North Caldwell Church Cancels Masses; Pastor Positive For COVID

NORTH CALDWELL, NJ — A North Caldwell church is canceling its Masses and parish events after its pastor tested positive for the coronavirus.

On Thursday, Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church posted a message on its website to parishioners. It read:

“We are notifying you that our pastor Fr. Tom Dente has tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, Fr. Tom, Fr. Marcin and Fr. George are quarantined in the rectory.”

The church said that people should be aware of the following:

• All Masses and parish events are canceled until further notice
• If you are concerned or have symptoms please contact your doctor
• Parish offices will be closed until further notice and staff will be working remotely and can be contacted via phone 973-226-0979 or by email (see ndparishnc.com for emails). Correspondence can also be left in the parish mailbox.
• No one may enter the church, offices or rectory
• In the event of an emergency, contact the hospital chaplain or a neighboring parish

The church said it plans to notify parishioners when offices reopen and public Masses resume. Christine's Kitchen will accept donations in the back of the church at the Charlie's Place doors on Saturday morning.

“Please keep all those affected by COVID-19 in your prayers,” the church wrote.

Cases of the virus have been on the rise in North Caldwell over the past months, authorities say.

In November, North Caldwell saw its highest number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.

“We strongly encourage our residents to practice safe social distancing and good hygiene to help us get this under control again,” the North Caldwell Police Department stated.

“As we continue to respond to help those affected, we need to fight this as a team and we need to protect each other the very best we can,” police continued. “We are hopeful that the end is in sight and that soon we can get back to normal, but until then, let's continue working hard to keep the spread to a minimum.”

• See related article: Coronavirus Cases 'Rising Quickly' In North Caldwell

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