A Parish Named for the Healer
St. Raphael Parish sits on East Mount Pleasant Avenue in Livingston, New Jersey, founded in 1961 and placed under the patronage of the Archangel Raphael, whose name means "God has healed." Raphael is the patron of travelers, of the blind, of nurses and physicians, of medical workers, and, in a touch the parish embraces with characteristic warmth, of happy meetings. The parish calls its Masses and events "Happy Meetings," a phrase that captures the spirit of a community built around warm welcomes and a sense of belonging.
St. Raphael serves the Catholic communities of Livingston and West Orange, with an outreach that extends to people from other towns and other faiths who are invited to come and worship. As a parish of the Archdiocese of Newark, it forms one corner of a regional Catholic family while maintaining the close-knit feel of a neighborhood church. The parish sees itself as a community of richly diverse backgrounds, joyfully united in worship of Jesus Christ and embracing the different cultures its members bring.
Pastoral Leadership
The parish is led by Rev. Jose Erlito Ebron, affectionately known as Father Lito, who was installed as the seventh pastor of St. Raphael in 2016. His philosophy is that all are welcome, and he is recognized for a generous spirit and a great sense of humor; he generally begins each homily with a joke before turning to thought-provoking reflections that apply to everyday life. Supporting him is Fr. Joseph Bejgrowicz, whose own welcoming approach leads him to encourage parishioners to leave church feeling better about themselves than when they came in. Together the two priests walk the parish through its Masses, sacraments, devotions and pastoral work.
Mass Schedule and Reconciliation
St. Raphael celebrates Mass several times each week in its church on East Mount Pleasant Avenue. The Saturday vigil Mass is offered at 4:00 pm, and four Sunday Masses follow at 8:00 am, 10:00 am, 12:00 pm and 6:00 pm. Weekday Mass is celebrated at 8:00 am. On Holy Days of Obligation the schedule expands to include a 7:30 pm vigil the evening before and three Masses the next day at 8:00 am, 12:00 pm and 7:30 pm.
Certain Masses, those marked in red on the printed schedule, can be joined virtually through Google Meet, allowing those at home or traveling to participate with the parish assembly. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is heard every Saturday from 3:00 to 3:45 pm, and appointments can be arranged through the Parish Office for anyone who needs a different time. The Anointing of the Sick is available to anyone who is seriously ill or of advanced age; a priest will come to the home to celebrate the sacrament when needed.
Children at the Heart of the Parish
Children hold a special place at St. Raphael. As Father Lito often says, the sound of a baby's cry in the church is the sound of life and hope, because the children are the future of the church. The 10:00 am Sunday Mass is dedicated to the parish's youngest members. During the Liturgy of the Word, children are invited to leave the assembly for their own experience of the Gospel in a small-group setting led by dedicated volunteers who bring the readings down to a level they can understand. The program is called Children's Liturgy of the Word, or CLOW, and it is offered at both the 10:00 am and 12:00 pm Masses. Children are also invited to gather around the table to understand what Eucharist means.
For formal faith formation, the parish partners with St. Joseph Parish in West Orange through a shared religious education program that serves children from Pre-K4 through high school. Pre-K4 through fourth grade meet at St. Raphael on Sundays from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. Fifth through seventh grade gather at St. Joseph's Glover Hall in West Orange from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm. Eighth graders preparing for Confirmation meet at Glover Hall on Sunday evenings from 7:15 to 8:30 pm. All catechists and aides are certified through the Archdiocese of Newark's "Protecting God's Children" program.
Sacramental preparation follows the regular religious education year. Children preparing for First Holy Communion typically begin in second grade. The Confirmation program begins in eighth grade and continues into ninth, encompassing a full year of community service, worship, a discussion series and a retreat. Confirmation is celebrated in the fall of the ninth-grade year, after students complete the retreat and service requirements.
High school youth in grades 9 through 12 are invited into STRJYM, a joint youth ministry shared between St. Raphael and St. Joseph Parishes. The group gathers on several Sunday evenings at 7:00 pm in the St. Joseph Parish Center gym for games, discussions, presentations, social events and service opportunities designed to help teens live their Catholic faith day to day.
Adult Faith Life
The parish offers several ongoing opportunities for adults to grow in faith and friendship. A Bible Study Group meets on Mondays either from 9:15 to 10:30 am or from 7:00 to 8:15 pm at St. Raphael. A Book Club gathers on Wednesdays from 9:00 to 10:00 am and again from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. "After Dinner with Jesus" is a virtual gathering held on Wednesday nights from 7:00 to 7:30 pm, with a Google Meet link shared through the parish's communications.
The Lay Faith Sharing Ministry meets via Zoom to pray and reflect together on scripture and other materials drawn from FORMED, the Catholic media platform. Weekly meetings are held during Lent and Advent, with additional series scheduled throughout the rest of the year. Meeting times and topics are published in the bulletin, with Zoom links emailed to the parish ahead of each gathering.
