A Roman Catholic Anchor on Fifth Avenue in River Edge
St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church sits at 445 Fifth Avenue in River Edge, NJ, a small, tree-lined Bergen County borough. Founded in 1948, the parish has grown from a fledgling mission in a residential neighborhood into one of the active Catholic parishes of the Archdiocese of Newark, recently celebrating its 75th anniversary and now under its sixth leader. The parish describes itself as "your spiritual community for living the Gospel," and the parish's tally of "40+ Ministries" reflects a deliberate effort to welcome parishioners of every age, stage, and circumstance into the life of the Church.
The parish church stands on a generous lot with a large parking lot, ramped entryways, and an accessible side entrance with elevator access. Adjacent to the church are St. Peter Academy, the parish school, and the Residence at St. Peter's, a senior living community. Together the three institutions give the parish a walkable campus where school families, weekend Mass attendees, and senior residents cross paths throughout the week. The church itself shares its sanctuary with both the parish community and the academy families, and its grounds include a Mary Garden where the annual Blessing of the Animals is celebrated each fall.
Mass Schedule and Liturgical Life
Daily Mass is offered Monday through Saturday at 9:00 AM, with weekend Masses on Saturday at 5:00 PM and three Sunday Masses at 8:00 AM, 10:00 AM, and 12:00 PM. The Saturday vigil is regularly followed by Community Saturday "Wine & Cheese," a social in the Parish Center hosted by rotating volunteers; Sunday mornings close with "Coffee & Donuts" fellowship. Two additional Sunday Masses round out the schedule: a monthly 2:00 PM Sensory-Friendly Mass for individuals with disabilities and their families (offered in partnership with the American Special Children's Pilgrimage Group), and a monthly 6:00 PM Sunday evening Mass led by the parish's youth and Confirmation candidates, featuring contemporary music.
The Reconciliation is heard Saturday afternoons at 4:00 PM and by appointment, and priests are also available before any Mass. First Friday Eucharistic Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament runs from 9:30 AM to 3:00 PM in the chapel on the first Friday of each month, beginning after the 9:00 AM Mass. The 10:00 AM Sunday Mass is livestreamed, and recordings remain viewable for a limited time afterward so that the homebound and those traveling can stay connected to parish worship. A Ministry to the Sick and Homebound also visits parishioners who are unable to attend Mass in person.
Welcoming First-Time Visitors
St. Peter's has plainly thought through the experience of walking into Sunday Mass as a newcomer. Visitors are not expected to put anything in the collection; offering boxes sit outside the church doors for cash or checks, and a QR code offers a Venmo option. A large parking lot is accessible from the Fifth Avenue entrance, with additional street parking available. The church is wheelchair accessible, with ramps at the entryways and elevator access at the side entrance from the parking lot.
There is no dress code beyond what feels "comfortable, respectful, and prayerful," and children are explicitly welcomed at every Mass. As Father Andrew J. DeSilva, known to the parish as Fr. AJ, puts it: "Kids are the future of our Church. Let them make all the noise they need. Don't worry about it at all." The 10:00 AM Sunday Mass is particularly family-friendly, with the Children's Choir typically singing and a separate Children's Liturgy of the Word offered during most weeks from late September through May. Parents who need a few minutes can step out to quiet benches with speakers just outside the main doors, visit the Parish Library (which has a children's section), or walk through one of two outdoor garden areas. Weekday Masses last about 30 minutes and weekend Masses run about an hour.
Faith Formation: Children, Sacraments, and the Family Table
The Office of Faith Formation, directed by Allison Oblen with program coordinator Monique Akhaabi, supports Catholic families with children in grades 1 through 8. The parish offers a full sacramental preparation sequence: Baptism, First Reconciliation, First Eucharist, and Confirmation, and works closely with parents as the first teachers of faith. Children baptized in the parish and currently enrolled in Faith Formation, those attending St. Peter Academy, and those at another Catholic school are eligible to prepare for First Reconciliation and First Eucharist, with required parent meetings each year. All Faith Formation staff and volunteers working with children are certified in the Archdiocese of Newark's Protecting God's Children program.
