Set back from a quiet stretch of South Street in New Providence, New Jersey, Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Parish has been a steady presence in this Union County borough for more than six decades. The 21st New Jersey Legislative District singled the parish out for its “countless contributions to New Providence and beyond, serving as a shining beacon of selfless service to those most in need,” and visitors walking in from the parking lot quickly understand why. The church itself is round, automatic doors part at the entrance, the school sits across the drive, and the grounds hum with the steady traffic of Mass, ministry meetings, food being packed for the next morning’s deliveries.
Sunday Mass and the Shape of the Week
The parish offers three Sunday Masses at 7:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m., and 12:00 p.m., with the Saturday Vigil at 5:00 p.m. and a quiet 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning Mass for those who like to start the weekend differently. Weekday Masses are celebrated Monday through Friday at 7:30 a.m. and 12:10 p.m., and Daily Mass is livestreamed so anyone can pray along from home or the office.
The 10 a.m. Sunday Mass has its own personality. Most Sundays during the academic year, after the Opening Prayer, the priest calls the children forward for Children’s Liturgy of the Word, a parallel celebration for students in kindergarten through third grade that walks them through the same readings at their own level. Parents pick them up and return for the Liturgy of the Eucharist. There is no registration, and no family has to apologize for the noise of small ones. As the parish tells new parents plainly, “How can they get used to going to church or living their faith if they don’t learn from you from the very beginning?”
Confession, Anointing, and the Other Sacraments
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered every Saturday from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. in the church, face to face by asking the priest to open the curtain or anonymously with it closed. Weekday appointments can also be arranged by calling the rectory. The parish takes its teaching on confession seriously. The priest is there, as the parish explains, “in the person of Christ, very important, not as Christ’s representative but as Christ Himself,” and what is said in the confessional cannot leave it.
Anointing of the Sick is available to the young and old alike, not only at the end of life but also before surgery, in the grip of serious illness, during a difficult addiction, or in old age and frailty. The rite includes special prayers and an anointing with Holy Oil, and the parish gently asks families not to wait until the final hours to call. The anointing can be received more than once, but only once every six months.
Baptism, First Communion, First Reconciliation, Confirmation, Matrimony, and Holy Orders complete the seven sacraments celebrated here. Baptisms of children are typically held on the first and third Saturdays of the month at noon. Couples getting married are asked to begin by speaking with a priest, who will walk them through preparation; the parish lists fidelity, openness to children, and the lifelong bond as the three promises made in a Catholic wedding.
For adults who have not yet been baptized, or who were baptized in another Christian tradition and seek full communion, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA, formerly RCIA) meets them where they are. The process is unhurried and adapted to the individual, and adults who were baptized Catholic but never received First Communion or Confirmation are also welcomed.
Walking In Through Automatic Doors: Accessibility at OLP
The church is circular, and the architects built it that way for a reason. Every side has its own set of doors, two sets of automatic double doors on each side of the church open without effort, and all of the sidewalks are ramped from the road and the parking lot. There is a section of pews by the left of the altar with extra room set aside for wheelchairs, walkers, and anyone who needs a little more space to get in and out. Eucharistic Ministers are glad to come forward to anyone who finds it difficult to come up.
The welcome extends to children with allergies, sensitivities, or just a lot of energy. There is a vestibule straight ahead of the altar where parents can step with a fussy baby, and a small playground sits just outside the doors near the music ministers. Quiet snack options are fine in the pews, as long as no crumbs are left behind, and the parish keeps little activity packets at the back of the pews for anyone who forgot to bring their own. Coloring books are great; sound-making toys are not.
For Catholics who are gluten-sensitive, low-gluten hosts are available from the main celebrant, just ask an usher, altar server, or priest before Mass begins. Those who are highly sensitive are welcome to receive only from the chalice. Two restrooms sit across from the sanctuary, one for men and one for women, just inside the main doors.
