A Parish on Passaic Street
Our Lady of Mount Carmel stands on Passaic Street in Ridgewood, New Jersey, a Roman Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Newark that draws families from across Bergen County. The parish takes its name from the Carmelite tradition: Our Lady of Mount Carmel honors the Blessed Virgin Mary as patron of the Carmelite religious family, whose hermit roots trace back to a coastal mountain range in northern Israel. The parish carries that heritage in everything from its annual celebrations to its school, the Academy of Our Lady.
Three buildings make up the parish campus on Passaic Street. The church itself is approached from three entrances - the Prospect Street front doors, the Passaic Street doors (with a handicap ramp), and the Hudson Street doors by the choir section. The rectory is attached to the back of the church, the Religious Education Center (the former convent) sits across Passaic Street at number 56, and the school building at 52 Passaic Street houses junior high and high school youth ministry along with the parish gym.
Mass Throughout the Week
The Mass schedule at Mount Carmel is unusually full. On Saturday evening, a 5:30 PM Mass opens the weekend. Sunday brings six Masses in all: 8:00 AM, 9:30 AM, 11:00 AM, 12:30 PM, 3:00 PM in Spanish, and 6:30 PM. Weekday Mass is offered three times a day, Monday through Friday, at 6:30 AM, 8:30 AM, and 12:00 noon. Saturday morning adds an 8:30 AM Mass, which is livestreamed along with the 11:00 AM Sunday Mass and the 3:00 PM Spanish Mass.
The 9:30 AM Sunday Mass is the gathering point for families with young children. Children's Liturgy of the Word is offered most Sundays during the school year: after the Opening Prayers, children ages three to ten are called up to the altar and led to the Daily Mass Chapel to hear the readings and Gospel from the Children's Lectionary, then return to their families at the offertory. Parents are welcome to join their children in the chapel if they choose.
The parish is also served by the Sacrament of Reconciliation on Saturday afternoons from 1:00 to 2:00 PM. Priests will also arrange confession by appointment, and communal Penance celebrations with individual confessions are held each Advent and Lent.
The Perpetual Adoration Chapel
One of the most distinctive features of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is its Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration Chapel, located in the front vestibule of the church and accessible through the main Prospect Street doors. The chapel is open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, so that someone is always present before the Blessed Sacrament. The ministry describes its purpose plainly: to keep the door open to anyone seeking peace or seeking Him, and above all to worship God in the Holy Eucharist.
Parishioners known as Adorers commit to spending one hour a week in the chapel. Substitutes are also welcome, and the chapel is closed only during inclement weather, with notifications posted online. The parish frames the hour as a quiet gift of time - sitting in silence, praying the rosary, reading a spiritual book, or simply being present before the Lord.
The Seven Sacraments
Mount Carmel celebrates every sacrament of the Catholic Church. Baptism is offered as communal celebrations on the first Sunday of the month and on the third Saturday, with required catechesis for parents (and an invitation to godparents). Adults seeking baptism or full initiation are guided through the RCIA, and Deacon Bob Liwanag walks adult catechumens through their journey.
First Eucharist and First Reconciliation are prepared through the parish faith formation program. The high school Confirmation program is open to all four years of high school, with most teens beginning in their freshman year. Confirmation preparation is a one-year commitment running September through June, supported by Journey Retreats and (for those who want to go further) the three-day Antioch Retreats held at the Archdiocesan Retreat Center each December and February/March.
Marriage preparation asks couples to begin one year in advance of their proposed wedding date, with attendance at both Pre-Cana and God's Plan for a Joy-filled Marriage. The parish welcomes both parishioners and non-parishioners to marry at Mount Carmel. Anointing of the Sick is arranged through the rectory, and Holy Orders vocations are connected through the Archdiocesan Vocations Office.
A Full Music Ministry
Music is woven into every part of parish life at Mount Carmel, and five ensembles serve different liturgies and generations. The Adult Choir sings at the 11:00 AM Sunday Mass and at special liturgical celebrations, rehearsing Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM; no prior music knowledge is required, only a love of singing. The Junior Choir welcomes singers in grades 3 through 8, meeting Tuesdays from 5:00 to 6:00 PM and singing at the 9:30 AM Sunday liturgy.
The Contemporary Band leads the music at the 6:30 PM Sunday Mass, drawing on contemporary, bluegrass, and pop Christian music. Rehearsals are held Sundays at 5:30 PM and on alternate Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM, with singers and instrumentalists welcome. The Handbell Choir rehearses Sundays at 1:30 PM and rings at various liturgical celebrations; members range from age 11 to 99, and experience in ringing is not necessary. Instrumentalists round out the program, playing at weekend Masses and holy days from September through June.
Faith Formation from First Grade Through High School
The parish's religious education program welcomes children in grades 1 through 6 and their families, with two program options: a Summer Program held at the end of June and beginning of July, and the When Families Gather program that follows the school year from September through May. Sessions and family resources are coordinated from the Religious Education Center across the street from the church.