Children's Liturgy of the Word is offered during most weeks of the catechetical year at the 10:00 AM Mass. Children in grades K-5 are invited, just before the first reading, to gather in the Chapel (K-2) or the Parish Center (3-5) for a kid-friendly version of the Liturgy of the Word. They return to the main church before the Liturgy of the Eucharist. In recent years the program has been led by Youth Ministry members Emma L., Charlie H., and Sophia M., with adult supervision.
For adults seeking to become Catholic or complete their sacraments, the parish runs the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA, formerly RCIA), and "Becoming Catholic" is a standing parish offering for inquirers. Father AJ is the usual point of contact for new inquirers.
Youth Ministry and St. Peter Academy
High school youth ministry, led by Marie Khouzam (currently serving in a two-year Notre Dame Echo internship) and supported by Father Paul Houlis as chaplain, meets on most Sunday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 PM in the Youth Room off the Gathering Space. Youth Group is designed as a place to make friends, play games, talk about faith in everyday terms, and prepare for Confirmation. Journey, the annual parish youth retreat, runs in the spring. Flocknote text and email reminders keep teens and parents in the loop, and the program's Instagram handle @stpeters.yg shares ongoing updates.
St. Peter Academy, the parish elementary school, sits on the same campus as the church. The academy offers a Catholic academic program for elementary-age children rooted in the parish's sacramental and faith life, and many parish ministries, including CYO Basketball, the Children's Choir, weekly Children's Liturgy of the Word, the annual blood drive, the July 4th parade float, and the Carnival, are powered in large part by academy families.
St. Peter's CYO Basketball program keeps a thousand details running for over 300 boys and girls from kindergarten through high school varsity, with volunteer coaches drawn from the parish. The Children's Choir, led by Jim Gregory, is open to students in grades 1-8 and sings at selected 10:00 AM Masses, Christmas, and Easter. Rehearsals run on select Tuesdays from 3:30 to 4:30 PM in the church.
Music Ministry: Adult and Children's Choirs
The Music Ministry is led by Director Jim Gregory and Cantor Vincent McHale, with an adult choir and the children's choir carrying most of the parish's sung liturgy from mid-September through May. The choirs sing at most 10:00 AM Sunday Masses and at the major liturgical feasts of the year, including Christmas, the Triduum, Easter Vigil, and others. Adult choir rehearsals run most Tuesday evenings during the season from 7:30 to 9:00 PM in the church. No prior music-reading experience is required for adult members, who are invited to come as they are able throughout the season.
Sacraments: Baptism, Marriage, Anointing, and Funerals
Baptism is celebrated several times throughout the year, coordinated by Deacon Paul Kazanecki. Baptisms are scheduled during designated weekend Masses and on a few communal afternoons, with required preparation sessions for new parents led by the Baptismal Ministry team. Adults seeking baptism participate in the OCIA process.
Marriages are prepared with a parish priest, and details are coordinated through the rectory. The Anointing of the Sick is offered in a communal Mass once a year, in early October, with lunch served in the Parish Center afterward. The sacrament may be received more than once and is offered to anyone who has become ill, faces serious surgery, is elderly, or has been afflicted for a long time. Funeral servers (open to adults) assist at funeral liturgies, and Pastoral Care reaches out through Funeral Altar Servers and Altar Linens Ministry to grieving families.
Support and Counseling Ministries
For a parish of its size, St. Peter's offers an unusually deep bench of ongoing support ministries. Seasons of Hope, a six-week faith-based bereavement support group, runs twice a year in the fall and spring, with morning and evening sessions led by trained parish facilitators. A Support Group for Parents Grieving the Death of a Child meets the third Monday of each month at 7:30 PM, with no fee and no preregistration. A Support Group for Singles, Divorced, and Widowed meets on most first and third Thursdays of the month at 7:00 PM; details are at stpeterssupport.com. Care for the Caregivers offers space for those tending to ill or aging loved ones.
