Christ the King Church Looks to Another 75 Years

’s roots may not be as deep as its Protestant brothers in Haddonfield, but its impact on the borough has been big enough to make a difference.

Now in its 76th year, the church became a parish only two years before the Diocese of Camden was created. "We have just finished celebrating our 75th anniversary and we hope that Christ the King will go on for another 75 years," says the Rev. Monsignor William P. Brennan, pastor.

In the latter part of the 18th century and even in the early part of the 20th century, Haddonfield was a quaintly old and sternly religious borough. Brennan says that the church’s history noted that a handful of working Catholics that lived there suffered and sacrificed Sunday after Sunday to worship at Mass. The archives further states that for them it meant a two- and three-hour trudge through snowdrifts in winter to reach an unheated shack in neighboring Snowhill (now Lawnside), where a missionary would celebrate Mass.

In June 1897, the cornerstone was laid for the Church of St. Rose of Lima in Haddon Heights. The small congregation from Snowhill, along with their sons and daughters, now began the trek to Haddon Heights. But with the increase of Catholics in Haddonfield, the parishioners thought it was time to have their own church, Brennan points out.

At first the congregation found a temporary home in Haddonfield in the firehouse on Haddon Avenue just off Kings highway. An arrangement was made to have a priest come from St. Rose each week to celebrate Mass, which 25-30 people attended each Sunday morning.

Brennan says that the history notes that the mission congregation moved again when the Odd Fellows Hall, next to the firehouse, became available. But, as their history points out, they still hadn't reached Kings Highway where all of the other churches were located.

Their next move was to Artisans Hall, or the . Originally built as a Methodist church, there was more room even though the building was in the state of deterioration at that time. But, Brennan explaines, they managed.

Then in 1935, Bishop Moses E. Kiley of the Trenton Diocese established the new parish of Christ the King and the Rev. Joseph B. McIntyre was appointed its first pastor. Their history shows that the boundaries covered by the creation included all of Haddonfield Borough plus Erlton, Ashland and Deer Park sections in Delaware Township, now Cherry Hill. The area consisted of approximately 500 Catholics.

By the end of 1939, plans were set for the construction of a new church building and school on land that had been acquired on Hopkins Avenue in Haddonfield. In 1940 the school started with 150 children taught by the Franciscan Sisters of the Allegany and on Mother’s Day 1941 the cornerstone was laid for the present church.

Seeing a need for a nursing home, McIntyre was instrumental in laying the groundwork for construction of St. Mary Home for the Aged on the Kresson Road, Cherry Hill. The home, which was within the confines of the parish, was opened in 1939. From the start, the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception have staffed the home.

In 1945 St. Mary of the Angels Academy, a high school for young women, opened (and remained in existence until 1972). It was located on West Kings Highway in Haddonfield. The Allegany Franciscan nuns moved in to staff the school. The student body was made up of girls from several parishes in the Camden Diocese and all liturgical functions took place in Christ the King Church.

Monsignor pointed out that the church’s 75th anniversary celebration was held on the feast of Christ the King last November. During the festivities Bishop Joseph Galante celebrated Mass, along with several of the parish’s former pastors. Memorabilia was displayed during a reception and luncheon in Morgan Hall during which Mayor Letitia G. Colombi presented a proclamation recognizing the church’s progress in the borough.

At the luncheon two videos were shown. One consisted of photos and footage of early history, while the other was a living history in which parishioners participated. Church members were interviewed and each one reminisced about growing up in the parish.

Since 1935, the church has seen seven pastors including Brennan. "We now have 1,870 registered families consisting of approximately 3,400 parishioners," the monsignor claims.

Brennan points out that despite the many parish mergers in the diocese in the last couple of years the parish will continue "to bring Jesus and his love and life to the people."

Thomas A. Bergbauer Sr., a retired journalist, can be reached tbergbauer@verizon.net.