During the reign of Elizabeth I of England it was illegal to be a Catholic priest or to hide one in your house. This law led many Catholics to create “hiding holes,” where a priest could take cover until a house search was over. A religious brother, named Saint Nicholas Owen, was responsible for building many secret passages, moving bookcases, artificial fireplaces, that were all masterpieces of carpentry. Many are still being discovered in the mansions of England.
Today it is not against the law or necessary to hide priests in houses, rather the churches are simply closed. It is not quite clear where all the furnishings are going but the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart Brothers, skillful carpenters like Saint Nicholas Owen, have converted old pews, rescued from closed churches and turned them into the wainscoting on the walls of the Sisters’ Tudor-style convent chapel. Others have been transformed into bookcases in the chapel hall or the mantle piece of the visitor’s parlor in St. Elizabeth Convent.
The many hours spent as furniture for the faithful have in some way made the wood itself a sacred addition to a new chapel and convent where it continues its holy mission.

Place of Miracles in Newark

On October 13th, the annual Ladies’ Fall Pilgrimage brought 46 pilgrims to the National Shrine of Saint Gerard Majella at Saint Lucy’s Church in Newark, N.J. There in traditional Italian style they participated in the 108th annual Feast Day Celebration of the Shrine. Situated in the center of the city, a one-time crime-infested neighborhood, torn by racial strife and low income housing, it was hidden in a back ally across the street from the projects until the 1990’s when the federal government condemned the housing.
The parishioners then purchased them and imploded the buildings. Now in front of the church there is a brick piazza surrounded by a field of grass and embellished by a beautiful shrine to the Holy Rosary. The transformation is a little miracle of Saint Gerard! This beautiful church now has the Tridentine Mass every Sunday at 9:00 a.m.

Before returning home, the pilgrims walked a few blocks to the Cathedral/Basilica of the Sacred Heart. It is the finest example of French Gothic Architecture in the Western Hemisphere. The breathtaking structure highlighted the day. It was rewarding to see these testimonies that the Gates of Hell will not prevail!

 

Rest in Peace

42-year-old Marc Anderson, our neighbor, was called home to God on the hot summer morning of June 11, as he was planting the last of his blueberry bushes, so that he could take his family on vacation the next day. He had a massive heart attack in the field where he was working with his son, Joseph.
Marc received the Last Rites before the ambulance arrived, but he died on the way to the hospital. He leaves behind his wife, Sheila and four children: Joseph, Mary, Patrick and Maria, three of whom attend IHM, which is across the street from the Anderson farm. Please pray for the repose of his soul. May he and all the souls of the faithfully departed rest in peace. Amen.

 

 

Watch a slideshows of the Ladies' Pilgrimage to the National Shrine of St. Gerard Majella

Home –––––<<Previous Page