Priests’ Jubilee Mass

CHATHAM TOWNSHIP  Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will be the principal celebrant of the annual Priests Jubilee Mass to honor diocesan and religious order priests who are celebrating milestone ordination anniversaries in 2021. The Mass will be held in Corpus Christi Church here at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 1. The priest jubilee Mass was postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, so this year’s Mass will honor jubilarians from both 2020 and 2021.

Following are brief biographies of priests who are celebrating 60-, 50-, 40- and 25-year anniversaries in 2021. Last week’s issue of The Beacon featured the priest jubilarians from 2020.

60 years

Father Paul Iovino

A native of Italy, Father Iovino was ordained on March 19, 1961 as a Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions priest. He was assigned a mission in Burma and came to the Uni­ted States to learn English but before he completed his studies, the mission was closed. As a result, Father Iovino stayed in the United States in Detroit where he attended the University of Detroit and later Seton Hall University, South Orange, to obtain his master’s degree in mathematics. He taught math in Oakland and at the former Neumann Prep in Wayne. He served at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Paterson, as chaplain from 1980 to 1982. In 1984, he served as parochial vicar in St. James, Totowa. He was incardinated as a diocesan priest in 1987. For many years, he worked on the diocesan Tribunal as an auditor. Father Iovino retired in April 2006 from active ministry.

Father Joseph E. Murphy

A native of Newark, Father Murphy was ordained on June 18, 1961 as a priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart. He incardinated as a priest of the Diocese in 1974. In the Paterson Diocese, he served at St. Nicholas, Passaic; Our Lady of the Lake, Mount Arlington; Holy Family, Florham Park; St. Mary, Dover; Corpus Christi, Chatham; Our Lady of Consolation, Wayne; St. James, Totowa. He retired in 1998. In 2009, he was asked to serve as temporary administrator for St. Thomas More, Convent Station, and then, St. James, Totowa.

Msgr. James H. O’Rorke

A native of Ireland, Msgr. O’Rorke was ordained on June 18, 1961 at All Hallows Seminary in Dublin, Ireland. His first assignment was at St. Andrew Parish, Clifton. He then served at DePaul Catholic High School in Wayne as a theology teacher and chaplain. From 1975 to 1976, he was assistant director of DePaul and then in 1976 to 1981, he served as director. He was appointed as the first pastor of St. Jude the Apostle in Hamburg, when it was raised to parish status in 1981. In 1988, he was named pastor of St. Vincent Martyr, Madison, until being named pastor of Our Lady of the Valley, Wayne in 1993, where he remained until he retired in 2003.

50 years

Msgr. John J. Cusack

Msgr. Cusack, is a retired U.S. Air Force chaplain, who retired in the grade of Lt. Colonel at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 29, 1971 by Bishop Casey in St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Paterson. He studied for the priesthood at St. Mary College in Kentucky, Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, Orchard Lake, Mich., and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington. In the Diocese, he served as parochial vicar at St. Rose of Lima, East Hanover, and St. Stephen, Passaic. In 1978, he became an Air Force chaplain, serving at bases in Wyoming and Panama. After his retirement, he served as Catholic Contract Priest for the U.S. Air Force.

Msgr. Peter J. Doody

Pastor emeritus of Annunciation Parish in Wayne, Msgr. Doody, a native of Jersey City, completed his priesthood studies at Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora, N.Y. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 29, 1971 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. His first assignment was at St. Virgil, Morris Plains, and he also taught at Morris Catholic High School, Denville, for two years. He also served as the chaplain of the volunteer fire department and first aid squad there. His next assignment was as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Consola­tion, Wayne, where he served from 1976 to 1982. He was appointed as the first pastor of St. Luke, Long Valley, and during his tenure, oversaw the building of a church, rectory, and parish center. In 1993, he was named as pastor of St. Philip the Apostle, Clifton. His priestly ministry included the Priests’ Personnel Board, diocesan Presbyteral Council, assistant director of diocesan vocations office, member of ministry to priests’ program and a founder of the Passaic County Interfaith Hospitality Network, which provided temporary shelter to homeless families. In 2004, Bishop Serratelli named him to the newly-created diocesan post of minister to priests. In 2007, he was named pastor of Annunciation, Wayne. He retired from active ministry in 2018.

Franciscan Father Thomas R. Hartle

A native of Clarion, Pa., Father Hartle was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Erie, Pa., on May 20, 1971. He joined the Franciscan Order in 1975 and professed his final vows as a friar in 1979. Father Hartle currently resides at St. Anthony Friary in Butler, where he serves as the spiritual assistant for the Poor Clare Nuns of Holy Name Federation, whom he has served since 1989. For more than 30 years, he has conducted pilgrimages to Italy and led retreats and days of recollection on Franciscan themes. From 1999 to 2008, he served as pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Butler.

Father P. Christopher Muldoon

Born in Shrule, Ireland, Father Christopher Muldoon has been serving as pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea in Lake Hopatcong since 1992. He was graduated from All Hallows College in Dublin, Ireland. He was ordained to the priesthood June 20, 1971. His first assignment was at St. Mary in Paterson. He also served at St. Joseph, Lincoln Park; Assumption, Morristown; St. Thomas More, Convent Station, and St. Vincent DePaul, Stirling. He also served as campus minister at St. Elizabeth University, Convent Station, and chaplain to the motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth. Father Muldoon holds a certificate in pastoral counseling from the Institute of Religion and Health, New York City. He holds a master’s degree in sacred theology and a doctorate in ministry from New York Theological Seminary.

