Our Heritage

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel has been a center of Catholic worship in the Middle River area since its inception in 1887 with worship in private homes as a mission of St. Joseph Church in Fullerton. In 1893, the first, rustic, two room church was built on Eastern Avenue and Rev. Charles Warren Currier was the mission's first pastor.

In 1904, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel officially became a parish and a rectory was completed the following year. The parish grew during these early years with the development of the Essex area.

Rev. Msgr. Nicholas Jaselli was credited with much growth beginning in 1916. He established the second church, the original portion of the elementary school, the convent, and the rectory. During his tenure, the parish grew from 100 families to 12,000 parishioners.

Our current Church was also constructed under Msgr. Jaselli's pastorate. It resembles a church in El Paso, Texas where he vacationed with his family. The church was also called Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and was a spiritual refuge for the Tigria Indians. "The beauty of the new church, its simplicity, its taste, caught the eye of everyone present (at the dedication, January 2, 1938)," quoted the Catholic Review of the week.

Following the retirement of Msgr. Jaselli in 1949, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish continued to grow under the leadership of Rev. C. Carroll Kerr, Rev. John J. Murphy, Rev. Edward Staub, Rev. Joseph Luca, and Rev. Joseph DePetris.

Today, Msgr. Robert L. Hartnett serves as pastor. The parish has seen tremendous growth in recent years.