Church Of The Immaculate Conception (Camden, New Jersey)
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The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is a
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
located in Camden in Camden County,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
. It is the seat of the
Diocese of Camden The Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden is a Roman Catholic diocese of the Latin Church in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It consists of 62 parishes and about 475,000 Catholics in the Southern Jersey counties of Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumber ...
, and it was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2003 as the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Built in 1864, it was officially designated as a cathedral in 1937.


History


Parish

The first Catholic priests to visit the area that is now Camden were
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
priests from Old St. Joseph's Church in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. They started to minister to Catholics in southern New Jersey in the 1740s where Catholicism was officially banned from being practiced. Masses and other services were celebrated in private homes. In 1796 the
Augustinian Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo * Canons Regular of Sain ...
priests from St. Augustine Church started ministering to Catholics in the region. They were followed sometime later by priests from the St. Mary's Cathedral in Philadelphia who served Camden until the Diocese of Newark was established in 1853. Camden became a mission of the Catholic parish in
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
, which had received its first resident pastor in 1851. Mass was celebrated a couple times a months in Camden in private homes and in public halls. In 1852 the hall that was regularly used for Mass was destroyed in a fire set by
Nativists Nativism is the political policy of promoting or protecting the interests of native or indigenous inhabitants over those of immigrants, including the support of immigration-restriction measures. In scholarly studies, ''nativism'' is a standard ...
. The first resident priest assigned to Camden was the Rev. James Moran who established the Church of the Immaculate Conception in 1855. Starr's Hall continued to be used for a church. Property was purchased in 1857 at Fifth Street and Taylor Avenue for a new church. Ground was broken for the new structure on June 9, 1859. The first Mass was celebrated on October 9 and dedicated on November 5 of the same year. A
rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...
was added in 1861. A private Catholic school was started by Sarah Fields in her home in 1859. It moved to the new church building after it was completed and became a parochial school. Initially the students were taught by lay teachers. A new school building was begun in 1871, but construction was halted during the financial panic of 1872-1873. Construction then resumed and the school building and
convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
were completed in 1874. That year the
Sisters of St. Joseph The Sisters of St. Joseph, also known as the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, abbreviated CSJ or SSJ, is a Roman Catholic religious congregation of women founded in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, in 1650. This congregation, named for S ...
from Chestnut Hill started teaching in the school. The Brothers of the Holy Cross taught the boys from 1881-1892. A house was built for them and was completed in 1882. The Sisters of St. Joseph were replaced by the
Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They a ...
from
Bordentown, New Jersey Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,924.Jeremiah O'Rourke Jeremiah O'Rourke, FAIA, (1833 – 1915), was an Irish-American architect known primarily for his designs of Roman Catholic churches and institutions and Federal post offices. He was a founder of the Newark-based architectural firms of Jeremiah ...
from Newark was chosen as the architect. The
cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...
was laid by the Rev. Bernard McQuaid, then
Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ...
of the Newark Diocese, on October 23, 1864. The church was built of stone and measured 60 by 165 feet. Though unfinished, the first Mass was celebrated in the church in July 1866. The old church was sold on August 20, 1868 and it housed a factory unit it was sold again and became a meeting hall for the
Grand Army of the Republic The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army (United States Army), Union Navy (U.S. Navy), and the Marines who served in the American Civil War. It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Il ...
. The church was not completed until 1888 when the tower and spire were completed. The interior was also extensively renovated in 1890 when the marble altars were added. The church was consecrated on May 27, 1893 by Bishop Michael J. O'Farrell. In 1867 the German Catholics who immigrated to Camden formed their own parish from Immaculate Conception, Saints Peter and Paul. Camden became part of the Diocese of Trenton when it was established in 1881. The rectory, which had been built in 1861, was expanded in 1882. Sacred Heart Parish was established in 1885 from Immaculate Conception at a chapel that had been built in 1872.


Cathedral

As the number of Catholics continued to increase in
South Jersey South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey located between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of South Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquialism rather than an administrative ...
,
Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...
established the Diocese of Camden on December 9, 1937. The Church of the Immaculate Conception became the cathedral church for the new diocese at this time. The diocese's first bishop, Bartholomew J. Eustace, was installed on May 4, 1938. The number of Catholics continued to increase in the diocese and Immaculate Conception's rather modest size necessitated St. Joseph's Church being named a
pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostoli ...
in the 1950s. Demographic changes in the late 20th and early 21st century necessitated changes to the parishes in Camden. On April 4, 2008 Bishop Joseph Galante announced that the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception would merge with Holy Name and Our Lady of Mount Carmel & Fatima parishes in Camden. The Cathedral was designated as the primary worship site with a secondary worship site at Our Lady of Mount Carmel & Fatima.


See also

*
List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States The following is a list of the Catholic cathedrals in the United States. The Catholic Church in the United States comprises ecclesiastical territories called dioceses led by prelate bishops. Each bishop is assigned to a cathedral from which he ...
*
List of cathedrals in the United States This is a list of cathedrals in the United States, including both actual cathedrals (seats of bishops in episcopal Christian groups, such as Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy and the Armenian Apostolic Church) and a few prominent church ...
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Camden County, New Jersey List of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Camden County, New Jersey __NOTOC__ This is intended to be a complete list of properties and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Camden County, New Jerse ...


References


External links

*
Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden Official Site
{{Roman Catholic churches in New Jersey Roman Catholic churches in New Jersey Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Gothic Revival church buildings in New Jersey Roman Catholic churches completed in 1864 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Churches in Camden County, New Jersey Immaculate Conception Camden Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden Roman Catholic churches in Camden, New Jersey Tourist attractions in Camden, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Camden County, New Jersey