22 priests to be honored

 

Annual Priests’ Jubilee Mass June 5 to honor 22 priests

65 Years

Rev. Edward M. Davey

Father Edward M. Davey, pastor emeritus of St. Joseph Parish in Newton, was ordained on April 22, 1953 in St. Mary Church in Newark. Born in Newark, he was graduated from Seton Hall University and studied for the priesthood at St. Mary Abbey, Morristown. He previously served the Archdiocese of Newark. His first assignment for the Paterson Diocese was at Our Lady of Consolation in Wayne and then at Our Lady of the Valley, Wayne. In 1980, he was named pastor of St. Joseph’s in Newton where he served for 20 years until his retirement in 1999. He resides at Nazareth Village, Chester.

60 Years

Rt. Rev. Brian H. Clarke, O.S.B.

Abbot Brian Clark got his first exposure to the Benedictines as a student at St. Benedict’s Prep, Newark, in 1945. Rather than accept an offer for a job with Prudential upon graduation, he entered the novitiate of St. Mary Abbey. He professed simple vows in 1952, received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Vincent College, Latrobe, Pa., and began his theological studies at Delbarton in 1954. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1958.

After ordination he began teaching freshman English at his alma mater, and assisted at parishes in the Newark Archdiocese, with a stint as a fill-in chaplain at St. Michael Hospital. As a parochial vicar at St. Benedict, Newark, he became involved in CYO, and later served at Sacred Heart, Wilmington, Del. Later as novice master at St. Mary Abbey, he developed various manual labors with the novices, most especially in the orchard. His room in the newly-renovated wing of the monastery has a view of his beloved orchard. He later served as monastery prior, and in 1975 was elected the seventh abbot of St. Mary Abbey. During his 20 years as abbot, he is most proud of his work with Vietnamese refugees, for which he was honored by the USCCB.

Rev. Charles Finnegan, O.F.M.

Born in New York City, Father Finnegan was received into Holy Name Province’s novitiate in 1951 at St. Bonaventure Friary, Paterson. He professed first vows in 1952 and final vows in 1955. He holds degrees from St. Bonaventure University, New York. He was ordained to the priesthood on April 25, 1958, in Washington, D.C. He is a specialist in canon law and speaks Portuguese and Spanish. He has served at Bishop Timon High School, Buffalo, N.Y.; as a missionary in Brazil; as pastor of Holy Cross, the Bronx, N.Y.; in leadership roles for Holy Name Province, first as provincial councilor (1973-76) and as provincial minister (CEO, 1976-80); then at St. Francis of Assisi in Haskell; St. Camillus, Silver Spring, Md.; St. Francis Inn, Philadelphia; St. Francis Chapel in Providence, R.I.; director of San Damiano Spirituality Center, Philadelphia; a member of the novitiate team; St. Anthony Shrine, Boston, and Holy Name Friary, Ringwood.

Rev. Richard G. Rento

Born in Passaic, Father Rento earned his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Seton Hall University before completing his studies at the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, and the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., where he received his licentiate in sacred theology. He was ordained May 31, 1958 in St. John’s Cathedral, Paterson.

His first assignment was a chaplain at St. Mary Hospital, Passaic. In 1964, he was named as diocesan director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (now known as religious education). Four years later, he began serving as presider and homilist for a weekly radio program, “The Sunday Mass,” on WPAT-AM.

In the early 1970s, he established the diocesan Office of Continuing Education for priests until being assigned to St. Brendan Parish, Clifton, where he served as coordinator of the pastoral team. He served there for 20 years until retiring in 1998.

In the course of his priestly career he also served in various posts, including as regional planner for Catholic education in the state; one of two official observers from the N.J./Pa. region at the meeting of the USCCB; two-term president of the Priests’ Senate; and member of the diocesan Presbyteral Council.

50 Years

Rev. Msgr. Louis J. Bihr

A native of Paterson, Father Bihr was graduated from the former St. Mary School in the city, Seton Hall University and the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington. He was ordained on May 25, 1968 in St. John’s Cathedral, Paterson. His first assignment was at Blessed Sacrament, Paterson. He also served as administrator of the former St. Boniface, Paterson; as diocesan Youth Department/CYO director, and as chairman of the Paterson Priests Association. He also served as a member of the diocesan Education Council and in 1984 was named Vicar for Urban Ministry.

