St Paul the Apostle

History of St. Paul the Apostle Parish
In 1861, twenty five years before the Statue of the Liberty came to New York harbor to serve as a beacon freedom to immigrants, the Roman Catholic parish of St. Paul was established in the small community of Greenville, which had not yet been incorporated into the city of Jersey city, New Jersey.
Greenville was originally a farm land where celery was major crop. Early record reflects that at the beginning of the 19th century-1810- there were only four Catholic families in all of Greenville. The closest churches were St. Joseph’s in the Journal square and St. Peter’s in down town. Realizing the need of a priest, people requested Bishop James Roosevelt and then the Passionist fathers took charge of the mission in Greenville. Thus in 1861, St. Paul parish was incorporated as a legal entity.
Initially there was no church structure and mass was celebrated in private homes. In 1862, through the contribution of the generous parishioners, land between the Old Bergen Rd and Greenville and Linden Avenue was bought. On that sight a tiny building was erected and the first St. Paul Church came into a reality. There were 11 baptisms and 3 marriages in that first church during the year 1862.
In 1865, the first Diocesan priest was appointed. In the course of time several priests came as pastors. In 1870 the first rectory was built in Greenville Avenue. In 1871 the first school was built and was staffed by the lay faculty. In 1873 the Dominican Sisters came to teach. The current church was built by Fr. Joseph Shandel in 1888. At that point St. Paul was growing steadily and the parish got the first Parochial vicar. Since the school population continues to grow, a new school was erected in 1926.
In 1958 Archbishop Boland appointed Fr. Leo L. Mahony as the Pastor. In 1961, the parish had the centenary celebration and a statue of St. Paul was unveiled in memory of Msgr. Monaghan. In 1969, St. Paul was the first parish of the Archdiocese to introduce Parish council and also to welcome the deacons as assistants in their final year prior to ordination.
As a result of the Vatican Council some alterations were done in church to implement the council suggestions. St. Paul’s growth had been so great that in 1960, the parish had to be split geographically with the establishment of Our Lady of Mercy. St. Paul’s Parish in its 100 years had contributed 50 vocations to the priesthood and more than 130 Sisters to the religious life.
As the years go by, the face of the Parish changes, the Priests come and go, old generation disappears and the new generation comes up, but St. Paul remains as a bright shining light to be a powerful witness and a channel to continue the Mission of Jesus. Let us follow the Missionary spirit of St. Paul the Apostle, the patron of our parish and follow Jesus courageously, lovingly and faithfully so that we can bring Jesus to more people and more people to Jesus.