Adults considering the Catholic Church, or baptized Christians and Catholics who have not yet received the sacraments of Eucharist or Confirmation, are accompanied by the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) ministry. The team works with inquirers through the journey toward full communion with the Catholic Church. Baptisms for infants and young children are scheduled on Saturday at 12:00 pm or 2:00 pm, and on Sunday at 2:00, 3:00 or 4:00 pm, with parents meeting first with the Baptism Preparation Ministry to prepare for their child's entry into the faith.
Ministries at the Altar and Beyond
St. Raphael organizes its ministries around the biblical image of the Body of Christ, in which every member shares in the threefold calling to be priest, prophet and king. As a priestly people, parishioners lead and participate in worship and evangelization; as prophets, they teach; as kings, they serve.
The Music Ministry supports the parish's Sunday and seasonal liturgy by helping the assembly make a joyful noise to the Lord within the Roman Catholic tradition. Singers, both adults and children, and instrumentalists are invited to take part. Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion are trained to assist the priest in distributing the Eucharist at Mass and to bring Communion to the homebound, nursing home residents and hospital patients. Lectors proclaim the Word of God with feeling so that scripture reaches the assembly as living word rather than simply text. The Liturgical Environment Ministry creates a spiritual atmosphere of reverence throughout the liturgical year.
Altar Servers, working with Father Lito, give children who have received their First Communion and older youth a hands-on role in the celebration of the Mass, serving the presider and representing the parishioners. Ushers are the first face of the parish family to those arriving for services; they greet, assist parishioners with special needs, and present the gifts of bread and wine at the Offertory. The Altar Linen Ministry ensures that the cloths used in the celebration of the Mass are laundered and returned to the sacristy each week according to procedures established by the parish.
Beyond worship, the parish maintains the church building and grounds through the Gardening Ministry and the St. Joseph Maintenance Ministry, the latter handling minor repairs at minimal cost during parish work days. Collection Counters work directly with the pastor to organize, record and count weekly and special collections, while the Communications Ministry keeps parishioners and the wider neighborhood connected through email, the bulletin, Facebook and local newspapers.
Caring for One Another and the Community
St. Raphael's care extends well past the church walls. Sonny's Food Pantry, a project of the parish, is open every day from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm to serve those facing food insecurity in the wider community. The Samaritans Always Care (SAC) ministry runs programs that assist less fortunate individuals and families in the area and supports any parishioner group that wants to launch similar initiatives. The Loaves and Fishes Ministry offers a weekly meal, purchased or home-made, to parishioners who are in need due to illness or family stress.
The Prayer Shawl Ministry creates baptismal blankets, shawls, lap robes and other garments for the bereaved, the newly baptized and those in need of a gesture of compassion; knitters and crocheters, as well as those willing to learn, are welcomed. The Sunshine Ministry writes monthly notes to uplift parishioners who are sick or homebound. Reach Out celebrates the milestones of parish life (births, weddings, anniversaries and losses), and parishioners are encouraged to share significant moments so the community can mark them together. The Visiting the Sick ministry brings Communion and companionship to those unable to attend Mass.
The Knights of Columbus Council at St. Raphael, a fraternal benefit society open to Catholic men age 18 and older, supports the parish and encourages other men to join.
Marriage Preparation
Couples preparing for marriage at St. Raphael meet first with one of the parish priests at least a year before the desired wedding date, in keeping with Archdiocesan policy. The parish offers Pre-Cana, a day-long retreat led by the Pre-Cana Ministry that immerses engaged couples in the topics of special interest to those embarking on married life. The retreat is offered twice a year.
Building for the Future: The Heritage Fund and Tobias Hall
The St. Raphael Heritage Fund is a restricted fund established with the approval of the Archdiocese of Newark to allow parishioners and others to support facility improvements and parish life events. Donations of $2,000 or more are recognized on a Heritage Fund Panel in the vestibule. Planned projects include gutter guards for the rectory and Blue House, a new bell and carillon system, a skylight over the altar, and the Tobias Hall refurbishing, a project billed as "A Hall New World." Parish life priorities on the fund's list include the Concert Series, which has featured St. Peter's by the Sea, a Living Nativity, the Parish Picnic, and Religious Education programs including Summer Bible Camp. Donors may earmark their gift to a specific project, suggest a new item for consideration, or, if a chosen project is already funded, direct the Finance Council to apply the gift to the highest remaining priority.
Caring for Creation: Laudato Si'
The parish takes Pope Francis's encyclical Laudato Si' as a call to action for ordinary life. Members are encouraged to pick up litter in their parks and on their streets, plant trees that improve air quality and shelter wildlife, and learn how small everyday choices can protect the planet. A community project to grow and release Monarch butterflies, a species that has declined by some 80 percent in two decades, invites children and adults alike to take part.
St. Raphael Parish is a place where the prayers of a Bible study, the laughter in a homily, the welcome at the door and the meal delivered to a sick neighbor all flow from the same source: a community that believes in happy meetings, in service to one another, and in the steady presence of the God who heals.