St. John

Parish Identity & Service

St. John's Parish is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Newark, a 200-year-old urban parish whose community life centers on corporal works of mercy rather than size. Although the parish itself is small, the apostolates it operates — St. John's Soup Kitchen, the Women's and Children's Center, the free Health Services clinic, a food pantry, and the Archdiocese's Pastoral Ministry With the Deaf — reach hundreds of people every day in downtown Newark and beyond.

History & Founding (1826–Present)

Catholic worship in Newark began in private homes and a basement on Mulberry Street before Bishop John Dubois of New York sent Rev. Gregory B. Pardow in 1824 and the trustees incorporated on November 25, 1826. The cornerstone was laid in 1827 and the modest church dedicated in 1828; the Propagation of the Faith in Paris saved it from sale in 1829 with a loan of 22,960 francs. Father Patrick Moran tripled the building's size by 1848 and led a parish-wide temperance pledge in 1842. Monsignor John Hourihan, pastor from 1972 to 1997, founded the soup kitchen and the deaf ministry; his successors — Monsignor James Finnerty, Monsignor Neil Mahoney, Father Bismarck Chau, and (from 2020) Father Camilo Cruz — have continued and expanded those works.

• 1826: First incorporated Trustees of the Roman Catholic Society of Newark (Nov. 25)
• 1827: Mulberry Street lot purchased for $325; cornerstone laid
• 1828: Church dedicated by Father Power (50 × 65 ft)
• 1829: Pardow appointed rector; only resident Catholic rector in New Jersey
• 1842: Parish-wide temperance pledge
• 1848: Three expansions under Father Patrick Moran
• 1972: 150th anniversary; listed on National Register of Historic Places; Monsignor Hourihan appointed
• 2005: Linked to Saint Patrick's Pro-Cathedral under shared pastor
• 2007: St. John's Health Services opens (Nov. 1, under Sr. Alma Pukel)
• 2020: Father Camilo Cruz becomes pastor

Architecture & Historic Building

The present St. John's is a brownstone Gothic structure in the English Norman Perpendicular style, with heavy buttresses, a square tower, and stained-glass windows depicting the saints. The high altar is dominated by a large crucifix and flanked by figures of the Madonna and St. John. The original 1828 sandstone walls — built largely by Irish parishioners using ship-ballast stones — were never demolished; they are incorporated into later additions. The building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on October 30, 1972 (reference #72000789).

• Style: English Norman Perpendicular Gothic
• Architect of major expansions: Father Patrick Moran (by 1848)
• Original building: 1828 (50 × 65 ft)
• Materials: brownstone, sandstone, ship ballast
• NRHP #72000789 (added Oct. 30, 1972)
• Located at 22–26 Mulberry Street

Clergy & Staff

The parish is led by Father Camilo E. Cruz as pastor (since 2020), with Father Juan Ortega-Ortiz as parochial vicar since 2017. Deacon Michael Malone serves as pastoral associate and business manager. Supporting staff coordinate the soup kitchen (Peter Dobbs, Director; Lou Alfieri, Coordinator), the Women's and Children's Center (Regina Elberg), the health clinic (Katie Shaw, RN; Sister Charlene Kostuk, PA-C, SSJ), and parish administration (Barbara Cary, Executive Director; Jenny Ortiz, Business Manager; Giselle Yanez, Parish Secretary).

• Pastor: Rev. Camilo E. Cruz
• Parochial Vicar: Rev. Juan Ortega-Ortiz (since 2017)
• Pastoral Associate & Business Manager: Deacon Michael Malone
• Soup Kitchen Director: Peter Dobbs
• Women's & Children's Center Director: Regina Elberg; Sister Jane McKenna
• Health Clinic: Katie Shaw, RN; Sister Charlene Kostuk, PA-C, SSJ
• Executive Director: Barbara Cary

Sunday Mass & Worship

St. John's main Sunday Mass is celebrated at 1:00 PM in English, supplemented on Sundays at 12:00 PM by the signed ASL Mass (4th Sunday of the month) and interpreted Masses (1st, 2nd, and 3rd Sundays) that are part of the Archdiocese of Newark's deaf ministry. The Mass schedule is intentionally modest because the parish's energy is focused on its service ministries.

