St. Michael’s Villa, Englewood Cliffs
The word “villa” conjures up something upper-crust you would see in the recent “Downton Abbey” movie. St. Michael’s Villa on the Hudson River in Englewood Cliffs, though, has a storied history that is more selfless than selfish. It once formed hundreds of Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, now known as the Peace Sisters.
Back on Oct. 12, 2016, there was anything but peace in that four-story structure. Early in the morning, one of the sisters thought the bacon they typically eat for breakfast on Wednesday was burning. It was much worse; the air-conditioning units in the basement had caught fire around 7 in the morning. The only silver lining was that it started when the shifts were changing so there were more personnel to help evacuate some 40 sisters, including 24 in their infirmary, to an auditorium in the college building next door.
Thankfully, no one was hurt and within hours everyone could move temporarily to religious houses the sisters had in Jersey City, Tenafly and Saddle River.
“It was a whole new understanding what is was like to be a refugee,” said Sister Susan Francois, now the assistant congregational leader and treasurer. “We lost everything in a heartbeat.”
Firefighters from Englewood Cliffs and surrounding towns remain on the scene of a blaze at St. Michael's Villa and help evacuate residents. Oct. 12, 2016. (Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
The infirmary sustained mostly smoke damage and was cleaned thoroughly so the sisters could return sooner. St. Michael’s Villa took over three years to be totally transformed. Francois said that the very day of the fire an architect had been scheduled to visit the building to envision what it could become once the community no longer needed such a large structure. Now the project was on fast forward.
The entire interior was gutted and redesigned so that the upper-floor residences could convert to senior living for laypeople or clergy who want to downsize or even become a nursing home. Each suite has a kitchen area, living, bed and bath rooms. Each floor has a community room in the center. The hallway glass is all fire-proofed and the walls contain automatic, sliding fire walls if the fire alarm goes off.
“It is very nice,” said Sister Agnes Fox, who moved there just when the renovated building reopened December 2019.
A nun for over 70 years, Fox finds the living quarters very spacious compared to when she did her novitiate there back in 1943. At the time, the sisters lived in small rooms, also referred to as “cells,” and shared common bathrooms and showers. The building went up in 1941.
Today, the first floor holds their dining room, community room and chapel, which lacks pews so wheelchairs can be accommodated. They added a beautiful stained-glass wall with the Beatitudes. On the other side is a smaller prayer room.
This openness became even more necessary for COVID distancing. Thankfully, the sisters survived the epidemic very well.
This community has had a challenging history. It was founded in January 1884 in the Diocese of Nottingham, England, by Margaret Anna Cusack, a convert from Anglicanism. She spent time in Ireland, where many of the sisters came from, to work in the U.S., where she immigrated in 1885. She was quite a rabble rouser and raised the ire of many Irish bishops in the U.S. She was strong on advocating for immigrant women. For example, St. Mary Residence, part of the York Street Project in Jersey City, continues to house single, employed women who live like quasi-religious. The sisters downplayed Cusack’s role in the order for decades, then restored her prominent role in founding it after Vatican II.
Today, two nursing homes, St. Joseph and St. Ann in Jersey City, are called Cusack Care Centers and are state-of-the-art residences, especially for seniors with dementia.
Fox lived five years at the St. Joseph Home for the Blind on Pavonia Avenue before she moved to the villa. St. Joseph School for the Blind has a modern residence and school in the Heights. York Street also runs St. Joseph Residence for women with children, the Nurturing Place daycare and Kenmare High School for mature women.
Francois lives in their Lembeck Avenue house next to St. Ann’s in Greenville. She entered in 2006 and is one of the few young sisters among the 120 who minister in England, New Jersey and the West Coast. She noted that the 50 employees working on the 12-acre Cliffs property are paid at least $18 an hour with good health benefits. She said they strive to give them just wages and benefits, which they would advocate for all workers in general. Her community is strong on advocating for peace and justice and she is a tireless advocate and spokesperson.
The villa’s observatory on the top of St. Michael’s has spectacular views of the Hudson River, the George Washington Bridge and the Palisades. But more captivating are the stories of the young women from Europe and beyond who were given the foundation of religious life that then touched tens of thousands of people in their various ministries with orphans, immigrants, school children, refugees, the blind and disabled, and people in crisis. Their villa is truly wealthy in promoting peace.
The Rev. Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, NJ 07030. Email: padrealex@yahoo.com; Twitter: @padrehoboken.
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