Welcome to the St Pius X Church Family

In 1951, St. Mary’s of the Pines was established as a second Mission Church here in Forked River. At the time there were only 35 Catholic families in the area of Lacey Township. Fr. Alexander A. Burant, Pastor of St. Mary’s in Barnegat traveled between the two mission churches. In 1953, ground was broken for the present church and dedicated on October 17, 1954. St. Pius X became a parish on June 15, 1961 with Fr. Burant becoming the First Pastor.

Property was acquired in 1962 and a new Rectory was built in 1963. The first Parish Council was formed in 1969. Fr. Burant also purchased property across from the Church. This in time would become the Parish Center.

After Fr. Burant fell ill and retired, Fr. William C. Eelman was appointed Pastor in 1972. With Fr. Burant’s dream and Fr. Eelman’s direction, ground was broken for the Parish Center. The Center was dedicated September 28, 1974.

Fr. George E. Deutsch was installed as our third Pastor on October 8, 1982. An addition to the rectory, rectory garages and additional classrooms were added to the Parish Center. The need for the elderly and handicapped Parishioners to attend Mass was addressed and for that purpose All Saints Chapel was dedicated on September 5, 1987.

For the celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Parish the Church was refurbished and re-dedicated on Sunday, November 27th, 1994.

In July of 1997, St. Pius X Church became a Stewardship Parish. The Parish leadership presented and started to implement Time, Talent and Treasure as a way to serve our parish.

After 17 years of service Fr. Deutsch retired in 1999. The next Pastor Monsignor John J. Gibbons continued to lead the Parish for the next two years. Fr. Richard Basznianin was named our fifth Pastor by Bishop John M. Smith on December 24, 2000 and was installed on February 22, 2001.

Our Parish had grown from the original 35 families to over 3000 families, over a fifty year period of time. To provide Pastoral care for the large number of people a new church was needed. Therefore the Parish community started to make plans for a new Church Complex. In August 2003, Bishop Smith approved the building of a new Church Complex. “Embrace the Challenge” was chosen as the slogan for the building campaign.

The 50th Anniversary of the Church was celebrated on October 10, 2004 with an outdoor Mass led by Bishop John M. Smith. Following the Mass a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Church Complex took place. Many liturgical items were moved from the original church to our new Church, including the Stations of the Cross (now in the Chapel), Statues (now in the Chapel, narthex and parish hall) and Stain Glass Windows ( now in the parish hall and religious education wing). These items link our wonderful past with our even more promising future.

On October 7, 2006 Bishop John M. Smith dedicated our new Church and Complex.  Our Parish family joyfully participated in a beautiful Dedication Mass and a weekend of festivities in celebration of God’s goodness to us.

Since 2006 , our Parish has continued to grow.  We have more than 37 vibrant Parish Ministries and Organizations  serving our Parish family and Community (see Ministries). 

Our Religious Education program educates more than 850 children in their 13 classroom wing of our Church Complex.  Approximately 220 children were prepared and received the Sacraments of Penance, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation in 2015.  The program includes 70 volunteer catechists and aides who provide instruction on a weekly basis.

Our RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) is a program run by adult volunteers that volunteer their time, talent and treasures each Sunday from September through April to educate and prepare those who want to join our Catholic Faith. Each year many new Catholics come through the RCIA program here at St. Pius.

Our Youth ministry consists of God’s Little Angels and Faithful Disciples, children lectors, choir, and ushers and Youth Groups for the Middle School and High School. 

On October 15, 2016 we celebrated the tenth anniversary of our new church by hosting “St Pius X Family Festival” on the grounds of the Church.  This event brought our Church and Community together for a day of unity and fun, as we enjoy food trucks, bands, games and a balloon release in thanksgiving for our many Blessings.  On October 16, 2016 we all participated in a High Mass at 10am to Celebrate and Give Thanks to Almighty God for allowing us and guiding us in our growth as the parish of St Pius the Tenth. We pray for the Holt Spirit's continued guidance of our Church family.