Originally published at Orange County Catholic
WHEN THE CHURCH OF the Madonna was built in the Borough of Fort Lee, N.J. during the 1850s, the it was decided to have the holy edifice constructed on the highest geographical point in Bergen County.
PHOTOS BY LOU PONSI/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
To this day, the church’s 86-foot bell tower is still distinctly visible and stands in contrast to the surrounding high-rise buildings and modern structures lining the Northern New Jersey landscape.
The church tower is in plain view of the motorists traveling east on the adjacent highways making their way towards the George Washington Bridge to cross the Hudson River into New York City.
The Church of the Madonna, also known as Madonna Church, was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey in 1939 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 for its relevance as an architectural and religious landmark.
For Catholics and all people of faith passing through the New York/New Jersey metropolitan region, a short pilgrimage to the Church of the Madonna will almost certainly by worth the time.
My family attended Sunday Mass in the historic church, which is the oldest Catholic Church in Bergen County and one of oldest
