Msgr. Mahoney retires

CLIFTON  Bishop Sweeney has appointed Msgr. T. Mark Condon as diocesan Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia effective Thursday, Oct. 1, taking over this key leadership post from Msgr. James T. Mahoney, who retires the day before, Sept. 30, after 47 years of active ministry as a diocesan priest, which includes serving since 2005 as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. The Bishop made the announcement today, Sept. 24, at the Chancery Office here.

Msgr. Condon, pastor of Our Lady of the Holy Angels Parish in Little Falls since 2008, brings a wealth of experience in his 31 years as a priest to his new position. He was appointed diocesan Director of Worship in 2009, served as priest-secretary and master of ceremonies to the late Bishop Frank Rodimer and now-Bishop Emeritus Arthur Serratelli and ministered in the areas of liturgy, diocesan administration and the Tribunal Office. He also serves as an adjunct professor of theology at Seton Hall University in South Orange.

“Msgr. Condon has given longtime service as a pastor and in many positions in the Diocese. He knows his way around the Diocese. He loves the Diocese and its priests,” Bishop Sweeney told The Beacon, adding that Msgr. Condon helped plan his ordination and installation Mass as the eighth Bishop of Paterson on July 1 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. “His training and experience make him ready to take on this responsibility in the Diocese,” the Bishop said.

Bishop Sweeney also accepted the retirement request of Msgr. Mahoney, pastor emeritus of Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham Township, who leaves a dynamic legacy as a leader in the parishes that he has served and in the numerous posts and assignments that he has held at the diocesan level in the areas of education, planning and administration. [See story on Msgr. Mahoney’s priestly ministry on Page 2.]

Bishop Sweeney praised the faithful dedication of Msgr. Mahoney who headed the committee to coordinate his ordination and installation Mass and facilitated his transition from the Brooklyn Diocese to the Paterson Diocese.

“On our first Zoom videoconferencing meetings I got to see the faces and feel the spirit of the priests of the Diocese welcoming me — and Msgr. Mahoney had a lot to do with that,” Bishop Sweeney said. “Msgr. Mahoney has a lot of experience and a good work ethic in facing many challenges in the Diocese. I am grateful for his years of service and for staying on a little longer [in the position of Vicar General after Bishop Sweeney’s ordination and installation]. Msgr. Mahoney put me at ease. I’m sad to see him go,” the Bishop said.

Msgr. Condon was born in Paterson on April 17, 1963 and worshipped at St. Mary Parish there before moving to Hawthorne where he became a parishioner of St. Anthony’s and graduate of the parish school in 1977. He was graduated from Hawthorne High School in 1981 and Seton Hall University in 1985. He completed his priestly studies at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, N.Y., and was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Rodimer on Nov. 25, 1989.

Early on, Msgr. Condon served as parochial vicar of St. Michael Parish in Netcong; in the Tribunal in various roles such as Defender of the Bond; and as parochial vicar of Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish in Kinnelon. He earned a licentiate in canon law from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1995. The priest served as assistant diocesan chancellor in 1994 and vice chancellor the following year.

Msgr. Condon served as priest-secretary and master of ceremonies to Bishop Rodimer (1996–2004) and Bishop Serratelli (2004–06). St. Pope John Paul II named him Chaplain to His Holiness with the title of monsignor in 2003. He was appointed pastor of Holy Angels in Little Falls in 2008 and earned a doctorate in canon law in 2009, the year he was named diocesan director of worship.

Msgr. Condon also served as dean of the Mid-Passaic County Deanery (2009–12); Defender of the Bond of the Metropolitan Tribunal; judicial vicar and syncellus for canonical affairs of the Eparchy of Passaic in 2017; and as a member of the diocesan Presbyteral Council. He also teaches as an adjunct professor of theology at Seton Hall.

“It is a privilege to assist our new Bishop in any way I can — an attitude that I share in common with all of my brother priests. We pray that Bishop Sweeney’s ministry is a source of blessing and grace for our Diocese,” said Msgr. Condon who cited many priests who inspired him as well as the three bishops he has served, most recently Bishop Sweeney “whose enthusiasm and prayerfulness has been a source of healing and hope during this time of pandemic. He has given us every indication that his ministry will continue to be that and more. We are all blessed to serve God’s people with him in the Lord’s vineyard and under the Bishop’s leadership,” he said.

Msgr. Mahoney plans to spend his retirement “learning how to relax” and pursuing interests such as learning vegan cooking, becoming conversational in Spanish, getting physically fit, studying Scripture more in depth, conducting traveling and sightseeing trips when the pandemic subsides, continuing his daily blog and assisting on weekends at Corpus Christi, from which he resigned as pastor on Feb. 2, 2019 after decades of service there.

“In the midst of all my work with programs, services, research, finances and personnel in the Diocese, I always believed and tried not to forget that we are doing God’s work and building up the reign of God in our Diocese. My job drove me to prayer at deeper levels than I ever realized because of so many challenges. It also caused me to try to be a joyful messenger of what we believe,” said Msgr. Mahoney, who also praised Msgr. Condon. “My successor is a highly-respected capable priest who has been a successful pastor and has a comprehensive knowledge of the Diocese. He is also unfailingly kind. We are in good hands,” he said.