VENTNOR – With fond and personal memories of Saint James Church, hundreds gathered Aug. 22 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first Catholic church in Downbeach.
“The church is the seed of life, and that is something we don’t always remember,” said Father Pawel Kryszkiewicz, pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, Margate, of which Saint James is a part of. “It’s a holy site. It’s not just another building that we have to maintain.”
Indeed, in his homily, Bishop Joseph Williams asked those gathered to reflect upon their many milestones spent in this sacred space.
“I can only imagine the memories that all of you bring to this place. They’re the best kind of memories because they’re sacred memories – marriages, families born here, babies baptized here, sins forgiven here, burdens lifted here,” the Bishop said.
Even more memories were made before the Mass, beginning with a concert by the Rev. Mr. Nickolas Naticchione – who was ordained a transitional deacon just months ago in Saint James Church – and guest musicians; after Mass, a celebratory gala was held at the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City.
“Truly, this is none other than a house of God and the gate of heaven,” Bishop Williams said in his homily, quoting from an inscription on the north side of the church in which he was ordained a priest in Minnesota.
He related how one of his favorite things to do at that church was give tours, where he’d ask those with him, “Why do Catholics spend so much time, so much energy, so much love and so much money in our temples?”
The answer, he said, is because “Jesus is in this place. So this place is none other than the House of God. Every time we celebrate the Holy Eucharist … the heavens open up.”
Church History
Susane McGinty has been a parishioner since 1946, the year she was born. She is a choir member, Eucharistic Minister, volunteer and part of many parish ministries.
She is also the church’s historian.
“This parish community has been very good to me,” she said.
Saint James Church was established as a summer ministry of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish in Atlantic City, which at the time also served the southern end of Absecon Island. Msgr. Peter James Petri, pastor of the parish, established the mission in 1914, recognizing the need for a closer church.
Before it was erected, Catholics traveled to one of the four churches in Atlantic City: Holy Spirit, Our Lady Star of the Sea, Saint Nicholas of Tolentine and Saint Michael.
Masses were first celebrated in a small Protestant chapel. In 1920, a wooden church was built on land donated by Frank and Hattie Curran of Trenton. (At the time, the area was part of the Diocese of Trenton.) As the community grew, the mission was incorporated as Saint James Parish in 1922, under its first pastor, Father Gregory Moran, a New Jersey native born in 1876.
A rectory was added in 1923, and in 1924, plans began for a larger church to serve the Downbeach towns – Ventnor, Margate and Longport. The cornerstone of the new brick church was laid by Bishop Thomas J. Walsh on Aug. 30, 1925; construction was completed at a cost of $225,000. Windows in the church were made by noted stained-glass manufacturer Franz Mayer of Germany.
Father Moran guided the parish through the Great Depression, building Saint James School in 1932 and a convent soon after, staffed by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa.
He was named a monsignor in 1941 and continued to lead Saint James Parish until his sudden death in 1950, when he was struck by a car while hurrying to administer Last Rites. Honoring his wishes, he was buried beside the church.
As the island’s population grew, two parishes were added: Blessed Sacrament was established in 1946 in Margate; Epiphany in Longport opened in 1953. Saint James remained the original Downbeach parish.
In 2010, the three were combined into one parish – Holy Trinity Parish – with Blessed Sacrament serving as the main office.
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