Despite working full-time as an accountant in North Bergen, Brian McArthur manages to keep an eye on his 14-month-old son, Luke, all day. For his wife, Angela, a schoolteacher in Newark, finding time is more difficult, but she still tries to check up on Luke twice during each workday.

Such are the perks of being among the first customers of The Nursery at Our Lady of Sorrows School, a day care service provided by South Orange’s Catholic parish. Parents with a password can log in online and see their child throughout the day via webcams mounted in the nursery.

“He’s happy and he smiles all day long,” said Brian of his son.

Luke was the first customer to use the purple-walled infant room at the newly opened-nursery, in operation since Sept. 8.

The nursery held a public grand opening ceremony on Saturday. Among those in attendance were Village President Doug Newman, nursery director Bonnie Hughes and Our Lady of Sorrows pastor Msgr. Robert Emery. The three made brief remarks and posed together for the ribbon cutting.

Following the ceremony, community members in attendance were invited to eat baked goods and view the freshly remodeled facilities. The modern fixtures were a major selling point for the McArthurs.

 “We looked at a couple of other places in the area and weren’t thrilled,” said Brian. “None of the others had webcams.”

 The couple also pointed out the new sprinkler system and wall-mounted air conditioning unit as selling points.

 The renovation brought major change to the brick building that was originally constructed in 1926 and served as a convent. About two years ago, the last nuns vacated the premises, prompting the church to look for a new use for the property, said Msgr. Emery.

“The church was trying to sell it or lease it,” he said.

But the church's non-profit status made renting a challenge. Then, a parishioner suggested that they create a nursery and began spearheading the project.

Our Lady of Sorrows had to clear several regulatory obstacles prior to opening the facility. After a year of research, the parish took a proposal to the Board of Adjustment three times before receiving approval to convert the building to a nursery in May, he said. After renovation and a delay in receiving their certificate of occupancy, the nursery opened its doors just after Labor Day, about a week behind schedule.

The facility currently serves three toddlers and three infants, with 15 total signed up to be in care by January. The center’s full capacity is 32.

“One (child) isn’t even born yet, due any day now,” said Bonnie Hughes, the nursery's director.

Of about 250 parishes under the Archdiocese of Newark, only Our Lady of Sorrows has a nursery, Msgr. Emery said. The nursery is part of a vision to offer care from newborns to 3-year-olds, feeding into the Pre-K through 8th-grade curriculum offered at Our Lady of Sorrows School.

The McArthurs share the vision of an all-Catholic upbringing for Luke, but also view it as a family tradition.

“We’d like to see him go to pre-school through 8th grade,” said Angela. “That’s our goal since Brian (also) went through the whole system.”.