractor to complete their work, especially as the flooring progresses,” Fr. Manning said in his note that the postponement of the previously planned June dedication is necessary.

In addition to making certain that the tile flooring is complete, he said that “possible dates then need to be coordinated with the bishop’s office to schedule the (dedication) ceremony.”

According to Catholic church doctrine, any new church, or newly structured house of worship, must be dedicated.

And, according to an informational piece on the church’s website, this is why …

“What dedicates a church?

“It is the diocesan bishop’s responsibility to dedicate new churches in his diocese. Every church must have a titular, e.g. a canonized saint, Blessed Trinity, Our Lord Jesus Christ according to a mystery invoked in his life or a title in the Sacred Liturgy, the Holy Spirit, the Blessed Virgin Mary or one of the angels.

“The celebration of the Eucharist with its special prayers and readings and hymns most fittingly dedicates a church along with other unique parts of the Rite of dedication

“Blessing and sprinkling of water
Prayer of dedication
Anointing of the altar and walls of the church Incensation of the altar and church
Lighting the altar and church”

For more information on the rite of dedication, click here.

“As soon as we can announce a new date, we will,” Fr. Manning said in his note. “Keep praying!”

Local Life, News

Holy Cross Church: A Look at its Expansion From Start to Near Finish

Gallery May 19, 2015 Elaine Van Develde

Holy Cross in 2013, when the expansion began

Here’s Holy Cross Church. Here’s its steeple. Open the doors … Well, not quite yet.

By the looks of things and according to the word around town, the Rumson church will be ready for its people (or parishioners) by the summer.

And it looks that way.

With the foundation of the 1885 church restoration/expansion blessed on Nov. 3, 2013, after the project broke ground that spring, construction was slated for completion by the end of 2014. While it has looked very close to finished for several months, a look back from its groundbreaking to now shows the progress and latest refinements.

The church project has been a contentious one from the start, tainted by the scandal of its leader in the early 2000s, Rev. Joseph Hughes, who pleaded guilty to embezzling millions from the church and its revamp fundraising coffers.

Then there were battles over the size of the expansion of what was a small, white-shingled 1885 church the expansion of which is being tailored to recreate the original design of Charles Keely.

For fundraising sponsorship offers, check out the church’s website by clicking here.

— Photos and story/Elaine Van Develde

Local Life, News

A Revival: Holy Cross Church

Gallery November 18, 2014 Elaine Van Develde Leave a comment

With construction still not quite complete, the sign giving Mass times remains on the church’s construction fence

Holy Cross when much of the church has been demolished and only its original facade and steeple were left standing

Light shines through the original stained glass windows at a halved Holy Cross at dusk in the late summer of 2013

The sun goes down and the construction crew is gone at a beginning stage Holy Cross partial demolition

In the fall of 2014, Holy Cross is bigger and nearing the completion of its expansion

One side of the Holy Cross expansion is getting some finishing touches

A view from the gates to Holy Cross’ addition

Crews are still on-site at Holy Cross, but the project is slated for completion at the end of 2014

In keeping with its original architectural design, an expanded Holy Cross church looks just about the same as it always has, just wider and deeper

By Elaine Van Develde

When it comes to Holy Cross Church in Rumson, you could say it’s a case of that old Peter Allen song, Everything Old is New Again — and, maybe, vice versa.

The long-anticipated, beleaguered church restoration/expansion project broke ground in the spring of 2013.

When portions at the rear of the 1885 white-shingled house of worship were demolished, leaving only its facade and room for the expansion, the sight of the hollowed, one-dimensional flat structure was a view of a different kind.

The foundation for the expansion was blessed on Nov. 3, 2013.

Since then, a lot of building, recreating the designs of Charles Keely, has been done. Slated for completion by the end of 2014, the compromise of what was originally to be an even bigger Holy Cross is looking nearly complete.

Take a look at our photo gallery above. Just click on any photo to enlarge and scroll through using the arrows to the left or right.