STA Celebrates 85th Anniversary with Mass Celebrated by Bishop Michael Saporito

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On Sunday, June 23, 2024, our St. Thomas the Apostle Church community celebrated our 85th anniversary as a parish! Bishop Michael Saporito, who grew up in Bloomfield and attended St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School, celebrated the 10:00 am Mass. Bishop Saporito received his Sacraments here, worshipped here with his family, and was involved in many aspects of parish life at St. Thomas. It was so fitting to have him celebrate our anniversary Mass as we remember the first parish Mass celebrated here by Fr. Charles Herron on June 25, 1939.

In Sunday’s bulletin, Fr. Larry shared a timeline of some key events in our parish’s history:

  • January 26, 1939: Archbishop Thomas Joseph Walsh canonically established the parish of St. Thomas the Apostle in the Brookdale section of Bloomfield

  • June 17, 1939: Father Thomas J. Herron received the letter designating him pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle

  • Sunday, June 25, 1939: The first parish Mass was celebrated by Father Herron

  • July 23, 1939: Ground was broken for construction of the church school building

  • August 17, 1939: The parish corporation was formed

  • October 15, 1939: The cornerstone was laid for the new church and school building

  • December of 1939: The Confraternity of the Holy Rosary was organized

  • March 31, 1940: Dedication of St. Thomas the Apostle Church by Archbishop Walsh

  • September 1940: STA school opened

  • October 1940: The convent’s construction was complete

  • February 16, 1946: Funeral Mass for Father Thomas Herron

  • December 5, 1955: The Archbishop gave his approval to the building of the new church in a letter to Father Magnier

  • February 21, 1960: Father Magnier offered the first Mass in the new church

  • March 26, 1960: The cornerstone laying and the formal dedication and opening of the new church

What a beautiful legacy that our clergy, religious, and laity have left for us!

Let us continue to pray for them and the current St. Thomas the Apostle community members so that we may keep our parish a vibrant place for future generations to worship and connect through our various ministries.

Scroll through the photo gallery below, which commemorates this incredible milestone in the life of our parish family.

Photos by Francesca Leite / Francesca Marie Photography.