Our Lady of Sorrows Church was established on August 10, 1965 by the Most Reverend Bishop Celestine J. Damiano The Parish Hall was the initial building built and it served as the facility for Mass and all other social functions. The Church building began construction in 1969 and was dedicated May 24, 1970. Split from the adjoining parishes of St. Peter’s Church in Pleasantville, NJ and St. Joseph’s Church in Somers Point, NJ the territory of Our Lady of Sorrows extended from the Inland Waterway, south to Seaview Avenue in Linwood, then north the Armory in Northfield, then west to English Creek, in Egg Harbor Township – approximately 20 square miles.
We currently have 1875 registered families. The Rev. Vincent Ferraro, of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, was appointed Pastor on August 22, 1965. Since that time, a Social Hall and Annex with four classrooms plus two lower level meeting spaces plus handicap restroom were added to the campus. A parish office and rectory behind the church were constructed in 1999. Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary served our Parish with four Pastors, from 1970 to 2013.
In February of 2013, Fr. Paul D. Harte, a Diocesan Priest was appointed as Pastor, and currently serves as our only full-time priest. Additional priests from the area assist in celebrating weekend liturgies.
Our parish community believes in serving the church through our ministries: Extraordinary Ministers, Readers, Cantors, Adult Choir, Ushers and Altar Servers. Many of our adults do service by taking care of our candle stands, flowers and other means necessary to keep our church building clean and welcoming.
Our Lady of Sorrows has an active Religious Education Program with classes from grade 1 to 8. We offer: Christmas with Santa, Live Nativity, an Easter Egg Hunt, family catechists evenings for our youth and young families, a weekly evening Mass dedicated to St. Anthony with a Novena following, Novenas to Our Lady of Perpetual Help and Our Lady of Sorrows (conducted through the week) weekly Bible study, Senior Luncheon, 750 Club Raffle and Social, Derby ‘N Dance Social, Antique & Craft Shows, Indoor Flea Markets and weekly Bingo games for our adults.
Our Lady of Sorrows is unique because we offer Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, sharing this opportunity with the surrounding communities. This silent worship has been offered for over 24 years! The beautiful church houses a number of Saint Statues flanked by candle stands. We are a community of individuals united by the love of Christ. We extend a welcome to all individuals through prayer, engaging liturgies, spiritual formation, education and opportunities for service. We are truly a “neighborhood church” along the bike path in a residential setting, surrounded by maturely landscaped grounds, which shade a meditation garden and an outside stone assembly space with seating.