Serra International, founded in 1935, is the global lay apostolate for vocations in the Catholic Church, an organization made up of some 20,000 Catholic lay men and women in local Serra Clubs. The goals of Serra are to foster and promote vocations to the ministerial priesthood in the Catholic Church as a particular vocation to service, and to support priests in their sacred ministry; to encourage and affirm vocations to consecrated religious life in the Catholic Church; to assist its members to recognize and respond in their own lives to God's call to holiness in Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit. Serra is officially recognized by the Holy See as the global lay apostolate for lay vocations in the Catholic Church, and each local Serra Club is sanctioned by the diocese in which the club is located.
The original Serra Club was founded in Seattle, WA, in 1935, and grew to an international organization, including 1,160 Serra Clubs in 46 countries. The club was named for Junipero Serra, a Spanish Franciscan monk who founded more than 20 Catholic missions in California from 1769-1784. The missions were primarily devoted to converting Native American peoples. Junipera Serrra was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 25, 1988.
The first Serra Club in New Jersey was chartered in Montclair on 28 October 1954 as Club #115. The Serra Club of the Oranges (including South Orange, Orange, West Orange, East Orange, Millburn, and Maplewood) held its first meeting on 30 November 1954. The Serra Club of the Oranges holds meetings, gives or hosts lectures, and organizes events that discuss and highlight the participation of individuals in the Church and vocations. Many other Serra Clubs were eventually formed in the Archdiocese of Newark, including clubs in Bloomfield, Paterson, Ridgewood, and those of Union, Bergen, and Hudson counties. Many of these clubs are still in operation.
The Serra Clubs records of the Archdiocese of Newark include files relating to the multiple Serra Clubs in operation in the Archdiocese of Newark since the 1950s. The majority of the collection is related to the Serra Club of the Oranges, but there are also files relating to Serra Clubs of Bergen County, Bloomfield, St. Elizabeth, Hudson County, Montclair, North Hudson, North Newark, Paterson, Ridgewood, Trenton, Union County, and West Essex, as well as newsletters and materials related to Serra Club International. These materials include correspondence, meeting minutes, programs, budgets, and other materials.
All materials available in this collection (unless otherwise noted) are the property of the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center and Seton Hall University, which reserves the right to limit access to or reproduction of these materials. Reproduction of materials or content is subject to United States copyright restrictions and may be subject to federal or state privacy regulations. Permission to publish exact reproductions must be obtained from the Director of the Archives and Special Collections Center.
Collection was partially processed by the Archives and Special Collections Center, 1990s. Finding aid and basic collection description created in 2013 by Karl Grandpierre and Tracy M. Jackson as part of the Overhaul Project collection survey.
Serra Clubs of the Archdiocese of Newark records, 1954-1995, ADN 0038, in the Monsignor William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center, Seton Hall University.
Materials were transferred to the Archives and Special Collections Center from the Archdiocese of Newark in 1989. Accession number 1989.0025.ADN.
This collection is not yet processed. Materials may be available to researchers with staff assistance at the Msgr. William Noé Field Archives & Special Collections Center. Advance appointments are required for the use of archival materials.