History

The need for a parish in East Brunswick became apparent in the late 1950's because of rapid population growth. Middlesex County was then part of the Diocese of Trenton, which was under the leadership of Bishop George Ahr. It was on June 12, 1959, that the Bishop appointed Father J. Morgan Kelly to begin the formation of a new parish which was to be called Saint Bartholomew.

A parish census in October of 1959 indicated that the Saint Bartholomew family consisted of 879 families. For three years, Sunday Mass was celebrated at Memorial School. Religious Education began in the fall of 1959 with confraternity classes held in some of the East Brunswick Township schools.

In 1962, we moved into our church building on Ryders Lane. This new building contained not only a church, but an auditorium / gymnasium, kitchen facilities, and four classrooms. By September 1964, Father Kelly opened the Parish School of Saint Bartholomew with 130 pupils in grades 1 and 2. Each year a grade was added until we reached the eighth grade. A recreation center, Kelly Gym, was completed in the fall of 1972 leaving the Church Hall available for other parish uses.

In 1982, Saint Bartholomew Parish was assimilated into the newly created Diocese of Metuchen, under the leadership of Bishop Theodore E. McCarrick.

The parish continues to grow and prosper. The 1984-85 school year reached a new milestone with the addition of morning and afternoon kindergarten. A pre-school and an after-school day care program began in the fall of 1991.

On June 12, 1990, Msgr. J. Morgan Kelly retired from active parochial duties, 31 years to the day after being named our first Pastor. Bishop Edward Hughes named Msgr. Michael J. Alliegro as our pastor.

On November 1, 2007, Bishop Paul Bootkowski named Rev. Thomas J. Walsh as our new administrator.

Father Thomas Walsh became our third pastor - being formally installed on November 22, 2008.

There are now over 4000 families in our parish community, and over 400 students in our school. The members of the Parish Family have been enriched spiritually, socially, and academically by their association with Saint Bartholomew Church.