Sacred Heart Church (Jersey City, New Jersey)

Sacred Heart Church
The former church building in 2019
40°42′24″N74°05′00″W / 40.7066°N 74.0832°W / 40.7066; -74.0832
Address	Jersey City, New Jersey
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic (former)
History
Status	Church (1898–2005)
Founded	1898 (1898)
Dedicated	1898 (1898)
Architecture
Functional status	Closed(in 2005)
Architect(s)	Ralph Adams Cram
Architectural type	Gothic Revival
Years built	1922 (1922)
Specifications
Number of spires	2
Administration
Archdiocese	Archdiocese of Newark

The Sacred Heart Church is a historic church and former Roman Catholic parish church on MLK Drive at Bayview Avenue in the Greenville section of Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. It is within the Archdiocese of Newark.

Established in 1898 as a parish, the church was built in 1922; and closed for worship in 2005.

History and description

Use as a church

Built between 1922 and 1924, it was designed by Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram with a mixture of Spanish Gothic and Moorish architecture. Its stained glass windows were designed by the then 18-year-old Harry Wright Goodhue. ^{[1] [2]}

The complex is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places ^[3] but is considered threatened. ^[4]

The Sacred Heart Church closed in 2005 when the number of parishioners dropped to a few hundred from the 4,000 it had at its peak. The Archdiocese of Newark has no plans to reopen the church. ^{[5] [6]} The affiliated Sacred Heart School remains open. ^{[7] [8]}

Subsequent use

The priory of the church become home of the Jersey City Employment & Training Program (JCETP) re-entry program, headed by Jim McGreevey, in 2015. ^[9]

During the 2019 Jersey City shooting the school was on lock-down and used as defensive position during the incident. ^{[10] [11]} That school was taken over by law-enforcement agencies and used during the incident. ^[12]

See also

• Catholic Church portal
• New Jersey portal

• Jackson Hill, Jersey City
• Bayview – New York Bay Cemetery

References

1. "Dreaming in Technicolor". Architectural Media. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
2. Gomez, John (2009), Legendary Locals, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN   9781467100922
3. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Hudson County". New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
4. "Sacred Heart Church". Preservation New Jersey. Archived from the original on September 12, 2014. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
5. Fernandes, Nicolas (June 27, 2014). "Preservationist thinks reopening Jersey City church will improve MLK Drive area". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
6. Gomez, John (May 2008). Sacred Heart Church in Jersey City, New Jersey - A History and Analysis of Ralph Adams Cram's Seminal Spanish Gothic Masterwork (PDF) (MSc thesis). Columbia University. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2014. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
7. Thorbourne, Ken (June 26, 2014). "Amid economic challenges, Jersey City's Sacred Heart School continues mission". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
8. "Sacred Heart School". Sacred Heart School. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
9. McDonald, Terrence T. (July 22, 2015). "Local politicians hail new prisoner re-entry center". The Jersey Journal.
10. Heyboer, Kelly (December 10, 2019). "Thousands of kids on lockdown in schools as gunman opens fire in Jersey City". NJ Advance Media. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
11. Heyboer, Kelly (December 10, 2019). "Jersey City schools lift lockdown, let thousands of kids go home after fatal shooting". NJ Advance Media. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
12. "Police body cam videos show fierce gun battle after fatal shooting at Jersey City kosher market". Associated Press. February 21, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020– via NJ.com.

External links

• HPN Network Harry Wright Goodhue