Sacred Heart Church Window Shattered

The Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy was shocked to discover in April that a singular stained glass memorial window at the long-shuttered (2005) Sacred Heart Church on MLK Drive between Bayview and Bidwell avenues was unnecessarily shattered, seriously diminishing the integrity of a treasure of stained glass art. 

Those responsible are not known at this time, but the Conservancy is currently investigating the situation and will post updates as developments happen. Our immediate goal is to prevent the further destruction of Sacred Heart’s spectacular stained glass tapestries crafted between 1924 and circa-1929 by the young master glassman Wright Goodhue (1905-1931), who was still a teenager when he designed the central rose window after being commissioned by the building’s famous architect, Ralph Adams Cram (1863-1942).

The breached Goodhue glass includes specifically The Crucifixion and Assumption lancets in the uppermost East Wall above the former St. Jude Shrine and overlooking the parish parking lot along Bidwell. A gaping, jagged hole indicates these cracked sections (see photos).

In the meantime, please mail a letter or make a call directly to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark’s Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, C.Ss.R., D.D., requesting assurances that no additional stained glass at Sacred Heart will be destroyed or removed; that the already-damaged Goodhue glass will be accurately replicated and installed by a local master craftsperson; that His Eminence will instruct the designated developer of the building to respect and protect all art objects attached to Sacred Heart; and that the Archbishop's Office will encourage the developer to start a dialogue and relationship with the citizen trustees of the not-for-profit Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy.

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark

℅ Office of the Archbishop

His Eminence Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, C.Ss.R., D.D.

171 Clifton Avenue

Newark, NJ 07104 

Phone: (973) 497-4000

Email, via the Rev. Anthony Palombo, Priest Secretary to the Cardinal: Rev.Anthony.Palombo@rcan.org