22nd Annual Blue Mass honors Fallen police officers, law enforcement officials

PATERSON  Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney led the Diocese in thanking members of law enforcement for risking their lives to protect their communities and keep them safe and recognized those officers who died in the line of duty during the Diocese’s 22nd Annual Blue Mass on May 3 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here. The Bishop, the principal celebrant of the Blue Mass, honored these fallen heroes for making the ultimate sacrifice: having “laid down their lives in love for their friends and even strangers.”

The Mass started with a sea of blue as an honor guard of law-enforcement officers carried in American and other flags lined up on either side of the cathedral’s main aisle to the sounds of muffled drums beating and bagpipers wailing in solemn remembrance of the officers lost. Attending the Mass were local officials; officers from different agencies and departments and some of the families of the officers who died in the line of duty. Some of the priests, who concelebrated the liturgy with Bishop Sweeney, serve as police chaplains.

“It is truly an honor to be with each and every one of you this morning and we thank you for your presence here, especially those who wear the uniform of our police departments and law enforcement. You honor us by your presence. We pray in a special way with the families of our fallen heroes, who are with us as we pray and unite as the Church on earth with the Church in heaven,” Bishop Sweeney told the congregation at the start of the Mass, which was livestreamed.

The Diocese remembered the following law-enforcement officers: Officer Hector Moya and Det. Brian K. McAdams Sr., both of the Newark Police Department; Lt. Matthew D. Razukas of the N.J. State Police; Det. James Peri of the Bloomfield Police Department; Lt. David Formeza of the Perth Amboy Police Department; Lt. Mathew Vogel of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office; Sgt. Robert Miller of the Clifton Police Depart­ment; Sgt. Matthew Horton of the Ocean Country Sheriff’s Depart­ment; and Det. Jason Rivera and Det. Wilbert Mora, both of the New York City Police Department.

During the Mass, the congregation prayed for the safety of all law enforcement officers. The lector was Francis A. Koch, Sussex County prosecutor. Toward the end of Mass, Bishop Sweeney gave each family of a fallen officer in attendance a shadow box that honors the officer and a coin that displays an image of St. Michael the Archangel after he blessed both items. Then, he presented the families to the congregation, who gave them a standing ovation.

The Diocese also remembered Msgr. Mark Giordani, who served as St. John’s rector for 31 years and died in 2021. He was chaplain of the Paterson Police Department, Port Author­ity, the Haledon Police and Fire departments, the Passaic County Sheriff’s Office, the Passaic County Jail, the Consta­bles Association, and the Passaic County Police Academy.

Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects and the cathedral, greeted the congregation, telling them that police officers help extend God’s mercy and justice into the world. The priest has served as chaplain to the FBI and Passaic County Sheriff’s Department since 2018 and ministers informally to members of the Pater­son Police Department.

“We believe that God’s grace has two arms: the arm of mercy and the arm of justice. Both arms working together to give us hope and goodness will always defeat evil. We welcome all of you, who wear the blue and every day to extend those arms of mercy and justice, so that we never doubt that goodness will defeat evil in the end,” Msgr. Sylva said.

In his homily, Bishop Sweeney said that the Blue Mass coincided that day with the Feast of Philip and James, witnesses to Jesus, and martyrs to the faith. The faithful prayed for the saints, who “shed their blood,” and prayed and gave thanks to the fallen officers, who “have shed their blood” and fulfilled Christ’s teaching, ‘There is no greater love than this: to lay one’s life for one’s friends,” the Bishop said.

“Those we honor today laid down their lives not only for friends, but also for strangers. As we honor all the police officers today and give thanks for your service, dedication, your generosity, sacrifice, we can feel connected to that first proclamation of the Risen Jesus that love has conquered sin and death. The victory has been won. We won’t fully feel that until we are together with God in heaven but part of the importance of remembering and giving honor is walking the journey together when that journey leads us to the Cross. He gave us his mother Mary to help us remember that a parent should never have to bury a child and that God and the mother of God, understand that pain,” he said.

“Sometimes, priests, bishops, elected officials, police officers, or other people, who commit themselves to a higher standard in public service do not live up to that standard, which hurts us all. We all can do better,” Bishop Sweeney said.

“But the men that we honor today and the men and women, who have given their lives in service of others, give us hope. Goodness is possible, as well as mutual respect, recognizing each person’s dignity. It can happen. Yes, it takes work. Yes, it takes sacrifice. Yes, it takes the work of justice. But those we honor today teach us something else that St. Paul taught us: in the end, there’s faith, hope, and love and the greatest of these is love. Today we honor those who have laid down their lives in love. They have blessed our community and our community will never forget them,” Bishop Sweeney said.

At the end of the Blue Mass, bagpipers played “Amazing Grace,” accompanied by drummers, bringing solemnity and closure to the occasion.