Diocesan Priest Jubilarians 2016

KINNELON  Bishop Serratelli will be the principal celebrant of the annual diocesan Jubilee Mass for diocesan and religious priests who are marking milestone anniversaries in the priesthood this year at 11 a.m. Tuesday, June 7, in Our Lady of the Magnificat Church here.

This year, the Jubilee Mass honors 23 priests who are celebrating the 65th, 60th, 50th, 40th and 25th anniversaries of their priesthood ordination during 2016.

Bishop Emeritus Frank Rodimer, Msgr. Leo Carey and Msgr. Brendan Madden lead the way as all three are celebrating the 65th anniversary of their priesthood ordination in 2016. Photos and short biographies of the jubilarians are on the following pages.

Bishop Emeritus Frank J. Rodimer was ordained to the priesthood on May 19, 1951 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. Born and raised in Rockaway, he attended Seton Hall Prep, West Orange; St. Charles College, Catonsville, Md.; St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore; the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington; and The Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., where he received his Licentiate in Sacred Theology. He received his doctorate in Canon Law in 1954 and was then appointed assistant chancellor and secretary of the diocesan Tribunal. He was named secretary to Bishop James Navagh in 1963 and attended the Second Vatican Council with him. In 1963, he was given the honor of Papal Chamberlain by Pope Paul VI. He was appointed diocesan chancellor in 1964 and in 1966 as secretary of the diocesan board of consultors. When Bishop Casey resigned for health reasons in June 1977, then-Msgr. Rodimer was elected by the board of consultors as diocesan administrator. He held this title until his appointment as bishop on Dec. 13, 1977. He was ordained and installed as bishop on Feb. 28 in 1978 in St. John’s Cathedral.

During his years as a priest, he also served as parochial vicar of St. Brendan Parish in Clifton, Our Lady of the Lake Parish in Sparta and St. Paul Parish in Clifton, where he was pastor for 10 years until his appointment as the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Paterson, the only priest of the Diocese to have ever been raised to the episcopacy. He also holds the distinction of being both the youngest and oldest man to ever serve in that office. He is also the first Paterson bishop to hold the title of Bishop Emeritus. He served as shepherd of the Diocese for 26 years until his retirement in 2004. During his episcopacy, he established 12 new parishes, ordained 91 priests and 179 permanent deacons and confirmed more than 100,000 Catholics. During the 1980s, Bishop Rodimer established the three-year fund-raising campaign, “Share His Vision,” which raised $3 million for purchase of land in the Diocese for future parish sites and major capital repairs to parish buildings in urban areas of the Diocese. He also spearheaded the creation of the Tri-County Scholarship Fund as its co-founder, to provide scholarships to needy students in Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties. In celebration of the Diocese’s golden anniversary in 1987, he commissioned a full-scale history of the Catholic Church in northwest New Jersey, beginning with the Church’s infancy here in the 18th century and carrying through to the anniversary of the Diocese. This book was “Living Stones,” authored by Msgr. Raymond Kupke, diocesan archivist. St. John’s Cathedral also underwent major repairs and liturgical renovations in preparation for the anniversary and the bishop rededicated the cathedral on Dec. 9, 1987, 50 years to the day the Diocese of Paterson was established by Pope Pius XI. In 1989, he established “Parishes in Partnership” to foster interaction and mutual assistance between the suburban and urban parishes of the Diocese. In 1991, he began the Bishop’s Annual Appeal. With the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, he served as chairman of the committee for the American College at Louvain, Belgium. He also established the Diocese’s first retirement residence for diocesan priests at Nazareth Village in Chester, which opened in 1993. In 1998, he re-established the Diocesan Pastoral Council.

During the Great Jubilee Year 2000, Bishop Rodimer led the parishes and the people of the Diocese in conducting a major capital campaign, “Prepare the Way.” In retirement, he resides in Green Pond near St. Simon Parish where he takes part in parish life and also is a fixture at all major diocesan events.

Msgr. Leo P. Carey, a native of Madison, was ordained May 19, 1951. He studied at Seton Hall Prep, West Orange; St. Charles College, Catonsville, Md.; St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore, and the former Immaculate Conception, Darlington. His first assignment was at Assumption, Morristown, from 1951 to 1963. He served as religion teacher and athletic director at the former Bayley-Ellard High School, Madison, and later served as director of the high school until 1967. He served as pastor of St. Jude, Budd Lake; St. Nicholas, Passaic, and Our Lady Star of the Sea, Lake Hopatcong. On a diocesan level, he was director of Morris County CYO, associate vicar for religious, and Dean for Western Morris Deanery. In 1992, after serving Our Lady Star of Sea for 17 years, he retired from active ministry.

