St. Catharine’s Church In Holmdel, N.J. In Dire Need Of Repairs

HOLMDEL, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — A former church in Monmouth County that dates again to the 1800s is in determined want of repairs.

As CBS2’s Meg Baker reported Thursday, the stained glass home windows of St. Catharine’s Church in Holmdel are cracked, and the ceiling and partitions are structurally weak.

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“We have to exchange the stained glass home windows, which is a giant one. But additionally, you may see the church is racked, it’s leaning to 1 aspect. The church was constructed with a cedar shake roof,” mentioned Peter Maneri, president of the Holmdel Historic Society.

It was in-built 1879. The unique altar nonetheless stands.

“It was the primary Roman Catholic church in Holmdel,” mentioned Arthur Heath of the Holmdel Historic Society.

The small inside may seat 100 individuals.

“Right now it was all agriculture round right here. It was farms and this church was constructed to serve primarily the Irish Catholic immigrants,” Heath mentioned.

These immigrants escaped the potato famine, and got here on the lookout for work.

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The constructing is now owned by the Holmdel Historic Society. They’re in want of donations to avoid wasting the church and and its historical past. Maneri informed a narrative a couple of neighbor’s pony sneaking at the back of the church and stealing communion wafers within the the Nineteen Sixties.

“Began a commotion within the church. The priest rotated and sees the horse and requested ‘Mr. Maury, please take away Liza from the church,’” Maneri mentioned.

The group additionally hopes to make use of the constructing to teach younger individuals.

“Many individuals at the moment aren’t actually conscious of their native historical past. Our aim is promote native historical past and this space is fascinating. It has a lot historical past. You might go all the way in which again to the Revolutionary Conflict,” Heath mentioned.

As soon as restored, the historic society desires to open the constructing on Stillwell Highway up for occasions like weddings, and create a small museum.

The group can also be on the lookout for structural engineers to donate their time to assist repair the partitions and roof.

In case you’d prefer to donate, CLICK HERE.

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CBS2’s Meg Baker contributed to this report.