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Welcome to Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church
Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church is a Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of Pastor Peter Palmisano. Mount Virgin Church has a rich hundred-year history as a community of faith serving families from Garfield, New Jersey, and surrounding communities. All are welcome!
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Our Mission Statement
Growing in grace, growing in gratitude, and growing in faith by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Crescendo nella grazia, crescendo nella gratitudine e crescendo nella fede per mezzo di vivere il Vangelo di Gesù Cristo.
Together, we lift our prayers through the intercession of Our Lady of Mount Virgin and Our Lady of Sorrows. -
The History of Our Lady of Mount VirginIn 1901, Father Giovanni Po celebrated our first mass in Garfield in the barn of Louis Marrone on Clark Street. Eventually, he moved our grassroots faith community to a butcher shop owned by Raffealle Fusco on Westminister Place. In 1902, Father Fabrizio replaced Father Po and until 1903 our parish still had no name or pastor until Bishop O'Connor sent Father Alfonso D'Angelo who arrived in Garfield on January 5, 1903. Accordingly, the year 2003 marked the 100th anniversary of the naming of our first resident pastor. Father D'Angelo's first task as the spiritual leader of an Italian speaking community was to find a name for the first Roman Catholic Church Parish in the City of Garfield.
At a meeting of advisors, it was decided that our parish would be called "Our Lady of Mount Virgin" - inspired by a famous shrine located 2,300 feet above sea level in Avellino, Italy. Mr. Fusco ordered a painting of Our Lady of Mount Virgin to be sent from Italy and enshrined it in the butcher shop that served as our church.
By 1904, land was purchased on the corner of Frederick Street and Grenelle Avenue (now McArthur Avenue) and a temporary chapel was built there by Matteo Imparato. Our church has been located there ever since. Though not 2,300 feet above sea level - Our Lady of Mount Virgin's position on the hill overlooking our community fits with its namesake. Our Lady of Mount Virgin was the first parish in the area at the time to serve immigrants.
In 1907, Father D'Angelo oversaw the construction of a basement church where the chapel stood, and the larger church, auditorium, and a school complete with classrooms were completed in 1927. Beginning in 1939, Father Joseph Dooling guided the church for the next 16 years and announced further renovations and improvements to Our Lady of Mount Virgin. The work was completed in February 1940, but an electrical fire destroyed our church building. The rebuilt structure - complete with impressive stained glass windows - is the church that serves us today. Five other pastors served Our Lady of Mount Virgin over the decades.
Pastor Peter J. Palmisano is the 8th and current pastor of Our Lady of Mount Virgin. -
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Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows was a mission of Our Lady of Mount Virgin that opened in 1917. The original mission church is located on Jewel Street in Garfield and is still operating today for weekday and holy day celebrations. As Garfield's large faith community grew, Our Lady of Sorrows served as an extension of Our Lady of Mount Virgin so that the church could expand.
Our Lady of Sorrows Mission was raised to the status of a parish on Sept. 9, 1930, and Father James Orsini was named its first pastor. He was followed by Father Francis Auriemma, Father Thomas Rainone, and Father Lawrence Cardelichio. All of these men labored alone. The first assistant pastor assigned to Our Lady of Sorrows was Father Charles Brown who arrived in 1948. He was replaced by Father Al Kowalski who served OLS from 1951 until 1972. Father Al was loved by all.
Father Vincent Garoffolo was appointed administrator in 1955 and Archbishop Boland encouraged the building of a new church and school which was dedicated on December 22, 1957. In 1973, Father Michael Guba was appointed parochial vicar and his assignment continued until his retirement in 2015. Father Michael was a blessing to his OLS parishioners. He designed and launched the first-ever ceremony booklets - handmade by him for marriages and all other sacraments that were celebrated at OLS. He was the heart of the OLS community for more than four decades.
The last mass at Our Lady of Sorrows was celebrated on June 25, 2016, by Bishop John Walter Flesey. Upon closure of Our Lady of Sorrows, a procession carrying its namesake statue was lead by our community to welcome her back home to Our Lady of Mount Virgin. The statue of Our Lady of Sorrows now resides in Our Lady of Mount Virgin in a place of honor. She is adourned in her flower crown as a sign of tribute, gratitude, and a "welcome home" from the Our Lady of Mount Virgin community. Please visit Our Lady of Sorrows at Our Lady of Mount Virgin Church. She is located on the right front side of the church where she watches over all of us, and serves as a symbol of our reunited OLS and OLMV community.
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