The Franciscan friars of the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe served St. Bonaventure Parish in Paterson for 148 years before handing over its administration to the Paterson Diocese almost a year ago. Yet the friars’ welcoming spirit is still felt in the faith community’s spirituality and social outreaches.
On July 15, Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led St. Bonaventure, also known as “St. Bon’s,” in commemorating the long-standing service of the friars, who are recognized for wearing their distinctive brown robes.
The bishop celebrated a Mass in English and Spanish, and blessed the spot where a plaque about the Franciscan story will be placed. It wil be located where a statue of St. Francis marks the entrance of the former monastery.
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Father Alex Nevitt, administrator of St. Bonaventure’s, concelebrated the Mass with several priests. He said the plaque honors the Franciscans as part of a “large chapter in the parish’s history.” It will be displayed next to the door of the St. Anthony Shrine for the Sick, which had served as the Franciscans’ monastery.
“The legacy of the Franciscans is about hospitality and welcome,” said Father Nevitt, also citing their wise stewardship of St. Bonaventure’s finances. “They took great care of the parish for future generations.”
After 148 years, the Franciscans transferred the administration of St. Bonaventure’s to the diocese on Aug. 1, 2024, due to the religious order’s staffing shortages. They shared the joys and sorrows of generations of parishioners, including increasing numbers of Spanish-speaking faithful.
In the diocese, the friars continue to administer St. Mary’s Parish in Pompton Lakes and St. Anthony Parish in Butler, where the province runs its friary.
Today, St. Bonaventure’s carries on the friars’ spirituality with St. Anthony devotions on Tuesdays and the work of the Franciscan Third Order. It is a group of lay people who, inspired by the example of St. Francis of Assisi, live out the Gospel in their daily lives while remaining in the secular world.
Located in the Stoney Road area of Paterson, the parish also collects food to feed the hungry who visit the Father English Food Pantry in Paterson.
The friars came to St. Bon’s, the diocese’s second-oldest parish, from Germany in 1876. They were given an abandoned monastery that had been built the previous year by the Carmelites, who founded the faith community. St. Bonaventure’s was raised to parish status in 1877. The church was completed in 1880.
St. Bonaventure’s was the site of the offices of the Franciscans’ former Holy Name Province and its novitiate. The parish produced many vocations to the priesthood and religious life, primarily among Franciscans.
Recently, St. Bonaventure’s started a young adult ministry called Aqua Viva, or “Water of Life,” which has 40 people so far.
“St. Bon’s draws people from a geographic distance, including those who moved away and come back for Mass,” said Father Nevitt, adding that he is still learning Spanish. “We are striving to be a bilingual parish. Anglos and Hispanics attend each other’s events as a way to embrace this new culture.”
