The New York Province of the Society of Jesus staffs several parishes in New York and New Jersey: St. Francis Xavier and St. Ignatius in Manhattan; St. Aedan’s in Jersey City; St. Michael’s in Buffalo; St. Anthony’s in Oceanside; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Benedicta in Staten Island, and St. Mary of the Assumption in Staten Island. In our ongoing exploration of other Jesuit apostolates, we focus today on St. Aedan’s: The St. Peter’s University Church in Jersey City. We are happy to share this reflection by Fr. John Hyatt, S.J. In the weeks ahead, we will conclude our Jesuit apostolate series by highlighting the other parishes staffed by the Society.

St. Aedan’s: The St. Peter’s University Church by Fr. John Hyatt, S.J., Parochial Vicar

St. Aedan's in Jersey City has been a parish since 1912, but a Jesuit parish only since 2011. Archbishop John J. Myers entrusted the parish into the hands of the Jesuits as part of a restructuring plan, by which the parish was affiliated with St. Peter's University, a Jesuit university in Jersey City and only one block from the parish.

When the parish was established in 1912 it was dedicated to the glory of God and to the memory of St. Aedan, a bishop of 7th-century Ireland who devoted his life to the pastoral care of his people and to the establishment of more than 30 parishes. In 1912, when it came time to establish a new parish for the burgeoning Irish population of Jersey City, the parishioners remembered their Irish ancestor and named the parish for him. The number of Irish parishioners grew so fast that by 1929 construction of a very large church was begun. Despite the beginning of the Great Depression, parishioners assumed the burden of building a splendid Romanesque structure with seating for 1,000 people. The church was dedicated in 1931, and the mortgage was burned in 1945.

As it began as a parish for immigrants, so also St. Aedan's continues to be a parish for immigrants. The people now in the pews are no longer entirely from Ireland; large numbers come from the Philippines, from Spanish-speaking countries, and most recently from India and Sri Lanka. The Eucharist, the sacraments, and other parish prayers are celebrated in English, Tagalog and Spanish for a lively and enthusiastic parish congregation.

Since its affiliation with the University in 2011 the parish has acquired a new name-- St Aedan's: The St. Peter's University Church. The venerable parish church now hosts university activities, with lots of young faces in attendance at Sunday evening Mass and university concerts. To serve the university, the parish and also St. Peter's Prep, more than twenty Jesuits live together in community, and dedicate their lives and their abilities to the work which God has called them to do -- all "for the greater glory of God."

For more information on St. Aedan’s please visit staedans.org. For more information on St. Peter’s University, please visit www.saintpeters.edu. For more information on the Jesuits, please visit www.jesuit.org.