Windows from closed church find new life

Parish
Feb 1, 2011

NEWARK, N.J. -- Crouched on a scaffold, Ray Clagnan gingerly tapped his hammer near Saint James' feet, hoping to set them free.

Clagnan, a stained-glass expert, worked slowly, pane by pane. Soon, he moved to Mary Magdalene, carrying away her resplendent image in four pieces.

During a break, he marveled at the level of skill displayed on the windows.

“You would never see decorations as elaborate and detailed as these anymore,” he said. “The painting in each piece, each frame, makes it special.”

Archdiocese upset by St. Patrick's new home

Jan 26, 2011

SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. -- And now, let us raise a toast to St. Patrick.

Once a cherished icon for generations of Catholics, a statue of Ireland’s patron saint from Sacred Heart Church in Newark has landed in a South Orange restaurant—much to the chagrin of local Catholic leaders.

On a recent night, as college-age students mingled at Cryan’s Beef and Ale House, St. Patrick watched silently from a corner in the restaurant section, a shepherd’s staff in his left hand.

The move, from pious to pub, has provoked some debate. The 6-foot-tall plaster statue was relocated after the Archdiocese of Newark closed the venerable church last summer.

Bar owner Jimmy Cryan said his family had long supported Sacred Heart, holding fundraisers at the bar and pitching in for restorations.

“The response has been overwhelming,” he said. “It’s just nice to have a piece of old Sacred Heart around.”

But archdiocese officials, who plan to reuse items from the church in other religious buildings, are not pleased.