He was named pastor of St. Gerard Majella in Paterson in 1988, and served as Dean of the Paterson Deanery. In 1993, he was elevated to the office of honorary prelate with the title of monsignor by St. Pope John Paul II. In 1995, he was named as pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Wayne. In 2003, he was named as Director of Pastoral Care and Spirituality at Straight & Narrow Inc., Paterson, an agency of diocesan Catholic Charities. He served there until his retirement in 2013.

Rev. Msgr. Felipe Carvajal

A native of Camaguey, Cuba, Msgr. Carvajal began his seminary studies at Good Shepherd Seminary in Havana in 1959. In 1961, during the Bay of Pigs invasion, he had to leave the seminary because he was accused of activity against the Castro government. In July of that year, he left Cuba and eventually ended up at the former Christ the King Seminary in New York where he received his bachelor’s degree cum laude in 1964. He joined the Diocese in 1965 as a seminarian.

He was one of two Cuban refugees to be ordained for the Paterson Diocese on May 11, 1968 in Our Lady of Victories Church, Paterson. He first served as parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish, Paterson. In 1969, he was assigned to Our Lady Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Parish, Dover, and became administrator the following year and later was named pastor. In 1979, Bishop Rodimer appointed him as Vicar for Hispanic Ministry. He was named a monsignor in 1981. He also served as chairman of the diocese’s Hispanic Commission and as a member of the diocesan Board of Consultors, and the diocesan Priests Personnel Board. In 1998, after a one-year sabbatical, he was named pastor of St. Nicholas Parish, Passaic, where he remained until retiring July 1, 2011, with the title of pastor emeritus.

Rev. John A. DeMattia

Born in Clifton, Father DeMattia was graduated from Seton Hall and the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington. He was ordained May 25, 1968 in St. John’s Cathedral, Paterson. He served as associate pastor at Our Lady of Mercy, Whippany, until 1975 when he was assigned as associate pastor at St. Anthony, Hawthorne.

He then was assigned to St. Peter the Apostle, Parsippany, in 1978 and then in 1979 to St. Joseph in Lincoln Park. In 1980, he was named pastor of Our Lady of Mercy in Whippany. In 2006, he was named by Bishop Serratelli as pastor of St. Mary in Dover, where he remained until retiring in 2014.

Rev. Msgr. Martin McDonnell

A native of Dysart, County Roscommon, Ireland, Msgr. McDonnell attended Immaculate Conception College, Sligeach, and Mount Melleray Seminary, Cappoquin, County Waterford, and St. Patrick’s Seminary, Carlow, Ireland, where he was ordained June 8, 1968. He received a master’s degree in theology and counseling in 1974 from New York Theological Seminary.

After his ordination, he spent five-and-a-half years at his first assignment, St. Mary in Denville, and then seven years at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Pompton Plains. He then was assigned to Our Lady of Mercy in Whippany for 18 months before he was named to lead a new mission in Parsippany on June 1, 1982. That mission became St. Ann Parish on July 26, 1983 and he was installed as the founding pastor of St. Ann on Oct. 8, 1983. He was named a prelate of honor with the title of monsignor by St. Pope John Paul II in 1998. He led St. Ann until 2009 when he was named pastor of St. Anthony in Hawthorne. In 2011, he was appointed as pastor of Good Shepherd in Andover, where he remained until 2016, when he retired. Earlier this year, he was asked by Bishop Serratelli to serve as temporary administrator of St. Matthew in Randolph. During his priestly ministry, he also served on the Priests Personnel Board; as a member of the Presbyteral Council and the College of Consultors; as Dean of the Eastern Morris deanery, supervisor of the deacon internship program, a member of the Family Life Counseling Plan, and a reflector for seminarians.

He will be honored on Sunday, June 10 for his golden anniversary to the priesthood at St. Ann’s where he will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving at noon in St. Ann Church. A reception will follow in the parish’s Martin McDonnell Center.

Rev. William J. Mooney

Born in Glen Ridge, Father Mooney was graduated from Seton Hall Prep, Seton Hall University, and the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 26, 1968 in St. John’s Cathedral, Paterson. He served as an associate pastor at the following parishes: St. Anthony, Hawthorne; Our Lady of the Magnificat, Kinnelon; St. Francis of Assisi, Haskell; Christ the King, New Vernon, and Holy Family in Florham Park. He retired from active ministry in 2012.

Rev. Hilary C. O’Leary, O.S.B.

