The first Catholics in the State of New Jersey were French and Irish immigrants who crossed the Hudson River from the settlement of New Amsterdam on Manhattan Island and established themselves in what is now Middlesex County, where the first Mass was celebrated near Woodbridge, in about 1672. Another small group came from Belgium in 1740 to Salem County. It was only with the great influx of continental European immigrants, most of them Catholics, in the nineteenth century, and the very gradual decline of the harsh prejudice against them, that the Church became a presence in New Jersey.

All the Catholics in America were the responsibility of the Bishop of Baltimore, the first American diocese, until 1808, when dioceses were established at New York and at Philadelphia, each including about half the territory of the State of New Jersey. During the early 1850's, the Catholics of Warren, Hunterdon and part of Somerset Counties were under the pastoral charge of St. John Neumann, fourth Bishop of Philadelphia. In 1853, Pope Pius IX established a Diocese at Newark for all the Catholics in the State, who then numbered only a few thousand in all twenty-one counties.

On August 11, 1881, Pope Leo XIII established the Diocese of Trenton, embracing the fourteen central and southern counties of the State. Because of the providential growth of the Catholic population during the first decades of this century, Pope Pius XI established in 1937 a Diocese at Camden for the people of the six southern-most counties, and a diocese at Paterson for the three counties of the northwest. Continued growth of the faith during the intervening years resulted in the establishment by Pope John Paul II on November 19, 1981 of the new Diocese of Metuchen for the Catholics in Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties.

The Bishop of Metuchen is responsible for a flock of just over half million Catholics, approximately forty-two percent of the population of these counties, who gather for worship and fellowship in over a hundred parish communities. He shares his shepherding ministry with one hundred sixty priests of the Diocese, assisted by over a hundred priests from religious communities and from other dioceses, by seventy-eight deacons, and by over five hundred religious brothers and sisters serving in fifty-two elementary schools and many other religious and charitable institutions.

IMAGES on this site may NOT be reproduced without expressed permission. Copyright: Guy W. Selvester. All rights reserved.

The coat of arms of the Diocese of Metuchen, NJ is based on both the arms of the See of Trenton, NJ, from which it was separated as well as those of Pope John Paul II who erected the diocese on November 19, 1981. The shield is divided into four quadrants representing the four counties of Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren that comprise the diocesan territory. The gold and silver colors (also shown in heraldry as yellow and white, respectively) are the colors used on the flag of the Vatican City State. Because of this they are known as the papal colors.

The cross moline is taken from the arms of the See of Trenton. This shape of the cross is often associated with the Order of St. Benedict in heraldry. Its blue color here is the reverse of the Trenton arms (which depict a gold cross on a blue field). In the upper left of the shield there is a red tongue of fire. The word "Metuchen" is derived from the Lenne Lenape Indian word "metachen", which means, "firewood". In addition this symbol is associated with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles at Pentecost. In the lower right we see a blue letter "M" surmounted by a silver crown. This is the monogram for Mary, Our Queen. The diocese is under the patronage of the Queenship of Mary. In addition, the crown is taken from the arms of Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, the founding bishop of Metuchen, who was ordained to the priesthood on the Feast of the Queenship of Mary. The "M" also appeared in the arms of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II.

The arms of the diocese were originally designed by Immanuel Vernon and redesigned and emblazoned here in this official version by Fr. Guy Selvester. This version of the arms is used on all official correspondence and printed materials. 

Second Bishop of Metuchen (1986-1997) Bishop Emeritus (1997- present)

The arms of Metuchen impaled with the personal arms of the bishop. The red saltire cross, in the form of an "X" with the two spears or lances on it in the form of a saltire are an allusion to St. Thomas, the bishop's secondary patron. The upper portion of the shield shows the white dove representing the Holy Spirit descending. On the left is a blue fleur-de-lis representing Our Lady. The blue martlet below is a charge drawn from the arms of St. Edward the Confessor. This is an allusion to the bishop's primary patron. The blue book to the right serves as a symbol of the Holy Scriptures.

Third Bishop of Metuchen (1997-2002)

The arms of Metuchen impaling the personal arms of the bishop. These show a blue field with a large gold rose. The rose, long a symbol of the Pro-Life Movement, alludes to this work to which the bishop devoted much of his priestly life and ministry. On a gold chief there is a red heart, the symbol of charity. This refers to the apostle of charity and the bishop's patron saint, Vincent de Paul. This heart is flanked by two blue crescents. This alludes to mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception which is the patroness of the United States of America and of the diocese of Brooklyn.

Arms designed by Fr. Guy Selvester

Fourth Bishop of Metuchen (2002- present)

It is customary in North America to depict the arms of a bishop joined on the same shield with the arms of his diocese. Bishop Bootkoski has elected an unconventional, though perfectly correct manner of doing this. Since his personal arms divide the shield into four quarters the arms of the Diocese of Metuchen are placed on a smaller separate shield overlapping the bishop’s personal arms. In heraldry this is known as an escutcheon "in pretense". The personal arms of Bishop Bootkoski, modified slightly from the original arms he bore as Titular Bishop of Zarna and Auxiliary Bishop of Newark, combine elements alluding to the Bishop’s heritage and ministry. The two red fish on a silver background are reminiscent of the arms of the Klimek family (the Bishop’s maternal ancestors). The name "Klimek" is a variation of "Clement" who was the third successor to St. Peter as Bishop of Rome. The fish remind us of Peter, the Fisherman and his successors. Their inclusion also honors the faith-filled witness of Bishop Bootkoski’s maternal grandparents and the influence they had on his life and faith.

The book with the gold binding on a blue background has a two-fold significance. First, it stands for the Word of God which Bishop Bootkoski has preached throughout his priestly ministry and now preaches in a special way as a successor to the apostles and chief shepherd of a local church. The book also stands for the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict. This is a tribute to a Saint for whom the Bishop has a personal devotion and to the Benedictine Order whose monks have had a great formative influence in the Bishop’s spiritual life, education and vocation. The quadrant containing the six blue and silver wavy lines borrows these from the arms of the Archdiocese of Newark. The Bishop served as priest bishop and administrator in this Archdiocese before coming to the Diocese of Metuchen. These wavy lines represent the six rivers that touch the Newark Archdiocese (Hackensack, Hudson, Passaic, Rahway, Raritan and Saddle Rivers)

The last quadrant shows a red background with a silver wagon wheel. The wheel is broken at the top and has a cross issuing from the center. This is from the family arms of the Bishop’s paternal ancestors from Poland. Polish heraldry often makes use of what are called "house marks" utilized by various tradesmen as symbols of their profession. The wheel was used as a symbol of the carpenter’s trade. The Butkowski (Bootkoski is a variant) family were apparently carpenters. The silver cross issuing from the center of the wheel is both an indication of their faith and an expression of their hope that their work might give glory to God. The principal colors on the shield are also significant. The first and fourth quadrants alluding to the Bishop’s family employ red and white, which are the national colors of Poland. The overall design makes use primarily of red, white and blue. These are the national colors of the United States of America on whose national day of Independence (July 4) the Bishop was born.

The arms were originally designed by Fr. Michael  Walters of Newark and redesigned and marshalled with those of Metuchen by Fr. Guy Selvester.

This is the version of the arms incorporating the changes made in 1999 by the late Bishop Breen. Originally, the cross and letter "M" in the arms were black.