Unearthing the Past: A Visit to Seton Hall Archives

At JARIC, we believe that stewardship of historic properties is more than renovation—it’s reverence. This week, while researching the history of the Sacred Heart Church in Jersey City, we visited the Seton Hall Archives and uncovered some truly beautiful treasures.

Among the discoveries: original renderings of lighting fixtures designed for the nave—intricately detailed, thoughtfully engineered, and still stunning nearly a century later. These fixtures were drawn by Rambusch of New York, a name synonymous with ecclesiastical artistry. We also came across correspondence from 1914—letters written even before the church’s construction—offering a rare glimpse into the early planning and deep community roots that gave rise to Sacred Heart.

As we move forward with the adaptive reuse of these spaces, we take our short time as custodians seriously. That means learning everything we can: how these buildings came to be, what they meant to those who built and worshipped in them, and how they can serve the next generation.

The past speaks—our job is to listen, learn, and honor it.