PASSAIC CITY

Passaic church's ceiling collapses during Holy Week

Church was empty when the ceiling fell: 'Thank God no one was hurt'; new plans are being made for Easter Masses.

Nicholas Katzban, Staff Writer, @NicholasKatzban

 

PASSAIC ― On Holy Thursday, when Christians commemorate the Last Supper, St. Anthony of Padua Church was forced to deal with a ceiling collapse that could have been disastrous if it had happened during that night's services.

The Rev. Duberney Villamizar checks the damages after a partial ceiling collapse at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Passaic.

Earlier this week, parishioners noticed the ceiling in their church on Myrtle Avenue beginning to sag. It was assumed that it was merely due to water damage, “but there was no water coming down,” said the Rev. Edgar Rivera, the church's pastor.

By Thursday morning it had gotten worse. Around 10 a.m. Bienvenida De La Rose, who cleans the church for the congregation, was working when she heard cracking. She left immediately to get a secretary from the parish to inspect the situation. When the two returned not more than five minutes later, they found a large portion of the ceiling had fallen where residents would be sitting less than 10 hours later.

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“Our fear is if this had happened tonight, because we would have had a lot of people,” said Rivera. Parishioner Josephine Chichi agreed, saying, “Thank God no one was hurt.”

The extent of the damage is unknown. Rivera contacted the Diocese of Paterson, who will be sending their insurance investigators to St. Anthony’s Friday or Monday, and told Rivera to leave the ceiling as it is. But he and other pastors are already fearing the worst.

“We don’t know how much insurance will cover, and we need to pay the rest,” Rivera said. Though the church’s centennial is only two years away, up until now, the 1919 structure has always been stable.

A partial ceiling collapse at St. Anthony Church in Passaic. The church will not be cleaned up in time for Easter services.

Rivera is hoping, if needed, the community can support the church in covering any leftover expenses for the repairs.

Chichi was sure of it. “With help from the parishioners, it will get fixed,” she said. The church is accepting donations on its website.

This is the “first thing that happened, or any major damage like that,” the pastor said, motioning toward the dusty rubble of Sheetrock and wooden slats that covered several rows of pews.

Although Masses for Holy Week are always held across the street in the church’s gymnasium to accommodate higher attendance, the service includes a procession into the main church for a celebration of the Eucharist. This year, Communion will take place in a small room at the parish center, where volunteers worked tirelessly Thursday to rebuild the tabernacle in its makeshift home.

“It’ll have a somber mood,” Chichi said of that evening’s Mass. “Knowing what’s across the street, it’s not going to be the same.”

Her mother, Antoinette added that it is not just any service, but the second holy day between Palm Sunday and Easter.

“That’s what makes this hard,” Chichi agreed. “It’s Holy Week.”