St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral (Metuchen, New Jersey)

St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral
St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral
	Location in Middlesex County, New Jersey
	40°32′45″N 74°21′48″W / 40.5457°N 74.3634°W
Location	32 Elm Ave.; Metuchen, New Jersey
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic Church
Website	www.stfranciscathedral.org
History
Founded	1878
Dedicated	May 19, 1963
Consecrated	1981
Architecture
Style	Gothic Revival
Completed	1963
Specifications
Materials	Limestone
Administration
Diocese	Metuchen
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Most Rev. James F. Checchio
Rector	Rev. Timothy A. Christy

St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral located in Metuchen, New Jersey, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Metuchen.

History

St. Francis of Assisi Parish

Cathedral interior

St. Francis began as a small frame mission church built in 1871 and dedicated to St. Joseph. St. Francis Parish was incorporated in that same church on January 26, 1878.^[1] A fire destroyed the church building on December 21, 1903. The second church, also built of wood, was dedicated in December 1904. Columbia Hall was built in 1920.

The parish grew to more than 2,000 families by 1960 and the pastor, the Rev. John J. Foley had plans made for a new church. Columbia Hall was destroyed in a fire at this time and the plans were changed to include a parish hall and gymnasium as well. The rectory was completed in June 1961 and the ground breaking for the new church began on July 24 of the same year. Masses were held in various locations until the CYO Hall was completed in December 1961. The present church was dedicated on May 19, 1963.

St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral

On November 19, 1981 Pope John Paul II established the Diocese of Metuchen.^[2] St. Francis was chosen as the cathedral for the new diocese.

On April 30, 2019, St. Michael's Choir School sang at Saint Francis of Assisi Cathedral as part of their 2019 New York Tour.

Architecture

The Cathedral of St. Francis was built in the Gothic Revival style and seats about 1,000 people.^[1] The interior walls are composed of limestone with marble wainscotting. The floors are terrazzo and the woodwork is oak. The altars are carved from Italian marble. A bronze crucifix is above the altar as a part of the baldacchino. The facade features a rose window

Rectors

The following priests have served as the rector of St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral since 1981:^[1]

Msgr. Dominic Turtora
Msgr. Richard A. Behl
Msgr. Michael J. Alliegro
Msgr. Robert J. Zamorski
Rev. Timothy A. Christy

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Cathedral of St. Francis". GCatholic. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
^ "Diocese of Metuchen". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2011-09-28.^{[self-published source]}

External links

[Cathedral-1] "Cathedral of St. Francis". GCatholic. Retrieved 2011-09-28.

[Hierarchyl-2] "Diocese of Metuchen". Catholic-Hierarchy. Retrieved 2011-09-28.^{[self-published source]}

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