From Children to the Elderly: All Ages in the Pews
The parish describes itself as down-to-earth and relaxed. The dress code is whatever you would wear to visit a friend: suits, jeans, dresses, t-shirts and shorts, all of it fine. Seating is open anywhere in the church, with only two courteous exceptions: the front row on the side nearest the altar, which is kept wider for wheelchairs and walkers, and the choir riser, which is reserved for singers at the Masses where the choir sings.
Soft-cover worship books in every pew guide visitors through the entire Mass, including the readings for that specific Sunday, with the responses printed on darker gray edge pages. If the prayers feel rusty, the parish encourages visitors to simply ask the person next to them. “If you need help, trust me, ask someone sitting next to you and they will help.”
The collection is taken at every Mass, and the second collection appears on special occasions, but giving is never required. “Coming to church and living one’s faith is absolutely free,” the parish writes, while acknowledging that the buildings, the music, and the food pantry all depend on the generosity of the people in the pews. Common gifts run between ten and twenty dollars; some give less, some give more; no one counts.
A School on the Same Property: The Academy of Our Lady of Peace
The driveway enters from South Street, and almost immediately on the left, past the white picket fence, is the main entrance to the Academy of Our Lady of Peace, the parish’s K-8 school. Principal James Gargiulo leads the faculty, and the building shares the parish’s life in every way. During Lent the school joins the parish in service days. During Advent it gathers around the tree. During the school year, the parish fair and the Walk-A-Thon turn the grounds into an afternoon of rides, music, raffle prizes, and stations for the students.
The Academy’s transformation in recent years is part of the parish’s broader story. New wood-look flooring replaced stained classroom carpets, fresh paint and updated furniture went in, a teacher’s lounge was added, the gym was refinished, and a French drain system finally addressed the flooding that had plagued parts of the building for years. The curriculum was restructured, and the fire alarm and security systems were upgraded. The school is part of the parish, and the parish is on the same campus.
Family Faith Formation for Grades 1-9
Religious Education at Our Lady of Peace is built around the family. The parish uses a family catechesis program called Family of Faith, in which the children and the parents walk and grow together through a blend of in-parish sessions and at-home work. There are about 23 sessions in a year’s program, an average of one session at home and two in class each month, with each session beginning and ending in joint activities before the parents and children split into age-appropriate groups.
Each grade has its own benchmark prayers and core teachings that the parish expects students to know by the end of the year. First graders master the Sign of the Cross, Hail Mary, blessing before meals, and a bedtime prayer. Second graders add the Our Father and an Act of Contrition. Third graders learn the Glory Be and the Apostles’ Creed. By eighth grade, students know the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit and the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, and are ready for the Confirmation process that follows. Each parent is asked to volunteer at least once during the year, whether as hall monitor, hospitality, substitute catechist, or even co-teacher.
First Reconciliation and First Communion are run as a two-year program alongside the standard religious education track. Confirmation follows a similar two-year preparation for candidates in eighth and ninth grade, with retreats, Rite of Promise, parent sessions, sponsor selection, service hours (six hours in each year, at least four of them at Our Lady of Peace), and a candid fifteen-minute interview the summer between the two years.
BOLD: Middle and High School Youth Ministry
Youth Ministry at OLP is run under the name BOLD, and Coordinator of Youth Ministry Rachael Flanagan, along with Esther Dutra, oversees a program built around activity, service, and honest conversation about the faith. BOLD is open to students in sixth through twelfth grade of any denomination, meeting monthly or twice a month on Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Hall.
The format alternates between service-focused evenings, where students work on parish projects and learn about faith through doing, and fellowship evenings, designed to foster friendships and create space for honest conversation. The Peer Servant Team (PST), made up of confirmed students in tenth through twelfth grade, is the leadership track; members learn practical leadership skills, exercise peer mentorship, build friendships that last, and shape the program’s direction.
Adults who want to walk with teens join CAST, the Catholic Adults Supporting Teens team, volunteering in active roles or in behind-the-scenes support such as driving to events, shopping, or advising. It is the parish’s quiet recognition that teenagers need adults in their lives who are paying attention.
