Pizza to Pews draws Gen Z faithful to packed Jersey Shore Mass

The Pizza to Pews young adult group held a special event at St. Catharine Church in Spring Lake on Aug. 23, drawing a large crowd of Gen Z Catholics to the Diocese of Trenton. The noon Mass reached capacity, with both the main level and the basement full and attendees standing in the aisles.

Founded by Anthony Gross and Kate DePetro, Pizza to Pews began as a meetup in a Greenwich Village pizzeria before Mass at St. Joseph Church in New York City. The group grew into a community of hundreds of young adults through online engagement and has held events in Washington, D.C., and Long Beach, NY. The group's mission is to ensure no young person attends Mass alone.

Msgr. Richard M. Liddy, a retired professor and former director of the Center for Catholic Studies at Seton Hall University, celebrated the Mass alongside Father Damian McElroy, the pastor of St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish.