Cathedral rector celebrates 30th ordination anniversary

Msgr. Geno Sylva, rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson, commemorated his 30th anniversary as a priest on Aug. 27 during a Mass of Thanks­giving in St. John’s. Msgr. Sylva is also diocesan vicar for special projects.

Bishop Sweeney was present at the Mass, which Msgr. Sylva celebrated in the cathedral, also the mother church of the Paterson Diocese. Celebrated in English and Spanish, the liturgy was concelebrated by many fellow priests and assisted by several deacons.

The Mass included a performance by the cathedral’s children’s choir. Msgr. Sylva received a proclamation from the County of Passaic in honor of his anniversary. He also blessed baskets with pieces of stone to represent the building up of the cathedral on its “Block of Mercy.”

During the Mass, Msgr. Sylva thanked all those who supported him over the years, including family, friends, and fellow priests; clergy, staff, and parishioners of St. John’s; and Bishop Sweeney.

Msgr. Sylva was ordained to the priesthood on Aug. 28, 1993.

This past spring, Pope Francis named Msgr. Sylva a Vatican appointee to the Dicastery for Evangeli­zation. From 2012–18, he worked outside the diocese for the Holy See as the English Language Official of the former Pontifical Coun­cil for Promo­ting the New Evan­gelization. Pope Francis named him a monsignor in 2017.

A native of Livingston, Msgr. Sylva graduated Delbar­ton School in Morris­town and Holy Cross College in Worcester, Mass. He holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in Sacred Theology from the Catholic Univer­sity of Louvain, Belgium, and had a year of doctoral study there.

After ordination, Msgr. Sylva served as parochial vicar at St. Anthony Parish, Hawthorne, until 1998, when he was named chaplain at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne. He subsequently was named director and then president of DePaul.

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 and then his Doctorate of Sacred Theology.

In 2008, Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli named him executive director of St. Paul Inside the Walls in Madison. The bishop subsequently named him diocesan vicar for evangelization.

Msgr. Sylva also serves as a chaplain for the FBI and Passaic County Sheriff’s Office.

— MICHAEL WOJCIK