Young Adults in Their 20s and 30s
In April 2026, Our Lady of Peace launched a new ministry called YAM, the Young Adult Ministry, aimed at men and women in their twenties and thirties from New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Chatham, Summit, and the surrounding area. The group is open to everyone in the area, not just parish parishioners, and gathers around three pillars: growing in faith together, forming friendships through lively events, and serving others.
YAM is led by the young adults themselves, with the parish’s backing and promotion through an Instagram account (@olp.yaministry). It joins the parish’s growing sense that the pews are full of people at every stage of life, and that each stage deserves its own space to belong.
The Music at Mass and the Ministry Behind It
The Music Ministry has been overhauled in recent years under the direction of Sara McCabe, who also serves as Director of Social Media and Organist. The parish sings across a wide range, from classic hymns to more contemporary pieces, and the choir practices on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. in the church. Anyone who likes to sing is welcome to join; high schoolers, college students, parents, and longtime members all share the riser.
Lectors, both adults and high schoolers in tenth grade and up, proclaim the readings. Eucharistic Ministers (the parish prefers that name over “Extraordinary Ministers”) assist at daily and weekend Masses. Altar Servers, who must have made their First Communion, assist the priest during Masses and liturgical services throughout the year. Ushers, also called Ministers of Hospitality, prepare the gift table, take up the collection, and assist the gift bearers at weekend Masses.
Food Pantry, Sandwiches, and the Garden
The parish runs a Food Pantry that provides nonperishable food to those in need. Volunteers meet in the Parish Hall on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and on select Saturdays. A separate Weekly Sandwich Ministry gathers on Mondays between noon and 2 p.m. in the Parish Hall kitchen, preparing sandwiches, fresh fruit, and snack bars that are delivered to six different soup kitchens and food pantries in the area.
A second sandwich initiative focuses specifically on St. Joseph’s Social Service Center in Elizabeth. Parishioners prepare sandwiches at home and drop them at the rectory on the third Tuesday of each month for distribution. The Garden Ministry works seasonally to enhance the beauty of the grounds, and the Traveling Our Lady of Fatima Statue spends a week at a time in the homes of parishioners who welcome the Blessed Mother in prayer.
The Knights, the Rosary, and the Prayer Shawls
The Knights of Columbus council serving Our Lady of Peace is a local chapter of the international society of Catholic men, serving the communities of Summit, New Providence, and Berkeley Heights through time, treasure, and charitable work. The council meets monthly at the Paca Club in New Providence.
The Rosary Altar Society gathers monthly for Mass, the praying of the Rosary, lunch, fellowship, and a speaker. The society crowns Mary in May, hosts a Communion Breakfast and a retreat, takes on the Blessing Bag Project, and fundraises for those in need. The Rosary Makers Club welcomes men and women to make rosaries that are then given to hospitals, prisons, parish events, and other ministries.
Small Christian Communities meet during Lent and Advent, providing groups with the opportunity to “know God and God’s love” through faith sharing, with reading material provided. The Bereavement Ministry accompanies those who have lost loved ones, meeting on the third Tuesday of each month. Prayer Shawls are crocheted or knitted at home and given to those who need special prayers. And the Homebound Visitation Ministry brings the Body of Christ to parishioners who cannot attend Sunday Mass in person.
A Relic of the True Cross in the Baptistry
In the baptistry, a glass cabinet holds one of the parish’s quiet treasures: a relic of the True Cross. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross each September 14 calls the parish to mind the story of Saint Helena, who in 326 traveled to the Holy Land and identified the crosses used at Calvary. The relic connects Our Lady of Peace to the central mystery of the Christian faith: that the Cross, once a cruel instrument of death, is now the symbol of God’s perfect love.
Funeral Mass and the Music That Honors a Life
The parish walks with families through every step of a Funeral Mass. For services coordinated through a funeral home, the funeral home reaches out on the family’s behalf; for Masses with cremains or memorial Masses without a funeral home, families contact the rectory directly. There is a suggested donation of $250 each for the celebrant, cantor, and organist, and $50 for an optional livestream. The parish lists songs for entrance, responsorial psalm, offertory, communion, and recessional, organized to match the readings, the prayers of the faithful, and the homily.
