It was on April 1, 1962, the arrival of the first Adorno priests in Ramsey: the late Fr. Achille Rondinara, CRM, and his assistant, the late Fr. Hector Di Nardo, CRM.

“The arrival marked a milestone in the history of the Adorno Fathers, and the house they came to take possession of was the realization of a dream going back to the 1930s, when the Adorno, accepting an invitation from the Archbishop of Newark, Thomas J. Walsh, settled first in America.” (from: A Souvenir for Adorno’s 10th Anniversary).

“Later, as the generation of immigrants was followed by a new generation of Americans, the Order started to give serious thought to build a House of Studies on American soil to train its own priests.” (idem)

The rest is history, as the Adorno Fathers’ St. Michael House of formation produced a good number of priests now assigned in the different parishes in New Jersey, South Carolina, The Philippines and in Italy.

The year 2020 became a big challenge for our House of Formation. The first setback we experienced was the financial difficulty of sending our seminarians to Seton Hall due to the high cost of tuition. Second, when our House was also affected by the pandemic, it literally closed its doors to all formation and other opportunities.

The pandemic made us think on how we could best use the property when it seems difficult to continue with the usual activities. Most of the programs here in Ramsey were either cancelled or stopped; no rent for our center, no seminarians, no mission appeal, no fund-raising activities and in the early part of the 2020 we were locked down without any congregation at Mass.

We thought of something that will continue the Adorno Fathers’ work here. We began turning the place into a land of prayer and solitude. For this reason, we put up several shrines of Saints. We have St. Michael’s im- age at the entrance of the property; the Sacred Heart of Jesus next to the well; St. Joseph near the Chapel; St. Francis of Assisi by the field; the Immaculate Conception and St. Padre Pio also on the upper field.

We have Our Lady of Fatima, the Risen Christ and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. We also put up a Station of the Cross, more images in the Chapel and candle offerings. All is open to people seeking a place to pray and meditate. We also converted the front office into a religious store and the income helps to decrease the expenses here in our house.

We are truly blessed by God and our Founders are guiding us into every action we take for the Glory of the Risen Christ.

Fr. Nony S. Villaluz, CRM