St. Mary's Church (South River, New Jersey)

St. Mary of Ostrabrama is a historic Polish Roman Catholic church at the junction of Jackson Street and Whitehead Avenue in South River, Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.

During the late 1800s, there was a large influx of Polish immigrants in the South River/Sayreville area – the men found work in the brickyards and the women as needle operators in the factories on Whitehead Avenue.

However, the community wanted to build a church where they could worship God in their native tongue, provide schooling for their children and carry on the traditions of their ancestors.

In the spring of 1903, the permanent site of the new church, the corner of Jackson Street and Whitehead Avenue was approved.

Even after working long hours, the men of the parish came out with shovels and pickaxes to help with the excavation for the church foundation.

During his administration, St. Mary's began its parochial school sessions conducted by the Felician sisters in four classrooms in the basement of the church.

In September 1919, five lots were purchased on the corner of Jackson Street and Holmes Avenue to be used for a new school.

On November 24, 1928, Bishop John J. McMahon assigned Father Maximilian Wujek to be the sixth pastor of St. Mary's.

Among the many projects he oversaw during his 41-year pastorate were the construction of a convent for the Bernadine sisters in 1940, the erection of the parish CYO building in 1960 and an additional wing to the school containing a new cafeteria and four classrooms.

Under his leadership, the mortar on the interior church was redone, most of the exterior stone was removed and replaced, the chimney on the north side of the church was taken down and repaired and all the copper fixtures, including the small bell tower and downspouts were replaced with new copper fixtures.

The Most Reverent Bishop Vincent de Paul Breen assigned the Reverend Stanley G. Gromadzki to be the Church's Administrator.

Father Stan accepted this assignment on  June 9, 1998 and was officially installed as St. Mary's tenth Pastor on September 8, 1999.

Stanley G. Gromadzki assumed duties as pastor at Sacred Heart Church in South Amboy on June 12, 2012.