A native of Elizabeth, Father O’Leary professed vows in 1962 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1968. While studying theology he began teaching religion at Delbarton School. In addition to classroom teaching, he has served as Religious Studies Department chair and sophomore guidance counselor. Today, he continues to teach religious studies to freshmen. He is currently serving as the Abbey’s formation director, guiding the newest members in their introduction to Benedictine life. He also assists as chaplain for the Sisters of Christian Charity in Mendham.

Rev. Edwin F.D. Robinson, O.F.M.

Born in Reading, Berkshire, England, Father Robinson grew up in Australia. He holds degrees from St. Anthony College in Australia; Les Facultes Catholiques, Lyon, France (STL), and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. (master’s degree in biblical studies and Semitic languages). He joined the Franciscan Order in England, professing his final vows as a Franciscan in 1967. He was ordained to the priesthood on March 30, 1968 in England and became a member of Holy Name Province (USA) in 1978. He has served as campus minister at St. Thomas More Center at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, S.C.; St. Paul in St. Petersburg, Fla.; St. Francis of Assisi, New York City; Assumption, Wood-Ridge; chaplain at St. Joseph Hospital, Paterson, and chaplain at Cabrini of Westchester, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.

Rev. Msgr. Herbert K. Tillyer

Msgr. Tillyer served as associate pastor of St. Virgil, Morris Plains (1968-69), and on the faculty of the former Paterson Catholic High School (1969-74). In 1980, he was named administrator of the former St. Hyacinth, Paterson, when it was closing. That same year for five months, he served as administrator of St. Vincent, Madison, before being named pastor of St. Paul, Prospect Park.

He served as a pro-synodal judge on the diocesan Tribunal and a member of the diocese’s consultative bodies — the Presbyteral Council, Finance Council and College of Consultors. He has been pastor of St. Peter the Apostle in Parsippany since 1994 and over the years his assignments have covered a wide variety of duties and services for the Diocese. Some of these have included being chair of the Bishop’s Annual Appeal and the Prepare the Way Campaign in 2000. He also was diocesan pro-life director (1974-90), and a member of the N.J. Catholic Conference State Public Policy Committee; president of the Martin de Porres Village and the Riese Corporations in charge of diocesan-sponsored housing, and director of the diocesan Cemetery Office.

He has been a member of the board of directors of the diocesan Department for Persons with Disabilities, and on the board of trustees of Straight and Narrow Inc., and a member of the board of Catholic Family and Community Services and Father English Community Center, Paterson, all agencies of diocesan Catholic Charities.

In 2017, Bishop Serratelli named him as president of the newly-formed board of directors for Catholic Charities after a new corporation had been formed for Catholic Charities with a new, single board of directors.

He has also been diocesan chaplain of the Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus and chaplain of a Fourth Degree Assembly and two Third Degree councils. His earlier service included membership in the Priests’ Senate from 1972 to 1975 and its president from 1975 to 1976. He has also served on the diocesan Liturgical and Ecumenical Commissions and was treasurer of the diocesan Justice and Peace Commission.

He received the title of monsignor when he was named a chaplain to the Holy Father in 1981. In 2003, Msgr. Tillyer was named to the office of Protonotary Apostolic Supernumerary. He was named diocesan vice chancellor in 1974 and in 1977 he succeeded Bishop Rodimer as chancellor when the latter was named bishop.

He became vicar general in 1999, after the death of Msgr. Joseph Brestel, his predecessor in the post. He served in that post until 2005.

Msgr. Tillyer marked his 50th anniversary, celebrating a Mass in St. Peter the Apostle Church, May 25, followed by a parish celebration for his golden anniversary at the Knoll Country Club West, Boonton.

40 Years

Rev. John T. Connolly

A native of Passaic, Father Connolly was graduated from the former Neumann Prep, Wayne, and Seton Hall University, with a degree in history. He completed his priesthood studies at the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, from which he received his master’s in divinity degree. Through his college and seminary years, he worked in the mailroom of the Chancery. After serving his diaconate year at Our Lady of the Lake in Sparta, he was ordained to the priesthood on May 20, 1978 in St. John Cathedral, Paterson. His first assignment was as parochial vicar at his home parish, St. Joseph, Passaic, where he served until he was assigned to Our Lady of Consolation in Wayne in 1989 as parochial vicar. In 1991, he began serving part-time as an advocate in the diocesan Tribunal. In 1993, he was named as pastor of St. Stephen, Paterson. He was appointed to a five-year term on the Clergy Personnel Board in 2006. In 2007, he was named as pastor of Sacred Heart in Clifton. From 2009 to 2015, he served as Dean of the Clifton Deanery. In 2010, he was named administrator of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Clifton and then in 2016 was named pastor, in addition to being pastor of Sacred Heart.