Bridge Makers, a joint ministry with St. Mary's Church in Dumont, is a faith-sharing community for LGBTQ people, their families, and friends, meeting monthly. Small Christian Communities gather for "An Evening of Peace and Friendship" in the chapel and on Zoom to discuss the upcoming Sunday Scripture, and the Catechism in a Year Discussion Group, built around the popular Fr. Mike Schmitz podcast, meets Monday evenings in the Parish Center. Newcomers can drop into the discussion group at any point in the year.
Outreach: Food, Shelter, and the Most Vulnerable
St. Peter's mission statement commits the parish to "serving the needs of our neighbors with special care for the poor and marginalized," and the outreach ministries show where that commitment lands week to week. The Parish Food Pantry, run by volunteers under the direction of Business Manager Joan Daly, distributes food weekly from donations collected in the Gathering Space. A Seed to Table Community Garden on the parish grounds grows produce for the pantry. Quarterly Center for Food Action food drives gather non-perishables for families in need in Bergen County.
Walk-in Supper coordinates several evenings a year with a local shelter to feed the homeless, led by Beth Falker. Harrison House is a parish ministry serving neighbors living with HIV/AIDS, providing prepared and delivered dinners. Equal Exchange Fair Trade Sales, organized by the Advocacy for Peace and Justice Ministry, bring fairly traded coffee, tea, chocolate, and nuts to the parish regularly. An annual Turkey Drive in November and the Advent Giving Tree provide Thanksgiving meals and Christmas gifts to families in need, and seasonal clothing drives collect coats and winter gear throughout the colder months.
The Respect Life Ministry works to support life "in all its stages," with an annual Mother's Day Baby Shower for mothers in crisis pregnancies and ongoing educational efforts. The Mass of Anointing of the Sick every fall is paired with a parish luncheon to provide fellowship for the elderly and homebound.
Spirituality for Adults and Seniors
For parishioners 55 and older, Connect with Coffee and Conversation (CCC) hosts monthly gatherings in the Parish Center with guest speakers, parish Masses with lunch to follow, and seasonal outings: in the winter there's an armchair aerobics session, and in the spring a lecture on the benefits of walking. The Prayer Shawl Ministry meets most Wednesdays and Fridays at 10:00 AM in the Parish Center, knitting and crocheting shawls given to those who are sick, grieving, or in need of comfort. Rosary Society meetings are held on Monday evenings, with the biennial Living Rosary prayer service bringing the parish together in the church to physically form a rosary as a community.
St. Peter's Play Group offers a Wednesday-morning meetup for parents, grandparents, and caregivers with children ages 0-4, hosted at the Casazza Center (the rectory) and alternating to a local park in good weather. There is no formal commitment; members are notified by text message (text PLAYTIME to 84576) on Wednesday mornings and may come when they can. The Growing in Faith Book Club gathers readers around Catholic and contemporary Christian titles that are also stocked in the Parish Library, which sits between the Gathering Space and the Chapel.
Men's Nights of Reflection gather men of the parish for an evening of fellowship and spiritual renewal; the Moms Gathering ("Arise: Called By Name") is a half-day retreat with Mass, breakfast, teaching, and small-group reflection, and childcare is available; and the annual Ladies Christmas Tea is hosted by the New Evangelization Ministry.
The Annual Carnival and Parish Traditions
The St. Peter's Carnival, now in its 15th year, is the parish's biggest annual fundraiser and one of its most recognizable traditions. Held in the parish parking lot the last weekend of September (in 2026, September 24-27), the carnival offers rides for all ages, games, food, a beer garden (Friday and Saturday evenings), entertainment, and a 50/50 raffle. Recent first-prize winners have taken home $8,000, $11,000, and even $14,000. Raffle proceeds are split 50/50 between the winner and the parish, with the parish share going to fund its ministries. Carnival volunteers run the game booths, with Confirmation candidates and St. Peter Academy students serving as runners and cleanup crews, a model of intergenerational parish service that has become a touchstone of the year.
Other annual events include the Blessing of the Animals in the Mary Garden on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi (early October), the Hallow "Parish Week" prayer challenge, an Italy pilgrimage with Father AJ, the Parish Festival Mass and Picnic at Veteran's Memorial Park to celebrate the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul in late June, and St. Peter's regular presence in the River Edge Fourth of July parade.
