It was on April 17, 1903, that two Italian-born laymen signed the incorporation papers establishing "The Catholic Church of St. Ann" in Raritan, New Jersey. They represented more than 100 families who had come from the shores of Italy to the ports of New York to settle along the banks of the Raritan River. For the first three years, an empty commercial building on the main street was the place of
worship for the parishioners of St. Ann, but on Sunday, May 20, 1906, the Bishop of Trenton dedicated a new white wooden structure, complete with bell tower. After more than 25 years, the building could no longer adequately accommodate the growing number of parishioners and in 1933, a large brick church was built, featuring Roman Renaissance Architecture and that is where worship continues. The old wooden church was converted into an auditorium and recreation center for children and for the various societies of the parish. The first major renovations to the new church were made in 1945. Religious pictures were painted on the ceiling and the main altar and other areas of the church were transformed into religious works of art in harmony with the Renaissance motif. Stained glass windows were also installed to complete the beauty of the building. In that same year, World War II came to an end. Three hundred and fifty-four members of St. Ann Church had answered the call of duty and 15 of them had given their lives to preserve our freedoms. The most outstanding was Marine Sergeant John Basilone who received the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Navy Cross for his extraordinary courage and heroism at Guadalcanal in 1942 and at Iwo Jima in 1945 where he was killed. Today, our church has over 2,200 registered parishioners. We are a very active parish community with many organizations contributing to our parish ministry. Both young and old work together to bring spiritual growth and social awareness to our community. We invite you to worship with us in our beautiful church dedicated to the St. Ann, mother of our Virgin Mary, grandmother of Jesus Christ.
