Our History
-
In April of 1904, Father Charles Watterson was appointed by Bishop Hartley to undertake the joyous task of organizing a new parish. It was under this first pastor that the parish saw its first church and school building, a combined building also housing quarters for the nuns who would be teaching here.
The first Mass was held in the Old Armory and on March 12, 1905, the single building combining the Church and the school was completed and the school doors opened September 5th of that same year. The school offered commercial courses as well as a standard curriculum that went through the 12th grade. The Dominican Sisters of Mary of the Springs greeted classes totaling one hundred and fifteen students. In 1931, the high school and commercial courses were discontinued and students who wanted to continue to high school had to attend either Saint Francis DeSales on the other side of Newark or the public school system. The Dominican Sisters served our school until the late 70s, then the toll of declining vocations made “Our Good Sisters” but a memory for those who had the privilege of knowing their dedication and love. In 1953 there was a need for extra classroom space which was found by converting a used substation for the Telephone Company and eventually another building was built to house the upper four grades. In the 1940s, the enrollment at Blessed Sacrament School rose to over 200 pupils.
The original church would suffice for a while, but because of the foresight of our founding pastor, who immediately started a building fund with the estate of Mrs. Mary Walsh, a new church building was erected under the direction of Father John Byrne and was dedicated on January 28, 1942. The church was actually completed by Christmas of 1941 and permission was given by the Bishop for Christmas Mass to be celebrated in the new church, although the dedication would come later. A new school was built by Father Richard Crasser in 1957.
In 1997, under the direction of Father Timothy Hayes, the parish established a Future Planning committee. It was the dream of many that a new school be built with additional parking to accommodate the parish and school community. The Building Committee sought the services of Garry McAnally of Wachtel and McAnally Architects and the plans for a new school were approved on January 21, 2003 by Bishop James Griffin. Mac Kennedy of McClain Development Company began construction on October 12, 2003. A time capsule was discovered in the cornerstone of the Watterson Building with artifacts and memorabilia of the community that built our original church exactly 100 years earlier.
The Schaffer Building was demolished in the summer of 2004. The students, staff, and alumni gathered memories of generations of students, and placed a new time capsule in the cornerstone of the Centennial Building. As the new building was under construction, students in the upper grades attended their classes in the religious education classrooms of Christ United Methodist Church, next door to Blessed Sacrament. The Centennial Building was completed and classes began there in April 2005. In August of the new school year, grades K through 8 were all under one roof, and the visiouary leadership of Bishop Frederick Campbell, Pastor Father Timothy Hayes and Principal Mrs. Mary Packham.
Father Anthony Lonzo is current pastor and Mr. Joshua Caton is our current principal.
The Centennial Building has been an important addition to our parish. Besides being our new school, it has become a primary venue in the life of our parish, serving many functions for our religious community at large. Many parish organizations, religious education activities, youth groups, fundraisers, and community-building activities are regularly housed in and on the school grounds. Our students, staff and parish have taken great pride in our school’s new state-of-the-art home.
Our school continues to grow and change, and many new exciting opportunities and prospects are on the horizon. We have been a presence on the east side of Newark since 1905 and we look forward to another hundred years. May future generations of students, staff and all who made this school possible look with honor and respect to those who went before us, and may our tradition of excellence carry forward into the future. Many changes will occur, but one thing will remain the same. It is our love and dedication to the calling to love, cherish and support one another. We will foster Catholic education through our Blessed Sacrament School.
~Excerpts of information written by Frederick C. Orend