Blue lawn signs scattered around Sea Isle called for the church to be saved.
By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Parishioners fighting to save the historic St. Joseph Catholic Church in Sea Isle City from demolition are appealing for the community’s financial support to help pay for renovations to the 137-year-old structure.
For more than two years, members of the Save Our Historic St. Joseph’s Church group have fought to reopen the now-shuttered sanctuary and revive it as a place for weddings, funerals and baptisms.
Plans are moving ahead to remove mold infestation from the building. One contractor that specializes in mold remediation has submitted a bid of $50,000, which is $30,000 less than a previous estimate by the church for the same type of work, the group said.
“This a clear indication that local contractors want to work with us and see this historic church preserved,” Mike Boyle, a trustee of Save Our Historic St. Joseph’s Church, said in a press release Thursday.
Boyle noted that once the mold contamination is removed, that will allow other contractors and volunteers to safely work inside the church for the renovations.
“In addition to the mold removal, other businesses and contractors have stepped up,” Boyle said. “One contractor has agreed to paint the church, with another business providing the paint. A local artist is working to repair the damaged stained-glass windows.”
At the same time, the preservationists are urging other members of the community to help out with the financial and legal challenges of saving the church.
“Considering the many challenges ahead, financial and other, we need many laborers – those who will step up to make our effort a reality. We are confident in the continued generosity, goodness, and support our community has for the little church into the future” said Mike McHale, another trustee of Save Our Historic St. Joseph’s Church.
In the press release, the group said the church’s newly appointed pastor, Father Perry Cherubini, has a “common desire” to save the structure.
“Father Cherubini has indicated that he sees the structure to be a ‘religious monument’ to be used for parish activities, lectures, concerts, parish programs and activities that bring people together in fellowship,” the release stated.
In the meantime, the Save Our Historic St. Joseph’s Church group has agreed to raise the money to “completely renovate the entire structure,” according to the release.
To accomplish Father Cherubini’s vision, the cost of the renovations will depend on the generosity of the church parishioners and members of the community, the release added.
The new St. Joseph Catholic Church, in foreground, stands next door to the old church.
Occupying the corner of 44th Street and Landis Avenue, the old church is an example of the Gothic-revival architectural style. It has stained-glass windows about 100 years old, mahogany front doors and soaring exposed arched beams in the sanctuary that resemble the inside of a ship’s hull.
The old church, built in 1884, stands side-by-side with the modern $7 million St. Joseph Catholic Church that opened in December 2011. The new church includes a 1,300-seat sanctuary serving as the main worship hall for the congregation.
Church leaders have argued that St. Joseph’s simply can’t afford to maintain and refurbish the old church at the same time they are using the modern church. They have talked about the possibility of demolishing the old church to make room for a new “spiritual life center” for meeting space, special events and new classrooms.
In February 2020, the bishop of the Diocese of Camden issued a “Decree of Relegation” declaring that the old church is no longer sacred and cannot be used as a site for worship.
Not wanting to take on substantial debt to finance the old church’s upgrades, the Parish Council and Parish Finance Council both unanimously voted to seek the decree from Bishop Dennis Sullivan, whose diocese oversees St. Joseph Church.
Preservationists are alarmed that the decree may be a prelude for the demolition of the old church. They appealed to the Vatican to overturn the decree, but Bishop Sullivan’s ruling was recently upheld by the Congregation for the Clergy, the release said.
The Save Our Historic St. Joseph’s Church group has responded with another appeal in efforts to have the church declared sacred again.
“The facility will always be sacred in the hearts of this parish and the entire community,” said McHale, who is a former mayor of Sea Isle.
Preservationists regard the church as a religious and historic landmark dating back nearly as long as Sea Isle City’s formal founding in 1882 by visionary real estate developer Charles K. Landis.
Blue lawn signs scattered around Sea Isle call for the church to be saved.