Rev. Martin G. Glynn

Born in County Galway, Ireland, Father Glynn studied for the priesthood at St. Patrick College, Thurles, and was ordained for the Paterson Diocese in the Cathedral of the Assumption in Thurles, on June 10, 1978. His first assignment was at St. Anthony, Hawthorne, where he remained until he was transferred to Holy Family, Florham Park in 1986. He was assigned to St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Sparta, in 1994 and that same year was elected to the diocesan Presbyteral Council. In 1995, he was named administrator of Immaculate Conception in Franklin and later that year was named as the parish’s pastor. In 2007, Bishop Serratelli named him as pastor of St. Mary, Denville.

Rev. Michael D. Lombardo

Born in Paterson, Father Lombardo was graduated from the former Neumann Prep, Wayne, and King’s College, Pa. He completed his priesthood studies at St. Mary Seminary and University, Baltimore, earning his master of divinity degree. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Rodimer in St. Brendan Church, Clifton, on Oct. 7, 1978.

His first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Clare in Clifton. Later that year, he was assigned to the faculty of Neumann Prep. In 1988, he began more than a dozen years of ministry as a chaplain at both Chilton Memorial Hospital, Pompton Plains and St. Joseph Wayne Hospital, Wayne, with residence at Our Lady of Good Counsel, Pompton Plains. In 2001, Bishop Rodimer named him as the pastor of Our Lady of Consolation Parish in Wayne.

Rev. John F. Tarantino

Born in Paterson, Father Tarantino was graduated from DePaul Catholic High School, Wayne. He studied at Seton Hall University Divinity School and the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, and received a bachelor’s degree from Seton Hall in 1972. He served on the faculty of DePaul (1973-74) where he was freshmen moderator and taught religion, speech and Spanish. He received his master’s degree in theology, summa cum laude, from Mount St. Mary University, Emmitsburg, Md. He also served in the Spanish apostolate to migrant workers and immigrant families in the Biglersville, Pa., area and on parish assignment at St. Rita, Baltimore. He was ordained to the diaconate in St. John Cathedral, Paterson, in 1977 and was assigned as a transitional deacon at St. Virgil, Morris Plains, where he was ordained to the priesthood on May 26, 1978.

His first assignment was as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception, Franklin, where he remained until 1980 when he was appointed to the faculty of DePaul while living at Holy Cross, Wayne, where he twice served as temporary administrator. In 1987, he was assigned to St. Mary in Dover as parochial vicar. In 1993, he took a six-month sabbatical. On Jan. 1, 1994, he was appointed as parochial vicar at St. Pius X in Montville. In 2006, he was named administrator of Holy Spirit in Pequannock where he remained until being named as administrator of Resurrection in Randolph.

25 Years

Rev. A. Richard Carton

Born in Waterford, Ireland, Father Carton received his elementary education at St. Paul Primary School and De La Salle Primary School and his secondary education from De La Salle College, all in Waterford. He received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. John Seminary, Waterford, and holds primary and secondary teacher certifications. He was graduated from St. Mary Seminary and University, Baltimore, and was ordained to the priesthood in St. John Cathedral, Paterson, on Nov. 27, 1993.

His first assignment after his ordination was a parochial vicar at St. Catherine of Siena in Mountain Lakes. He remained there until 1998, when he was appointed parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Lake in Sparta. He was appointed pastor of both St. James, Montague, and St. Thomas, Sandyston, on Jan. 1, 2003. He was named pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Boonton 2007 and served there until 2011, when he was named as pastor of St. Vincent DePaul in Stirling.

