About Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel (St. Joseph of The Palisades Parish) · North Bergen, New Jersey
The Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel is a mission chapel of St. Joseph of the Palisades Parish, located at 7615 Broadway in North Bergen, New Jersey, on the corner of 76th Street and Broadway. It is one of three worship sites of the larger parish (alongside the Upper Church and the Lower Chapel), serving the culturally diverse, predominantly Hispanic Catholic community of the Palisades region in Hudson County. The chapel has a remarkable origin: it was converted in 1953 from the former Broadway Theatre (later the Astor Theater), a 1926 movie-and-vaudeville house, and it still houses the original 1928 Robert Morton theatre pipe organ rescued from the nearby Embassy Theatre. Today it hosts weekend Masses in English and Spanish and serves as an intimate devotional space rededicated in 1998.
- Established
- 1953
- Patron
- Immaculate Heart of Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Helber Victoria
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Newark
Why belong here
The Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel offers a uniquely intimate worship setting in a converted 1926 Broadway theater, with a beautiful 1928 Robert Morton pipe organ that still accompanies the liturgy. As a mission chapel of St. Joseph of the Palisades Parish, it serves the cultural and spiritual life of a largely Hispanic Catholic community on the Palisades, with bilingual weekend Masses, confession between Masses, and a meditative Saturday Hour that invites quiet prayer. Belonging here means joining a parish family that has welcomed immigrants from across Latin America since the 1960s and that celebrates liturgy, faith formation, outreach, and devotions in both English and Spanish.
Mass times at Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel (St. Joseph of The Palisades Parish)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: between the 10:00 am and 12:00 pm Masses (at IHM Chapel, 76th Street & Broadway)
Adoration times
- Saturday: 4:00 pm Meditation Hour in the small Chapel (IHM Chapel)
About the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel
The Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel is the North Bergen worship site of St. Joseph of the Palisades Parish, located at 7615 Broadway (76th Street & Broadway), North Bergen, NJ 07047. It functions as a mission chapel alongside the main Upper Church and St. Joseph's Lower Chapel in West New York, and hosts weekend Masses in English and Spanish as well as a Saturday meditation hour. The chapel was rededicated on May 19, 1998 after a careful restoration of its 1926 theater-era architecture.
- Address: 7615 Broadway (76th Street & Broadway), North Bergen, NJ 07047
- Phone (parish): (201) 854-7006
- Email: [email protected]
- Part of St. Joseph of the Palisades Parish, West New York
- In the Archdiocese of Newark
History: From Broadway Theater to Catholic Chapel
What is now the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel began life in 1926 as the Broadway Theater, a vaudeville and movie house built by a man named Adam who also owned the Paramount Theater in Newark. The building featured 985 feet of Broadway frontage with four storefronts and six apartments. When the Embassy Theatre opened on Bergenline Avenue in 1927, competition forced Adam to sell to brothers Al and Irwin Margolies, who reorganized the venue as the Astor Theater Building Corp. in 1948. On December 13, 1953, the Astor was sold to St. Joseph of the Palisades Church and converted into the Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel. In 1997–1998 the chapel was renovated and restored to preserve the dignity of the period while creating a warm, meditative atmosphere; it was rededicated on May 19, 1998.
- 1926: Broadway Theater built by Adam
- 1927: Embassy Theatre opens on Bergenline Avenue; competition begins
- 1948: Astor Theater Building Corp. formed by the Margolies brothers
- December 13, 1953: Theater sold to St. Joseph of the Palisades; chapel established
- 1997–1998: Major renovation and restoration
- May 19, 1998: Chapel rededicated
The Robert Morton Theatre Pipe Organ
The chapel's most distinctive feature is its 1928 3/13 Robert Morton Theatre Pipe Organ, rescued from the nearby Embassy Theatre on Bergenline Avenue (Woodcliffe neighborhood) when that auditorium was demolished. The organ's original console was later badly damaged by fire inside the chapel. The Garden State Theatre Organ Society (GSTOS) restored the instrument and supplied a replacement 3/13 Robert Morton console originally from Loew's Yonkers Theatre (1927). GSTOS co-founder Walter Froehlich and a crew of volunteers rebuilt the console and married it to the original pipes. Theatre organist Jeff Barker maintained the organ and served as chapel organist until his death on December 31, 2013. The organ is still used for church services and, at times, for concerts.