• Sunday 1:00 PM — English Mass
• Sunday 12:00 PM — ASL Signed Mass (4th Sunday, with social after)
• Sunday 12:00 PM — Interpreted Mass (1st, 2nd, 3rd Sundays)

St. John's Soup Kitchen

St. John's Soup Kitchen was founded in the early 1970s by then-pastor Monsignor John P. Hourihan and now serves an average of 500 meals a day to anyone who is hungry — families on fixed incomes, the working poor, veterans, people with disabilities, and the homeless. It operates Tuesday through Saturday (breakfast 8:30–9:00 AM, lunch 11:30 AM–12:30 PM), is staffed by about 200 active volunteers out of a pool of roughly 800, and is funded entirely by free-will donations from a database of about 14,000 donors — no archdiocesan or government money. The website estimates that the kitchen has served more than 3 million meals over its lifetime.

• Meals: ~500 per day; >3 million total since the early 1970s
• Hours: Tue–Sat, breakfast 8:30–9:00 AM, lunch 11:30–12:30 PM
• Funding: free-will donations only (~14,000 donors on file)
• Volunteers: ~200 active / ~800 overall ("the doors of St. John's")
• Donations accepted on-site Tue–Sat 7 AM–2 PM with prior approval

Women's and Children's Center

Housed in the same parish complex as the soup kitchen, the Women's and Children's Center is a separate space where women and children can eat in peace and safety. It is directed by Regina Elberg with Sister Jane McKenna and offers dignity-focused hospitality to vulnerable guests in downtown Newark.

• Director: Regina Elberg
• Coordinator: Sister Jane McKenna
• Open alongside soup kitchen hours

Health Services (Free Clinic)

St. John's Health Services began in the old convent building on November 1, 2007 under Sister Alma Pukel, RN, and has grown into a free parish clinic. It is currently directed by RN Katie Shaw, with volunteer Physician Assistant Sister Charlene Kostuk, SSJ, and medical volunteers Dr. John Russo and Mary Mack, RN. The clinic partners with the Rutgers School of Nursing for student training, the NJ Commission for the Blind (monthly free eye exams and glasses), and Beth Israel Hospital (HIV testing).

• Opened November 1, 2007 in the old convent building
• Services: physical exams, prescriptions, follow-up care
• Partners: Rutgers School of Nursing, NJ Commission for the Blind, Beth Israel Hospital
• Volunteer doctors and nurses rotate weekly

Deaf Ministry & ASL Mass

Monsignor John Hourihan, who had devoted decades to ministry with the deaf, founded St. John's Deaf Ministry and a regularly scheduled American Sign Language (ASL) Mass at the parish. Today the program is the foundation of the Archdiocese of Newark's Pastoral Ministry With the Deaf, which provides signed and interpreted Masses, religious education for deaf children, weddings, baptisms, reconciliation, wakes, funerals, and pastoral counseling. A signed ASL Mass with social follows on the fourth Sunday of each month at 12:00 PM, and interpreted Masses are offered on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Sundays.

• Signed ASL Mass: 4th Sunday, 12:00 PM
• Interpreted Masses: 1st, 2nd, 3rd Sundays, 12:00 PM
• Religious education for deaf children
• Weddings, baptisms, reconciliation, funeral liturgies in ASL
• Pastoral counseling for individuals and couples

Volunteering & Getting Involved

St. John's runs almost entirely on volunteer labor and donor generosity. Opportunities include cooking, serving, and cleaning at the soup kitchen; volunteering with Rutgers nursing students at the clinic; helping distribute food-pantry bags; and supporting the deaf ministry. Children age 14+ may volunteer if accompanied by an adult. Contact Peter Dobbs at (973) 623-0822 or volunteer@NJSoupKitchen.org.

• ~200 active volunteers / ~800 total in database
• Soup kitchen, clinic, women's center, food pantry, deaf ministry
• Donor database of ~14,000 individuals and groups
• Service by local schools, youth confirmation candidates, Prudential, the Law Center, Baptist and Mormon congregations