Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament

History of the Shrine

The Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament is the oldest church structure in the Diocese of Metuchen and the direct descendant of the first Catholic mission station in Somerset County, New Jersey. In 1843, when the borough of Raritan did not yet exist, a mission known as the 'Somerville Mission' was established here under the Diocese of New York, with Catholics walking from as far away as Flemington to attend Mass. Irish-descended Catholics erected the present building in 1856 (some sources say 1858), and the parish was formally organized as St. Bernard of Clairvaux. A plaque and a hand-carved Italian marble statue of St. Joseph were mounted on the façade in 1925 in honor of Rev. J. J. Zimmer, pastor from 1876 to 1923, who died at the altar while saying Mass. The interior received its present decoration (painted walls and ceilings, pews, altar rail, brass ceiling lamps, stained glass windows and a central 'Magister Adest et Vocat Te' Christ) during the 1930s and 1940s. In 1988 Bishop Edward Hughes designated the building the Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament when St. Bernard's parish moved to a new church in Bridgewater, and a year later (August 11, 1989) the Diocesan Eucharistic League was established here. The Shrine was staffed by the Spanish order Society of Jesus the Priest (Sacerdotes Jesu) until the early 2000s, then by diocesan priests, and since 2019 by the Raritan Oratory of St. Philip Neri at the request of Bishop James Checchio.

The Altar, Relics, and Coat of Arms

The high altar in use today was brought from Spain by the Society of Jesus the Priest and is over two hundred years old. It is flanked by statues of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and St. Augustine, and the altar's reliquary contains holy relics of St. Francis Xavier, St. John Neumann, St. Pope Pius X, and St. Thérèse of Lisieux (Doctor of the Church). The Shrine's own coat of arms features a gold sun (alluding to the monstrance in which the Blessed Sacrament is exposed), a silver roundel bearing the blue moline cross of the Diocese of Metuchen, a wavy bar representing the Raritan River, and a black field taken from the arms of St. Bernard of Clairvaux — honoring the parish's original patron.

• Altar: 200+ years old, brought from Spain by the Society of Jesus the Priest
• Saints depicted (left to right): St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bernard, St. Augustine
• Relics of St. Francis Xavier, St. John Neumann, St. Pope Pius X, St. Thérèse of Lisieux
• Central stained glass: 'Magister Adest et Vocat Te' (The Teacher is here, and He is calling you)

Clergy & Pastoral Care

Since 2019 the Shrine has been entrusted to the Raritan Oratory of St. Philip Neri (Congregation of the Oratory, C.O.), a community of priests and brothers whose spiritual life is rooted in the path of St. Philip Neri — personal and communal prayer, humility, fraternal charity, and Christian joy. The Oratorians were originally established as the New Brunswick Congregation by Pope John Paul II on September 8, 1998, and served in Catholic campus ministry at Rutgers University and at parishes in New Brunswick before relocating to Raritan in 2018 at Bishop Checchio's request. They now serve five apostolates: the Shrine Chapel, St. Ann Church, St. Joseph Church, Holy Trinity Church in Bridgewater, and St. Ann Classical Academy.

• Very Rev. Jeffrey M. Calia, C.O. — Provost of the Raritan Oratory, Rector of the Shrine; also Pastor of Holy Trinity Parish; Vicar, Novice Master, and Prefect of the Secular Oratory
• Rev. Steven J. Bolton, C.O. — Vice Rector of the Shrine; Parochial Vicar of Holy Trinity Parish; ordained to the priesthood June 29, 2024
• Associated Secular Oratory lay community of more than 50 members

Visiting, Shrine Hours, and What to See

The Shrine is open Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and on Sundays only for Mass (10:30 AM). The parish office and rectory are located next door to the Shrine; visitors are warmly directed there for the Shrine Book Club and other parish activities. Beyond the active devotional life, the chapel contains several historic treasures worth seeing: the 1856/1858 church structure, the 200-year-old Spanish high altar, the reliquary of four saints, the 'Magister Adest et Vocat Te' central stained-glass Christ, and on the building's exterior the 1925 Italian marble statue of St. Joseph and the memorial plaque to Rev. J. J. Zimmer, pastor 1876–1923.

• Shrine hours: Mon – Fri 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM; Sat 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM; Sun open for Mass only
• Original 1856/1858 church building (oldest in the Diocese of Metuchen)
• Spanish high altar with statues of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Bernard, and St. Augustine
• Reliquary of St. Francis Xavier, St. John Neumann, St. Pope Pius X, St. Thérèse of Lisieux
• Exterior: marble St. Joseph statue (1925) and Rev. J. J. Zimmer memorial plaque (pastor 1876–1923)

Affiliated Parishes, School, and Jubilee Year

The Raritan Oratory of St. Philip Neri shepherds a network of apostolates across Raritan and Bridgewater. In addition to the Shrine Chapel, the Oratorians pastor St. Ann Church (45 Anderson St, Raritan) and St. Joseph Church (16 East Somerset St, Raritan) — both founded as daughter parishes of the old St. Bernard of Clairvaux — as well as Holy Trinity Church in Bridgewater. The Oratory also runs St. Ann Classical Academy, the only Catholic classical school in the Diocese of Metuchen. In 2025 the Shrine Chapel was designated an official Jubilee Church for the Holy Year, one of only four in the diocese (alongside St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in Metuchen, the National Blue Army Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Washington, and the National Shrine of St. Lucy Filippini / Parish of the Visitation in New Brunswick).

• St. Ann Church (Raritan) — Italian-heritage parish
• St. Joseph Church (Raritan) — Slovak-heritage parish
• Holy Trinity Church (Bridgewater)
• St. Ann Classical Academy (Raritan) — only Catholic classical school in the Diocese of Metuchen
• Jubilee Church, Holy Year 2025, Diocese of Metuchen

Contact, Bulletins, and Social Media

The parish office can be reached by phone at (908) 722-1489 or by email at Office@blessedsacramentshrine.org. The official website is blessedsacramentshrine.com, where visitors can find the latest bulletins, the full liturgical calendar, news, staff information, and the daily/weekly schedule of Masses, adoration, confession, and devotions. The Shrine Chapel also maintains a Facebook page under the name 'BlessedSacramentShrine'.

• Phone: (908) 722-1489
• Email: Office@blessedsacramentshrine.org
• Website: blessedsacramentshrine.com
• Facebook: BlessedSacramentShrine
• Weekly bulletins and liturgical calendar posted online