Father Raymond A. Pavlick

Born in Hazleton, Pa., Father Pavlick was ordained on May 29, 1971 in St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Paterson by Bishop Lawrence Casey. For his priesthood studies, he attended the former Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington. His first assignment was at Assumption, Morristown, as parochial vicar, and he also served part-time teaching at the former Bayley Ellard High School in Madison. He later served at St. Andrew, Clifton, and St. Mary, Denville. From 1976 to 1987, he was part of the faculty at Seton Hall University in South Orange. In 1988, he served as a VA Chaplain in Baltimore. He currently serves as a weekend assistant at Church of the Infant Savior in Pine Bush, N.Y.

40 years

Father John Andrew Connell

A native of Queens, N.Y., Father John Andrew Connell entered the novitiate of the Christian Brothers in 1956. He professed vows in 1957. He completed undergraduate studies at the Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., from which he graduated magna cum laude in 1961. He received a master’s degree in history at Manhattan College in 1966 and completed a graduate program at Rhode Island College in counseling. He completed his priesthood studies and was ordained a priest by Bishop Frank Rodimer on Nov. 21, 1981. Father Connell’s first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Christopher, Parsippany. He later served at Annunciation Parish, Wayne, and in 1993, he became pastor of St. Virgil, Morris Plains. He also served as temporary administrator of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Sparta. Father Connell also served as priest-spiritual director of the Cursillo Movement in the Diocese. In 2001, he was named pastor of Resurrection Parish in Randolph. He retired from active ministry in June 2012 and currently serves as a weekend associate at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Flanders.

Msgr. John E. Hart

A native of Brooklyn, Msgr. Hart is pastor of Assumption Parish in Morristown. He attended Seton Hall University in South Orange, and completed his priesthood studies at the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, earning a master’s degree in theology with a concentration in Sacred Scripture. Msgr. Hart was ordained on May 9, 1981 by Bishop Frank Rodimer in Annunciation Parish, Wayne. His first assignment was as parochial vicar at Corpus Christi Parish, Chatham Township. In 1988, he began advanced studies in canon law at St. Paul University, Ottawa, Canada, where he earned his licentiate in canon law in 1990. Msgr. Hart was named Bishop Rodimer’s priest-secretary and master of ceremonies in 1990 and also a weekend assistant at St. Christopher Parish, Parsippany. For many years, Msgr. Hart has served on the diocesan Tribunal. He was named adjutant judicial vicar in 1995. He was named pastor of St. Cecilia Parish, Rockaway, in 1996 and later as administrator of Sacred Heart, Rockaway. In 1999, he was named diocesan chancellor by Bishop Rodimer and served in that post until 2005. He was named a monsignor in 2003 by St. Pope John Paul II. In 2009, he was named pastor of Assumption Parish. Since 2012, he has served as the diocesan Director of Clergy Personnel.

Msgr. George F. Hundt

Pastor of St. Vincent Martyr Parish in Madison, Msgr. George F. Hundt, studied for three years with the Xaverian Missionary Fathers. He received a bachelor’s degree in religious studies from Montclair State University before completing his preparation for the priesthood at St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore, where he received a master’s degree in sacred theology. A native of Wayne, Msgr. Hundt was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Rodimer on May 28, 1981 in St. Philip the Apostle Church, Clifton. His first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Peter the Apostle Parish, Parsippany. In 1986, he went to pursue studies in canon law at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. He is a former priest-secretary to Bishop Rodimer and served as diocesan vice chancellor from 1987 to 1994. He later served at his home parish, Our Lady of the Valley, Wayne, first as part-time parochial vicar while he was vice chancellor and later as full-time parochial vicar there. Msgr. Hundt has also been a member of the diocese’s Presbyteral Council and its Education Council. He served as the defender of the bond on the diocesan Tribunal. Msgr. Hundt formerly served as the diocesan director of clergy personnel. He was pastor of St. Gerard Majella, Paterson, from 1995 to 2002. He was named a monsignor by St. Pope John Paul II in 2003. He also served as pastor of St. Anthony, Hawthorne, until being named pastor of St. Vincent Martyr.

25 years

Franciscan Father Francis K. Kim

Born in South Korea, Father Kim moved to the United States in his 20s. He joined the Order of Friars Minor in 1988 and professed his final vows as a friar in June 1993 in New York City. Father Kim was ordained to the priesthood on May 18, 1996 in St. Anne Parish, Fair Lawn. During the past 25 years, he has worked mainly with the Secular Franciscan Order, ministering to Korean-speaking fraternities in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and Virginia. He also operates St. Francis Farm in Warren County and helps in the African nations of Uganda and South Sudan with maintaining safe and clean well water.

Father ST Sutton

Pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Newton, Father Sutton is a native of Coventry, R.I. and he was graduated from St. Joseph Benedictine Seminary in St. Benedict, La. He later graduated from the Dominican Pontifical College of Providence College in Providence, with a master of divinity degree. In 1995, he was introduced to the Syriac Catholic Church and eventually was permitted to adopt the Syriac Catholic Rite while remaining Roman Catholic at the same time. He was ordained on Dec. 7, 1996 in St. Mary Church in Ware, Mass. His first assignment was chancellor of Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Diocese and secretary to the bishop. He served in many roles for the Syriac Diocese. In 2004, he began studies at Pontifical University of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and earned his licentiate in canon law and became judicial vicar. In 2010, he requested to serve in the Diocese of Paterson. His first assignment was as parochial vicar of Our Lady of the Valley and Holy Cross parishes in Wayne where he later became its administrator. He was incardinated into the Diocese in 2013. He was named administrator of St. Joseph in Newton where he currently serves as pastor.