St. Anthony's in West Orange Erected Oratory

The Most Reverend Archbishop of Newark John J. Myers has graciously given permission to Monsignor the Prior General of the Institute to erect St. Anthony's Chapel in West Orange, New Jersey, as an Oratory and residence of the Institute of Christ the King according to the prescriptions of Canon Law. At the same time, the Institute has received the permission to keep all the sacramental registers and thus to celebrate the entire Liturgy for all the sacraments in the Extraordinary form also in the future.

Saint Anthony of PaduaSt. Anthony of Padua
with the Virgin Mary and Infant Jesus

This important step was made after the Board of Directors had decided to bestow the property to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, this decision being preceded by the very favorable results of a poll conducted among the faithful. The property transition came shortly before Christmas, and the permission of the Archbishop and the erection of the Oratory and Residence by Msgr. Gilles Wach arrived on Christmas as a special gift from St. Anthony, patron of the Chapel.

On this occasion, the Institute of Christ the King expresses its deepest gratitude for the confidence the former and present Board members and the faithful of the Oratory have shown us. The Institute also thanks the Board of Directors and the Chapel volunteers for their steadfast fidelity and their dedicated work over the years. We implore the protection of Christ the King, of the Immaculate Conception, and of St. Anthony in a special way over the Oratory, all its faithful, and the Rector, Rev. Canon Andreas Hellmann, of the Institute of Christ the King. The Oratory members continue to remember Rev. Father Paul Wickens, founder of St. Anthony's, with prayerful gratitude. May his soul rest in peace!

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