Father Joseph Zimmer
Beloved Priest at St. Bernard's in Raritan 1876-1923
By Bruce Doorly
When walking past the “Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament” at 52 West Somerset Street in Raritan I have always noticed the plaque that is mounted on the front of the church that reads:

IN MEMORIAM
REV. J. J. ZIMMER
PASTOR
1876 – 1923

While this author is familiar with most of the historical publications on Raritan, I have only found Rev. Zimmer referenced briefly a couple of times. So, I set my research to finding out who Rev. J. J. Zimmer was and why the town of Raritan felt that he should be honored.
For that research I turned to Newspapers.com that has the Courier News online in a searchable format. I also visited the Bridgewater Library as they have the local Somerville based newspapers on microfilm. The websites of St. Bernards and the Shrine Chapel also proved useful.

To sum up my findings, I am surprised that more has not been written about Father Zimmer as he was a remarkable man who made a tremendous difference in the local community. Here is his story.
Father Joseph Zimmer
His first name was Joseph. He was born in 1846 into a prominent family in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

It is interesting to note that his sister was also an important religious figure. She was a nun who was known as “Mother Immaculata” - as she headed the Ursuline Order in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx.

Joseph Zimmer was well educated. At age twelve he entered a college prep school. For college he initially attended St. Vincent’s College in Pennsylvania in 1861 where he remained for two years. From there he went to St. John’s college at Fordham, New York for 4 years. He then attended the Theological Seminary at Seton Hall. As a college student he spent quite some time at Raritan with the priest at the time Father Kaeder. After completing his studies, he was ordained in 1872.

In his first year he had short assignments in New Brunswick and Hoboken. Then he spent three years in Paterson where he was chaplain in St. Mary’s and St. Joseph Hospital.
St. Bernard's Church
In 1876 he was then assigned to Raritan in what was supposed to be a temporary assignment. Initially his pastorate also included Somerville, Bound Brook, and Millstone. When he first arrived in Raritan the congregation of St. Bernard’s was about 25 years old. With their church building itself being built around 1858. (Sources vary.)

He got to work quickly. Shortly after his arrival he made improvements to the church adding new altars and statuary. Just before his arrival the property for a cemetery was purchased. So, he oversaw the growth of that. Under his leadership at St. Bernard’s the rectory was built.
Parochial School & Hall
One of his most significant additions was the founding of the building that would serve as St. Bernard’s Parochial School and hall.

Built in 1897, where the Italian Bakery is today, the building functioned as the parish’s social center. Downstairs were classrooms for grades 1 through 8. Nuns taught two grades in one classroom. Upstairs was the hall. Over the years social events and meetings were held there.

In later years that building would serve as a VFW hall before it burnt down in 1988.
Father Zimmer - top left
with the students
Surviving newspaper archives show Father Zimmer served as the priest at countless weddings and funerals.

One quote about him from the Somerset Messenger Gazette said he was “affable in manner, gentle in spirit, sweet in disposition, benevolent, kind, and charitable.”
Rectory and Church - late 1890s
Father Zimmer played a role in the creation of the annual festival of St. Rocco. While this tradition is today associated with St. Ann’s church – it was the Raritan Italians of St. Bernards, starting in 1896, that sponsored the event.

His travels were tracked by the local newspapers. Among the places that he visited were the West Indies, Bermuda, and Europe.

On one occasion he traveled to the Vatican to meet with the Pope. As a sign of respect, upon his return from this meeting hundreds of Raritan residents greeted him at the train station.
Father Zimmer was an accomplished musician who sometimes entertained his congregation with his piano playing. This was greatly appreciated as it was an era when music was live or not at all. One newspaper article said that if he had not been a priest he could have been a successful musician.

His 25th, 40th, and 50th anniversaries as a priest were celebrated at St. Bernard’s Hall with well-attended dinners - where testimonials praising his service to the community were given.
Click for original articles about Father Zimmer's anniversaries
He recognized that various ethnic groups would want their own church. First in 1903, he was helpful in the Catholic Italians of Raritan to establish their own church - St. Ann’s. For the record, the St. Ann’s congregation first met at 74 West Somerset in a vacant storefront until their first church was built in 1906 on Anderson Street.

Later in 1914, he was again helpful to the Catholic Slovaks of Raritan to establish St. Joseph’s Church.
St. Ann's original church
In October of 1923, after more than 50 years as a priest, 47 of them in Raritan, Father Zimmer fell ill - fainting on the altar. Two months later he would pass away at the age of 77.

The “Central Jersey Home News” summed it up best as the headline for his obituary read “Father Zimmer – was Beloved by Everyone.”
Click for original obituary
In 1925, two years after his death, the town of Raritan honored him by mounting a plaque and a statue of St. Joseph that we still see today.

This author did not realize that the plaque and statue went together until doing the research for this article.

It is not known why St. Joseph was chosen, but it was probably simply because Father Zimmer’s name was Joseph. The statue, made in Italy, is five feet tall and eighteen inches thick. It was hand carved and made of white Corona Italian marble. Parishioners of St. Bernard’s Church raised the $500 needed. On March 22nd 1925 a well-attended ceremony was held marking the unveiling.
Statue of St. Joseph and the plaque
same today as 1925
Click for original articles about plaque and statue
The church of St. Bernard’s would outgrow their location in downtown Raritan.

First, the property on Route 22 in Bridgewater was purchased and in 1965 the Parish Center opened. Starting in 1975 many masses were held in the gym of the Parish Center due to the expanding number of parishioners. Finally, in 1988, a new modern church at a cost of 2.5 million was built on the property on Route 22.

Shortly after that the old church in Raritan was converted to the Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.
Parish Center on Route 22 in 1965
St. Bernard's Church today on Route 22 in Bridgewater