In response to Bishop Bayley’s urgent appeal, Abbot Boniface Wimmer sent Fr. Valentine Felder, OSB, to Newark in April 1857, establishing a Benedictine presence at the property originally acquired by Fr. Nicholas Balleis. Bayley envisioned a full monastery with schools for both boys and girls. Benedictine sisters arrived in July 1857, and by 1868, St. Benedict’s College (later Preparatory School) was opened. This marked the beginning of an extensive Benedictine ministry in New Jersey, including parish and missionary work throughout the region.
Wimmer, adhering to the Rule of St. Benedict, sent additional monastics: Frater Eberhard Gahr (later ordained in Newark) and Brother Luke Zeume. Tragedy struck when Fr. Valentine was killed in a streetcar accident. Fr. Rupert Seidenbusch succeeded him, completing St. Mary’s Church and purchasing adjoining properties for monastic and educational use. He also acquired a new cemetery site outside the city due to health ordinances.

In 1862, Fr. Rupert was transferred west, eventually becoming Abbot of St. John’s in Minnesota and Vicar Apostolic. Fr. Utho Huber succeeded him briefly and built a new school. St. Benedict’s Parish “in the Neck” grew from a neglected mission into a revived parish due to the efforts of local laypeople.

On March 5, 1863, the New Jersey Legislature incorporated “The Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey” (OSBNJ), with Wimmer as president. Fr. Oswald Moosmüller, a gifted leader and scholar, served next but was reassigned to lead a Benedictine house of studies in Rome. Fr. Roman Heil succeeded him and established St. Benedict’s College in 1868. Though initially envisioned to offer collegiate degrees, the school remained a preparatory institution due to the rise of Seton Hall for higher education.

The college’s first director was Fr. William Walter. A succession of Benedictine leaders followed, including those who would later found other institutions like St. Anselm College. The school expanded with a new building blessed in 1872. In 1881, OSBNJ received authorization to confer academic degrees, although this authority was never used.

By the 1880s, the priory managed over a dozen parishes and missions across New Jersey, reflecting the order’s missionary zeal. As other priories such as St. John’s (MN) and St. Benedict’s (KS) became independent abbeys, Newark’s priory also moved toward autonomy under Fr. Gerard Pilz. He led the construction of a proper monastery in 1883, blessed by Bishop Winand Wigger. The same year, the community began reciting the Divine Office in common—a hallmark of Benedictine life.