QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: tglover320@optimum.net
"Are you going to sing "Be Exalted" tonight, Tom?" He was one of the many wonderful men of God I met during my 60 years in the faith. Back in the 80's and 90's when my son Tom and I and 5 beautiful lady singers from the singing group "Wings of Song" sang at the Saturday Folk Mass at St. Anthony church, "Monsignor Joe," along with Sister Delora, were among our many staunch supporters. The above photo was taken prior to one of our Saturday night Masses at St. Anthony. Monsignor Joe left us much too early in life. He was truly an inspiration, as were most of the wonderful men of the cloth with whom I have had the privilege to be acquainted during my years at that beautiful church on South Olden Avenue, and now at Father Dennis' Sacred Heart Church.
We're getting into really ancient history when we try to retrieve old, old, 1814 intelligence from the newspapers of the early 19th century. They were printed on durable "rag" content paper (as opposed to pulp) Age is unkind to those older papers. While the rag content keeps the pages from tearing and crumbling, "foxing," or severe tanning renders the originals nearly illegible. Such was the case with this extract from an 1814 Trenton True American newspaper. Subsequent searching has failed to uncover the actual dedication ceremony, but I am searching.
This photo of Father Dennis Apoldite's Sacred Heart Church at Christmas time is from the Sacred Heart Christmas card collection. The exquisite photo was done by photographer Tim Marchok.
The annual Sacred Heart Fair was a very popular event for the parishioners and neighbors of this south Trenton church. Back then it was called a Fair; today it has morphed into a church carnival.
MANY OF US WITH SILVER IN OUR HAIR HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE CONVERY FURNITURE STORE IN DOWNTOWN TRENTON. THE FAMILY WAS VERY ACTIVE IN SACRED HEART PARISH ON SOUTH BROAD AND CENTRE STREETS.
As a card-carrying parishioner of the oldest parish in the state of New Jersey, I am obviously very much interested in its incredibly interesting history. Old St. John's, which took the name Sacred Heart after the disastrous fire on the evening October 1, 1883, is on the National Historic Register. Here is still another item from the "Sacred Heart-St. John's" folder.
As indicated in other posts, Sacred Heart Parish at So. Broad and Centre Streets held many fund raising affairs. Their "Fairs" were always well attended and quite successful as fund raisers.
In the 1800's and early 1900's, the parishioners at Sacred Heart parish on South Broad and Centre streets in Trenton relied on an annual Fair as a fund raiser. According to the numerous clippings in the Hamilton Library's Local History Collection, these events were very popular and well attended.
I am proud to be a parishioner of the oldest Roman Catholic Parish in the entire state of New Jersey! As a proud parishioner, I feel confident that you will indulge me as I uncover incredibly fascinating clippings in the ST. JOHN'S/SACRED HEART folder in the Hamilton Library's Local History Collection. These presentations held at "St. John's Hall" on Lamberton Street were performed in an era where an evening out at the local theater was a real treat. (Before televised football, baseball, basketball, and hockey games, and in an era where the community frequently gathered in the many "halls" scattered about the city of Trenton.
The sacrament of First Communion is a very important event to those of us in the Roman Catholic faith. The ceremony is the same today as it was back in 1892. 
I took this exquisite photo of the altar at Sacred Heart Church. As indicated in earlier posts, Sacred Heart and its predecessor, St. John's is the oldest parish in New Jersey.
