The Hoboken Journal: Update: Religious Statue Removed at Hoboken Charter School

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Update: Religious Statue Removed at Hoboken Charter School - Jesus now in safe hands

Update 9/23/2010: I spoke with a Charter School oofficial yesterday who stated that is had originally been requested by the Sisters that they wanted to keep the statue and had requested its removal as part of the de-sanctification process. They confirmed that Margaret O'Brien had indeed called them about it but the statue was already in the hands of the sisters. Vincent Rossi confirmed with me that there were some minor cracks in the base and that since the base was solid and the upper portion hollow it made removal somewhat difficult which could explain the minor damage. He believes he can restore the statue to very good condition as he has done in the past.

Update 9/22/2010: The Statue of Jesus is in safe hands!

Long time Hoboken resident Margaret O'Brien sent me an email update on the status of the statue in question and it is in safe hand although there is some damage near the base:

"THE STATUE IS SAFE AND IN THE of VINNIE ROSSI who renovates and restores statues and other artifacts concerning Catholics. I e-mailed him this morning and he went and took "Jesus" out of the garbage and is in process of restoring it (the base got demolished ) and returning it to the SISTERS OF CHARITY who own it and will place it where they decide, in a church or convent.

WE DID THIS out of respect! I will send you the emails that went out and Vinny showed up on my corner to thank me... I spent several teen age years in a convent in Bayonne as my mother was ill and hospitalized frequently.

- Margaret"

Margaret O'Brien also gave me the restorer's email in a follow up and added "That "school" and the developer who got paid, removed that statue and did a bad job, cracking and ruining the base. VINNY will fix it, he did a fantastic job with OLG and other churches here repairing and renovating. IF I didn't call, JESUS would still be in the garbage."

Vincent Rossi sent me this response after I reached out to him via email:

"The statue in question, the one of God [aka] Jesus that was removed from the front of what was once Sacred Heart Academy at 7th & Washington St. Today it houses a Charter School .Under law they are prohibited from having this statue on site.

I was contacted by both Margaret O`Brien , Helen Cunning both extremely concerned over its where abouts and condition. I was informed that the statue was damaged during removal but repairable , And that it is to be returned to the Sisters Of Charity that founded and governed what was once known as Sacred Heart Academy .

Respectfully

- Vincent Rossi"

My comment: I would like to thank both Margaret O'Brien and Vincent Rossi for helping to save this piece of Hoboken history. As I predicted, this statue has meaning to those of that particular faith as well as those with a sense of the history of Hoboken. I am glad that the statue will now be restored and find a new home somewhere. You don't have to be a Catholic to have that sentiment.

Update 9/21/2010: Grafix Avenger has an update on this in her article http://grafixavenger.blogspot.com/2010/09/solved.html. She explains that a source emailed her with the following statement: "The Catholic Church requires de-sanctification. That statue removal is part of it." Hopefully, the statue is in one piece and has a safe storage place for now.

Update 9/20/2010: As per reader feedback I have retitled my post and toned it down. I am sorry if my non-PC humor at times may offend some but I do feel I was bringing up a valid point of view about historical preservation in this town. Being initially raised Catholic I have a sensitivity to religious artifacts even if I do not currently practice that brand of faith. Sometimes the points I want to make my discussions get lost in my warped sense of humor.

Orginal Post 9/20/2010: The Hoboken Charter School is running behind in opening for the year. It has been reported that asbestos abatement and other construction costs have delayed the opening of the school. The Hoboken Charter School was originally slated to open today but they don't yet have their Certificate of Occupancy according to one Hoboken website and hopefully will open tomorrow.

In the meantime, the religious statue that was outside the Academy of the Sacred Heart at 713 Washington Street has been cut off at the feet and removed from the front of the building. Since a Charter School is publicly funded I could understand and support the removal of a such a religious symbol to keep the separation of church and state but feel that perhaps the removal was "done in haste". After all the Charter School is only renting the facility so perhaps they could have covered up the statue with a temporary but nice wooden structure to protect this piece of Hoboken history. In all fairness (as a reader pointed out to me) perhaps the Academy owners (i.e. the Church itself) removed the statue but as the photo shows the very bottom of it was not sawed off cleanly. Feel free to chime in your thoughts below...