Music choices range from Be Not Afraid and On Eagle’s Wings to Panis Angelicus, How Great Thou Art, Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), and Going Home by Dvořák. Specific songs not on the list can be requested. Families may invite readers (up to three), gift bearers (two), and pallbearers (up to eight) to participate in the Mass.
The Building and the Grounds
The driveway entrance is on South Street, to the right of the church and the Academy. Once in the lot, the best place to park for Mass is the back portion, where a left turn opens up the spaces closest to the parish hall. Additional parking is available along the curb. Doors are peppered around the front and sides of the church, which is built in a circle, so visitors almost never have to walk far.
The rectory doors, marked by a sign, are on the left as visitors leave the parking lot behind the church, just past the garage doors. The parish office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and closed on Saturday. The parish phone number is (908) 464-7600, and emails to the rectory go through info@olpnp.org.
Four Years Under Fr. Francisco
Father Francisco Mendonça became pastor of Our Lady of Peace in 2021, arriving in the middle of the uncertainty of COVID-19. Four years later, he lists the changes with characteristic humility: a new security camera system, an upgraded sound system, a replaced and more reliable livestream system, new altar linens and liturgical vessels compliant with Church regulations, improved church lighting, a unified rectory computer system replacing six separate ones, a more accurate donation tracking system, a completely redesigned website and bulletin, and the parish’s selection of a new catechetical program after testing several.
The physical plant received equal attention. An aging and leaking oil tank was removed, all parish roofs except the church were repaired, the parking lot was refinished, and the gardens were transitioned into more self-sustaining spaces to ease the load on volunteers. The parish has grown fuller in his years here. “Father, my name is ___, and I’m/we are new to the parish,” has become a regular greeting, and many longtime parishioners have returned as well. The parish has become known throughout New Providence for its Christmas trees, its Easter decorations, its liturgies rich with meaning, and its Name Tag Sundays that turn strangers into neighbors.
Hallow, Everyday Faith, and the Parish on a Phone
The parish maintains a free community on the Hallow app, where members share prayers, Scripture, and reflections between Sunday Masses. The parish also publishes a weekly email reflection called Everyday Faith, a short mid-week note from Fr. Francisco that picks up Sunday’s message and offers practical ways to carry it into the rest of the week.
The blog on the parish’s online home collects these reflections and more, including a series on how Jesus’ parables meet modern life, on the Eucharist as the actual Body and Blood of Christ, on doubt as the precursor to deeper faith, on carrying grief quietly, on forgiving seventy-seven times, and on the surprises waiting in ordinary days.
Parish Council, Youth Sports, and the Wider Community
The Pastoral Council assists the pastor in planning, organizing, initiating, and coordinating the evangelization, worship, social concerns, and education of the parish community, meeting quarterly. The parish also sponsors a Cub Scouts pack that meets monthly, giving boys in kindergarten through fifth grade a chance to grow through character development, spiritual growth, good citizenship, sportsmanship, fitness, family understanding, personal achievements, and community service.
On the parish grounds, a Hero Mass is celebrated each year to honor local police, fire, and EMT personnel, with active first responders encouraged to attend in Class A uniform and retired members in their organization jacket. The parish was commended by the state in 2025 for its “more than six decades of unwavering commitment to the community and character of New Providence,” a recognition that names what regular parishioners already know.
Joining the Parish
Anyone interested in becoming a parishioner can register through a short form on the parish’s online home. Registration for Religious Education, requests for the Anointing of the Sick, sign-ups for OCIA, and forms for weddings, funerals, and reimbursement requests are all available in one place. Protecting God’s Children, the Archdiocese of Newark’s safe-environment program for staff and adult volunteers, includes a volunteer application, a criminal background check every five years, a signed Code of Conduct, and a workshop whose certification is also valid for five years.
Donations are accepted through the collection basket at Mass or online through Pushpay, where donors can give to specific parish projects. Mass is livestreamed on YouTube, and an archive of previous Masses is available for anyone who missed a Sunday. The parish invites anyone who has been away to come back, even just to watch Christmas lights and stop by a priest at the end of the night. “Of course you can, don’t be silly.”