Faith and Beliefs
St. Peter's presents itself as a parish rooted in the full sacramental Catholic tradition. The parish teaches the seven sacraments, Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Reconciliation (Confession), Marriage, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick, as divinely instituted channels of grace that mark the progression of a Catholic's life. Children are baptized as infants, typically receive First Reconciliation and First Eucharist at the age of reason, are confirmed as teenagers, and may later receive the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick during serious illness. The Apostles' Creed, in its second-century form, stands as the foundational statement of belief, including the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
The parish's stated mission is to proclaim the Gospel, celebrate the liturgy of joy and thanksgiving, build a welcoming community, serve the needs of neighbors with special care for the poor and marginalized, and reach out to invite all to share the journey. A pastoral letter from the parish sums up the practical shape of that mission: we are called to "return those gifts [God has given] with an increase," giving time, talent, and treasure for the good of the Church.
Clergy, Staff, and Pastoral Leadership
The parish is led by Father Andrew J. DeSilva, who has served at St. Peter's since August 2022 and became pastor in July 2024. Father AJ also serves as a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserves Chaplain Corps and is a familiar greeter at the doors of weekend Masses. Father Paul Houlis joined the parish in July 2024 after more than a decade of service in the Archdiocese of Newark, including six years at St. Paul's in Ramsey. Before entering seminary, Father Paul pursued a career in stand-up comedy and acting. He serves as chaplain of the high school youth ministry program. Deacon Paul Kazanecki coordinates baptisms and the funeral altar server team; Deacon Edward J. Bowen serves as retired deacon.
Among the lay staff, Christine Black is the Pastoral Associate for Adult Formation; Allison Oblen is Director of Faith Formation with Monique Akhaabi as program coordinator; Liz Rutz is Director of Communications; Marissa Dabakian is Director of Stewardship and Development; Jim Gregory is Director of Music Ministry; Vincent McHale serves as Cantor; Kyle Guinta coordinates altar servers; and Joan Daly serves as Business Manager. Trustees are Barbara Gallagher and Peter Ng. Marie Khouzam joined the parish in August 2026 for a two-year Notre Dame Echo apprenticeship serving the youth ministry.
Becoming a Parishioner, Giving, and Staying Connected
Becoming a parishioner is straightforward: the parish regularly invites new members to register through an online form, and the rectory assists those who prefer to register in person. The church is supported financially through Sunday offertory envelopes, online giving through Faith Direct, Venmo (@Stpeterriveredgenj), and a Heritage Fund for restricted gifts to specific projects such as Faith Formation and Youth Programs, Music Ministry, staff development, and buildings, grounds, and technology. Stock gifts, qualified charitable distributions from IRAs, and donor-advised fund grants are also accepted. Bequests may be made to St. Peter the Apostle R.C. Church, 445 Fifth Avenue, River Edge, NJ 07661 (Tax ID 22-1533517).
Parish communications are robust: weekly bulletins are available online, the Flocknote messaging system sends text and email reminders for major ministries, and active Instagram (@StPeterRiverEdgeNJ) and Facebook (facebook.com/StPeterRiverEdgeNJ) feeds keep the parish connected through the week. There is also a dedicated livestream of Sunday Mass for those joining from home.
A Parish with Room for Everyone
St. Peter the Apostle is, by any measure, an unusually full parish life for a small-town church. The combination of an active Catholic elementary school on site, a senior residence as a neighbor, and more than forty identified ministries means that nearly every parishioner can find a place: a child in the Children's Choir, a teen at Youth Group, an empty-nester at CCC, a widow at Seasons of Hope, an expectant mother at the Mother's Day Baby Shower, a young adult at the Catechism in a Year group, a deacon's wife at the Prayer Shawl, a knight at Walk-in Supper. The parish describes itself simply as "a spiritual community for living the Gospel," and the daily Masses, the weekly Sunday rhythm, the school-year ministries, the annual Carnival, and the steady work of the food pantry and the bereavement groups together carry that life from one year to the next.