Junior high ministry (grades 7 and 8) takes a youth ministry approach. Junior High Faith Formation meets monthly in 75-minute sessions by grade level, with both in-person and online components, service activities, a Reconciliation Service, a Grade Level Mass, and a guest-speaker event during Lent or Easter. Service is built in: past projects have included food drives, nursing home visits, Christmas boxes of joy, Easter baskets, archdiocesan Service Days, and a four-day mission trip. Lock-In Retreats offer middle-schoolers an overnight experience of worship and fellowship, led by a team of high school teens and adult core leaders, ending with a midnight Mass to which parents are invited. Social activities through the year have included ice-skating, pumpkin picking, softball and kickball games, and game and movie nights.
The high school youth group is open to all teens in grades 9 through 12, with no formal registration - teens are members simply by being high school students, and eighth graders may join after graduation. The group meets twice a week: a Discussion Group on Sunday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 PM and an Open Center on Wednesday evenings from 7:30 to 9:00 PM, with shared prayer, announcements, and room to play pool, ping-pong, foosball, or just gather. The high school Confirmation Program, Antioch Retreats, service trips, and the annual Catholic Youth Day at Six Flags Great Adventure are all coordinated through this office.
Adults, Young Adults, and Families
Adult faith formation at Mount Carmel includes Christlife, RCIA, Adult Confirmation, the Neocatechumenal Way, Adult Spiritual Retreats, the Difficult Conversations Series, and separate Cornerstone Retreats for men and women. The MOMS (Ministry of Motherhood Spirituality) gathers mothers for spiritual support, while INSPIRE welcomes young adults in their twenties and thirties. Career Resources Ministry assists parishioners navigating employment transitions. Respect Life carries the parish's pro-life work, and the Spanish Apostolate serves the Spanish-speaking community of the parish.
The Knights of Columbus parish council at Mount Carmel connects Catholic men to works of charity, and an Adult Basketball league offers weekly recreation. The Hospitality Ministry creates a welcoming atmosphere at weekend Masses, training greeters who help newcomers find a place in the assembly. Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist assist with distribution of Communion, Lectors proclaim the readings, Ushers prepare the church for worship, Altar Servers (open to students in grades 5 through 8) assist the priest-celebrant, and Funeral and Memorial Service Ministry supports families during the Funeral Rite.
Outreach Beyond the Parish
Service to neighbors is a recurring rhythm at Mount Carmel. The Homebound/Health Care Facility Ministry brings Holy Communion to parishioners who cannot attend Mass and offers weekly visits to those who are sick, elderly, or homebound. The Homeless Retreat Ministries partner with an Ignatian Spirituality Project for prayer and reflection with people experiencing homelessness. Frozen Pan Ministry and the Monthly Food Drive stock parish food assistance, with drive-thru food drives held most months and a special Frozen Turkey Drive each November. High school youth volunteers sort and distribute donations to Ridgecrest Senior Housing, Social Services of Ridgewood and Vicinity, the English Food Pantry in Paterson, and Healing Meals. Summer Service Days at the Fr. English Food Pantry extend this work into July and August.
Academy of Our Lady School
Across Passaic Street from the church sits Academy of Our Lady, the parish grade school, where Katharine Clemente serves as Interim School Principal. The school is part of the parish campus, with the school building also home to junior high faith formation, the high school Confirmation program, the youth center, and the parish gym used by CYO Basketball.
Getting Here and Getting Around
The parish address is 1 Passaic Street, Ridgewood, NJ 07450, with a GPS-friendly version of the same. Parking is available in several locations. On weekdays, the rectory lot is often full and the school lot is reserved until 3:00 PM for staff and the Windsor School, so most weekday visitors use metered street parking or the parking garage at Hudson and Broad Streets. On weekends, both parish lots are open (even where the signs read "staff parking only"), several Passaic Street office buildings offer overflow parking, and meters and the Hudson Street garage are free on Sundays.
The Passaic Street entrance is the recommended door for visitors who need the handicap ramp; from there, visitors can reach the Daily Mass Chapel, parish meeting rooms, the parish library, and the choir room. Restrooms are in the cry room and downstairs. The Perpetual Adoration Chapel is reached through the main Prospect Street doors.
Office, Contact, and Safe Environment
The rectory office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM and on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The main phone number is 201-444-2000, with the lobby reached at extension 200 and the general email address lobby@olmcridgewood.com. After hours, an emergency pager at 201-278-0010 connects parishioners to a priest.
Volunteers and employees who work with children in parish programs are required to complete the Archdiocese of Newark's Safe Environment program: a Protecting God's Children workshop (renewed every five years), a Volunteer Application with the Archdiocesan Code of Conduct, and a criminal background check. Natalie McKenna coordinates the parish's Safe Environment program, and details are posted on the parish site.
Electronic giving is available through WeShare, and donations to the Archdiocesan Annual Appeal are also collected online. The parish livestreams Masses on its YouTube channel and shares bulletins, calendars, and news on Facebook and Instagram.