- Original organ: 1928 3/13 Robert Morton, blower #22654, from Embassy Theatre, North Bergen
- Replacement console: 3/13 Robert Morton from Loew's Yonkers Theatre (1927)
- Restoration by Garden State Theatre Organ Society (GSTOS)
- Late organist Jeff Barker served until December 31, 2013
Sacraments
The parish provides all seven sacraments across its three worship sites. Baptisms are celebrated on Sundays with prior registration; matrimony requires registration one year in advance; the sick are visited when a family member contacts the parish office; and funerals are arranged through the funeral home with a funeral Mass celebrated in church. First Reconciliation and First Communion are prepared through the parish Religious Education program at the Academy of St. Joseph.
- Baptism — Sundays, register in advance
- Reconciliation — see confession schedule
- First Communion — through Religious Education
- Confirmation — through Religious Education
- Matrimony — one-year advance registration
- Anointing of the Sick — contact the parish office
- Holy Orders — contact the pastor
Parish Ministries & Devotions
St. Joseph of the Palisades Parish (which includes IHM Chapel) is a bilingual community that runs an unusually broad range of liturgical and social-action ministries. Liturgical roles — ushers, lectors, commentators, altar servers, and extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion — are filled at all 13 weekend Masses across the parish's three sites. Social outreach is centered on St. Joseph's Emergency Food Pantry, which distributes food every third Saturday from the lower community center, and a Spanish-language Pro-Life Group that welcomes all participants.
- Church Ushers / Ministry of Hospitality (~40–50 volunteers across 13 weekend Masses)
- Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (English/Spanish)
- Lectors (junior high age and older)
- Commentators
- Altar Servers (children who have received First Communion)
- St. Joseph's Emergency Food Pantry — every 3rd Saturday, lower community center
- Pro-Life Group — Spanish-language meetings, all welcome
- Religious Education (English Sat 3:45 pm; Spanish Sun 10:30/10:45 am) at Academy of St. Joseph
- RCIA — Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
- Adult Faith Formation — 'One Heart' Reflection Group
Music and Liturgy
Liturgical music at St. Joseph of the Palisades Parish is directed by Music Director Ramon Restituyo. The Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel is uniquely blessed with a 1928 Robert Morton theatre pipe organ that, while historically maintained by the Garden State Theatre Organ Society, continues to support the liturgy of the chapel.
- Parish Music Director: Ramon Restituyo
- 1928 3/13 Robert Morton Theatre Pipe Organ in IHM Chapel
- Past chapel organist: Jeff Barker (d. December 31, 2013)
Parish Staff
The parish is served by a multicultural clergy team and lay staff. Father Helber Victoria is the Pastor; Dennis M. Corcoran serves as Parish Administrator/Business Administrator. Four Parochial Vicars assist with pastoral care, and Deacon Francisco Espinosa assists at liturgies.
- Rev. Helber Victoria — Pastor
- Dennis M. Corcoran — Business Administrator / Parish Administrator
- Rev. Richard DeBrasi — Parochial Vicar
- Rev. José Luis Soto — Parochial Vicar
- Rev. Edinson E. Ramírez — Parochial Vicar
- Rev. Peter West — Parochial Vicar
- Deacon Francisco Espinosa
- Graciela Giacomello — Parish Bookkeeper
- Millie Benitez — Parish Secretary
- Alfredo Lozano — Parish Office Manager
- Ramon Restituyo — Music Director
- Marco Guerrero — Pastoral Assistant
- Laysa Mercedes — Religious Education Assistant
- Ivon Campuzano — Trustee
- Anthony Vuong — Trustee
Getting Involved
New parishioners are warmly invited to register with the parish office, and the bulletin regularly invites volunteers for liturgical ministries, faith formation, and the food pantry. The parish describes itself as 'a culturally diverse community of God's people' that embraces the cross, welcomes newcomers, and serves brothers and sisters with humility and dignity — building, by the grace of God, the 'Living Stones of Christ's Church on the Palisades.'
- Parish registration: contact the rectory
- Liturgical ministry: contact the rectory (201-854-7006)
- Food pantry volunteers: contact the rectory
- Religious Education volunteers: [email protected]