The monastery has its roots in a St. Mary's Church, a parish founded in 1842 to serve the immigrant German Catholics. By 1857, monks were sent from Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, to staff the parish and establish a monastic community. The newly-established community was known as Saint Mary's Priory. In 1868, responding to the request of the local Bishop for a school for the children of the workers who would find it difficult to allow their sons to go to a boarding school, the monks founded St, Benedict's College. In 1884, the monastery became independent of Saint Vincent and became known as St. Mary's Abbey. In 1924, land was bought in Morris County, and a daughter-house was established. The title “St. Mary’s Abbey” would be transferred to the daughter house in 1956, with the Newark community becoming known once again as St. Mary's Priory. In 1968, the Newark community was granted independence from St. Mary's Abbey, and took the legal name, the Benedictine Abbey of Newark, being known popularly as Newark Abbey. In the 1980s, the Abbey faced declining numbers and took out advertisements to appeal to potential monks. The abbey has been the subject of coverage praising its efforts to maintain the on-campus school. The monks have a relationship with Nigerian bishop Francis Arinze, who has been a frequent visitor to the Abbey.
Saint Benedict's Preparatory School
The abbey operates a high school, Saint Benedict's Preparatory School that has been active since 1868, although it was briefly shut down due to disagreements between rival factions of monks about whether to continue serving the community, which had seen demographic changes after World War II. After a vote to close the school, Edwin Leahy, a graduate and monk, reestablished it with a group of other monks. The school provides temporary housing for students who have dysfunctional homes, or in the event of a crisis at home. This temporary housing is the formalization of an earlier system through which some students could live at the school. Robert E. Brennan, a graduate of the school, has provided several large donations to keep the institution open, and to facilitate new construction, including the building of athletic facilities.
''The Rule''
The critically acclaimed documentary about Newark Abbey and its school Saint Benedict's Preparatory School, The Rule, by Emmy-nominated, Newark-based filmmakers Marylou and Jerome Bongiorno, was released theatrically, broadcast nationally on PBS, and was screened by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans at the U.S. Department of Education.
