Our Lady of Victories

About Our Lady of Victories Parish

Our Lady of Victories (often abbreviated OLV) is a Roman Catholic parish in the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Newark, located at 2217 John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Jersey City. Its stated mission is to be a community of the faithful committed to celebrating and communicating the spirit of Jesus — not only by their words but also by their actions — and to continue Christ's mission to teach, to bless, to heal, and to reconcile one another to the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit. Founded by European immigrants in 1917, OLV has become a multicultural parish today comprising African, Caribbean, Latino, and Filipino faithful, with the plurality of parishioners being of Filipino descent.

Parish History

The parish dates to April 22, 1917, when its first Mass was celebrated in what is now a West Side Avenue restaurant, founded to absorb the overflow of European immigrants from St. Aloysius Church on West Side Avenue. The current church — a hundred-year-old Italian Renaissance building with Gothic influences — was dedicated on September 24, 1922, and stands on Kennedy Boulevard at Ege Avenue. The parish marked its 100th anniversary in 2017 with a year of events opening on the anniversary date with a 6 p.m. Mass and culminating in a high Mass on October 1 celebrated by then-pastor Rev. Victor E. Paloma, with Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark invited.

The Filipino Community at OLV

Over the decades OLV's demographic shifted from European-heritage to a multicultural, majority-Filipino congregation. According to the Jersey Catholic, Filipinos now form the largest community at OLV (along with Our Lady of Mercy and St. Aloysius) in a city that is home to the largest Filipino population in New Jersey. Filipino devotions such as devotion to the Santo Niño, the Simbang Gabi novena before Christmas, and devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia have become part of parish life. In 2017 the parish counted roughly 370 parishioners actively involved.

• Rev. Ralph D. Siendo is identified as the second Filipino pastor of OLV, succeeding the first, Rev. Victor Paloma.

Pastoral Team & Staff

The parish is led by pastor Rev. Ralph D. Siendo, supported by an administrative assistant, director of religious education, music directors, trustees and finance leadership drawn largely from the parish families themselves.

• Pastor — Rev. Ralph D. Siendo
• Administrative Assistant — Ritz G. Densing
• Director of CCD — Gilda Salvo
• Digital Catechist — Richard Punzalan
• Music Director — Shanice Aquino
• Assistant Music Director — Paolo Areza
• Choir Director — Craig Suico
• Parish Trustees — Rosemary Callaghan & Feliciano Lim
• Finance Chairperson — Edna Falconer Thompson

Weekly Devotions & Holy Hour

Devotional life is built into the weekly schedule, with novenas and a Friday Holy Hour anchoring parish prayer outside of Mass.

• Miraculous Medal Novena — Mondays after the 8:30 AM and 6:30 PM Masses
• Our Mother of Perpetual Help Novena — Wednesdays at 6:00 PM, before the 6:30 PM Mass
• Holy Hour every Friday at 6:00 PM — Exposition, Silent Adoration, Reposition, and Mass

Faith Formation (CCD)

Religious education is provided through the parish's CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) program under Director Gilda Salvo, with a team of volunteer catechists and a Digital Catechist (Richard Punzalan) supporting instruction across age groups.

• Catechists include Mrs. Gilda Salvo, Mrs. Michelle Aguas, Mrs. Cora Herrera, Mrs. Lennen Fargas, Mrs. Laarni Dadulla, Mrs. Marilyn De Guzman, Mrs. Mila Umil, Mrs. Flor Luna, Mr. Rey Luna, Mr. Mark Fargas, Mr. Richard Punzalan

Visit, Contact & Office Hours

The Rectory Office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. For assistance outside office hours, parishioners may email [email protected] or leave a voice message at the rectory.

• Address: 2217 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, NJ 07304-1497
• Phone: (201) 433-4152
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://olvjc.org