CLIFTON Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Clare Parish here Feb. 9, where he was principal celebrant of the vigil Mass for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. During the Mass, the Bishop blessed red candles for parishioners to mark the upcoming feast of St. Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14.
The history of St. Clare’s began when the Franciscan Friars of St. Bonaventure Parish in Paterson began offering Mass in the Delawanna section of Clifton in 1912. A former school on Allwood Road was purchased and renovated into a church in 1914. Bishop McLaughlin advanced the mission to parish status in 1941 and entrusted diocesan clergy. A new church was built in 1980.