Rev. Timothy Dowling

Father Dowling, a native of Ireland, was graduated from the Coolard National School and St. Michael’s College, Listowel, County Kerry. Before entering the seminary, he worked as a cost clerk, laboratory assistant, farmer and construction worker. In 1987, he began his studies to become a priest of the Paterson Diocese at St. Patrick College, Carlow, from which he was graduated in 1992. He was ordained to the transitional diaconate there and was ordained to the priesthood on June 26, 1993 in his home parish of St. Teresa, Ballydonoghue, County Kerry — the first time a son of the parish was ordained in St. Teresa Church by Bishop Rodimer. His first assignment was as parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Magnificat, Kinnelon. He then was assigned as parochial vicar at St. Therese, Succasunna in 2002. Bishop Serratelli named him as pastor of St. Clare, Clifton, in 2004. While serving at St. Clare, he also served as Dean of the Clifton Deanery. In 2009, Bishop Serratelli appointed him as pastor of St. Ann, Parsippany, where he served until being named pastor of Good Shepherd in Andover in 2016.

Rev. Edward Seton Fittin, O.S.B.

Father Edward Seton was born in Newark, and raised in Short Hills. He attended Delbarton School, graduating in 1982. He then matriculated to Mt. St. Mary’s University, Emmitsburg, Md., graduating with a bachelor’s degree in art. During his college years, he discerned a monastic vocation and entered St. Mary’s Abbey, professing first vows on March 21, 1988. After four years of graduate studies in theology at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., he was ordained to the priesthood on June 12, 1993 by Bishop Frank Rodimer, and began teaching religious studies at Delbarton and assisting in campus ministry. He served as campus minister (1995-2001). In the monastery, he served as vocation director and liturgy director. On weekends, he has assisted in area convents and parishes and currently serves on weekends at St. Catherine of Siena, Mountain Lakes. On April 30, Abbot Cronin appointed him as monastery prior, or house superior.

Rev. Steve Pugliese, S.J.

Father Steve Pugliese grew up in Smithtown, L.I. He attended Fordham University, the Bronx, N.Y. He was a junior officer in the Navy before entering the Society of Jesus in 1983 and was ordained at Fordham in 1993. He spent his first year after ordination at Mount Manresa retreat house on Staten Island after which he was asked to go to St. Ignatius in Brooklyn, where he spent seven years. He then spent six years as minister to the N.Y. Province Infirmary in the Bronx and three years on the Upper East Side of Manhattan at St. Ignatius Loyola. He has served at Loyola Jesuit Center in Morristown since 2011 where he serves as retreat master and spiritual director.

Rev. Antonio Rodriguez

Father Antonio Rodriguez was born in Cuba and lived there until he was nine. His family first moved to Spain and lived in Madrid for three years, and then came to the U.S. to settle in Union City in 1973. He joined the German community of priests, the Schoenstatt Fathers, and was sent to study in Germany for 10 years where he learned the German language. He was ordained a priest of that order on Sept. 11, 1993 in Wisc. and served there as a priest for three years. He then was assigned to a parish in Texas for a year before coming to the Paterson Diocese in 1997 when Bishop Rodimer named him as parochial vicar pro tempore at St. Anthony, Hawthorne. Later that year, he was named parochial vicar at Holy Trinity, Passaic. He was named pastor of Holy Trinity in 2003, which is the only parish in the state to celebrate a Mass in German every Sunday. In addition to English, German and his native Spanish, he also speaks fluent Portuguese.

Rev. Msgr. Eugene (Geno) R. Sylva

Born in Livingston, Father Sylva grew up in New Vernon as a parishioner of Christ the King, and was graduated from Delbarton School, Morristown, and Holy Cross College, Worcester, Mass. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, and had a year of doctoral study there. He was ordained to the priesthood on Aug. 28, 1993 by Bishop Rodimer in St. John Cathedral, Paterson. After ordination, he served as parochial vicar at St. Anthony Parish, Hawthorne, until being named chaplain at DePaul Catholic High School in 1998. He subsequently was named director and then president of DePaul. In 1997, he formed the Young Prophets, a youth program, as an outreach to inner-city teens in Paterson. In 2005, he left DePaul to begin advanced studies at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome for his Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL) and then his Doctorate of Sacred Theology (STD). In 2008, Bishop Serratelli named him director of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Evangelization Center at Bayley-Ellard in Madison. The Bishop subsequently named him diocesan Vicar for Evangelization. In 2012, Bishop Serratelli released him from service in the Diocese to the Council for the New Evangelization in Rome, where he served the Holy See as the English Language Official of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization. He was named a monsignor by Pope Francis in 2017. He returned to the Diocese late last year from his service to the Holy See and earlier this year was named by Bishop Serratelli as Vicar for Special Projects and the Cathedral.