St. Mary's Abbey Church

St. Mary's Abbey Church is a Benedictine monastery church in Newark featuring German Romanesque Revival architecture with detailed stonework, soaring ceilings, and balanced proportions throughout. The structure remains actively used for worship and is maintained by the monks who live on the adjacent abbey grounds.

The church was established in 1842 to serve German-speaking factory workers, and the current stone building dates to 1857 after a wooden predecessor was destroyed. This rebuild reflects how the German-speaking community in Newark grew and stabilized during the industrial era.

The Benedictine monks who live here continue to run Saint Benedict's Preparatory School on the grounds, showing how religious life and education function together in one community. You can observe how the church serves both as a place of prayer and as part of a larger educational mission.

The church sits at the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and William Street in central Newark and remains actively used for worship within the Newark Archdiocese. Visitors should understand that this functions primarily as a working monastery and community space rather than a museum or tourist site.

The building received National Register of Historic Places designation in 1972, preserving its standing as a monument to immigrant contributions in Essex County. This recognition helped ensure that the church's architectural details and monastic heritage would be documented and protected for the future.

Location: New Jersey

Architects: Henry Engelbert

GPS coordinates: 40.73580,-74.28690

Latest update: December 14, 2025 11:20