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Welcome
Please share this news with your family and friends!
We have resumed our regular Saturday and Sunday Mass Schedule:
Saturday: 5:00 p.m. in English and 7:00 in Spanish.
Sunday,\: 8:00 a.m. & 10:30 a.m. in English and 12:00 in Spanish.
We look forward to opening our doors and welcoming you back. There will be a maximum of 100 people per mass as per state mandate. All social distancing applies. The faithful must wear a mask to enter the church and during the celebration of Mass, EXCEPT for the brief moment while receiving Holy Communion.
We will need volunteers to help control admittance to the church, and help clean after each mass.If you are able to help, please contact the rectory office. (908) 351-3300 -
Archdiocesan Connections
- Archdiocese of Newark website
- Catholic Advocate Online
- New Jersey Catholic
- NJ Católico
- Listen to Catholic Radio - Live from WNSW 1430 AM
- Radio Maria English, Español, Italiano.
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Our Lady of Guadalupe News:
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It is with great sadness that we announce that Our Lady of Guadalupe will not reopen in September.
Archdiocese of Newark
VICAR FOR EDUCATION AND INTERIM SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
ARCHDIOCESAN CENTER
171 Clifton Avenue · Post Office Box 9500 · Newark · New Jersey 07104-0500 · (973)-497-4260
August 4, 2020
Dear Members of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy Community,
It is with great sadness that we write to you today. The difficult and painful decision has been made to close Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy effective August 31, 2020. This decision follows review of the school’s low enrollment numbers for the 2020-2021 school year and increasing reliance on financial subsidy, made much more challenging by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over the past few weeks, many news articles have highlighted the struggles Catholic schools nationwide are facing due to the ongoing pandemic. Many families are facing financial realities that prevent them from continuing or even beginning their children’s education in a Catholic school. This has resulted in continued enrollment declines in Catholic schools, including in our Archdiocese — a trend that already had challenged Catholic schools nationwide for many years. Sadly, diminishing enrollment has put many schools in the position of insufficient student enrollment to cover even basic operating costs. This is the situation in which we find ourselves today with Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy.
The cost of operating a Catholic school is covered, for the most part, by tuition. As enrollment drops, schools are forced to cut expenses to reduce the deficit. As these cuts continue, schools find themselves in the position of reducing staff and jeopardizing the quality of the educational program — a disservice to students and their families. Shrinking the deficit to a reasonable level would require a tuition increase of several thousand dollars per student for the upcoming school year. Such an increase in tuition would be unaffordable for many families, resulting in further declines.
While we know this news may come as an unpleasant surprise, the decline in enrollment has been evident over the past few years. The Archdiocese, in conjunction with the school administration, has been carefully monitoring enrollment. We were hopeful that attempts to increase registrations would be successful and allow Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy
to move confidently into the 2020 - 2021 school year. But despite the sincere efforts of
parish and school leadership to keep the school operationally viable, low enrollment and
the need for increased financial support — combined with significant obstacles posed by the ongoing pandemic — make the school’s continued operation unsustainable.
The closure of a school and the consolidation of a school community is not easy for anyone. It is an emotional time, and it affects the lives of many. We understand the strong ties—both emotional and historical—you have with your school. Also, we realize the importance and value of faith and holistic formation in your student’s life. We are grateful for the faith-filled communities the pastor, principal, teachers, and staff have built at Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy.
The action we have been forced to take is difficult, yet unavoidable. We will do all we can to support students, parents, teachers, and staff during this time of transition. The school will continue to operate through August 31 to facilitate the transfer of records and the refund of all registration fees and tuition paid for the 2020 - 2021 school year.
Parents are encouraged to consider transferring their students to St. Joseph the Carpenter School in Roselle, where Mrs. Patricia Cymbaluk will serve as principal. To help families transition to other Catholic schools in the Archdiocese, special tuition assistance will be available for the 2020 - 2021 school year. The special tuition assistance will be offered to affected families whose 2020 - 2021 tuition rate at their new Catholic elementary school in the Archdiocese of Newark is greater than their tuition rate at their current school. Contact information for Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Newark can be found at www.catholicschoolsnj.org. Information about St. Joseph the Carpenter School in Roselle can be found at http://www.stjosephroselleschool.org/sjtcs/. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the Archdiocesan Schools Office at 973-497-4260.
These are difficult times, and we pray that God will give each of us the wisdom and grace to move forward in faith.
Sincerely,
Rev. Msgr. Thomas J. McDade, Ed.D.
Vicar for Education/Interim Superintendent of Schools
Ms. Barbara Dolan
Associate Superintendent of Schools
ARCHDIOCESAN CENTER
171 Clifton Avenue · Post Office Box 9500 · Newark · New Jersey 07104-0500 · (973)-497-4260
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It is with great sadness that we announce that Our Lady of Guadalupe will not reopen in September.