Msgr. Brendan P. Madden, a native of County Cork, Ireland, was ordained on June 3, 1951 at St. Patrick Major Seminary College, Carlow, Ireland, where he completed his priesthood studies. He came to the United States for service in the Paterson Diocese in August 1951 and his first assignment was at St. Nicholas, Passaic. He was then assigned to St. Anthony, Hawthorne, in 1954. He was pastor of Our Lady of the Lake, Mount Arlington; St. Mary, Denville; and St. Monica, Sussex. Msgr. Madden also served as a religion teacher at Morris Catholic High School in Denville; co-chairman of communications for the Sussex County Council of Churches and had a monthly religious program on radio station WNNJ, Newton. He was a member of Wallkill Valley Rotary Club, represented the Sussex County Priests Vicariate on the diocesan pastoral council and was a member of the Priests Senate. He organized one of the first education councils for Catholic elementary schools. In 1985, he was appointed pastor of St. Clare, Clifton, and he served there until his retirement in 2004.

Franciscan Father Christian F. Camadella, a native of Endicott, N.Y., was ordained on June 11, 1956 after completing his studies at St. Bonaventure University, N.Y. He served in World War II in the Army Air Corps. He entered the Franciscans in 1950. His priestly assignments with the Franciscan Order in Holy Name Province included Boston; Buffalo, N.Y., and Loudonville, N.Y. He received a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Colorado in 1969. He was a vicar and professor at Metropolitan State College, Denver, from 1970 to1980. He later served in St. Francis Parish in New York City; St. Anthony Shrine, Boston; Our Lady of the Holy Angels, Little Falls, and parishes in Beach Haven and New York, Since 2001, he has been at St. Bonaventure Parish, Paterson, where he is senior associate friar.

Msgr. George A. Dudak was pastor of Our Lady of the Mountain Parish, Long Valley for 30 years until he retired from active ministry in 1999. He was ordained by Bishop James McNulty on May 26, 1956. When Msgr. Dudak was assigned as pastor of Our Lady of the Mountain Parish in 1969, he had just returned from five years of service in the former Diocesan mission in Ica, Peru. Msgr. Dudak attended the former Bayley-Ellard High School, Madison, and was graduated from St. Charles, Catonsville Md., and Seton Hall University, South Orange. He completed his priestly studies at the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington. His first assignment was as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mercy, Whippany, for two years, followed by six years at St. George Parish, Paterson. He later served at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Paterson. On the diocesan level, he has served as chairman of the development commission and as a member of the priests’ personnel board. He currently serves as part-time parochial vicar at Resurrection Parish, Randolph.

Msgr. Joseph L. Ferrito, a Paterson native, was ordained May 26, 1956 in St. John Cathedral, Paterson, by Bishop James McNulty. His first Mass was at his home parish of St. Michael, Paterson, on May 27, 1956. His first assignment was as assistant pastor of St. Vincent Martyr, Madison. He remained at the parish for seven years, although he was administrator of St. James, Montague, for a year during that period. Msgr. Ferrito’s next assignment was as a chaplain at St. Mary Hospital, Passaic. After that he served as assistant pastor of St. Michael, Netcong, and St. Therese and St. Mary, both in Paterson. In 1967, he was named pastor of St. Michael, Paterson. After four years there, he was named pastor of St. Vincent de Paul, Stirling. In 1979, he was named pastor of St. Pius X, Montville, where he served until his retirement in 1996. Currently, Msgr. Ferrito, pastor emeritus of St. Pius X, resides in Waretown.

Msgr. John J. Carroll, a native of Hawthorne, was graduated from the former St. Joseph High School, Paterson; Seton Hall University, South Orange, and the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington. He was ordained in St. John Cathedral, Paterson, on May 28, 1966 by Bishop Lawrence Casey. His first assignment was as assistant pastor at St. John Cathedral. He was named assistant superintendent of schools in 1968 and then served as superintendent from 1972 to 1981. Msgr. Carroll was a member of the first diocesan Priests Senate and has served as chairman of the diocesan Music Commission, moderator of the Pontifical Choir, a member of the Priests’ Personnel Board, chaplain of the Knights of Columbus Paterson Council 240, a judge for the diocesan Tribunal and associate pastor of Our Lady of Pompeii, Paterson. He was named a monsignor in 1989. He holds master and doctorate degrees in education from Fordham University, the Bronx, N.Y., where he was inducted into the university’s chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, the professional education fraternity. He served for 25 years as pastor of St. Patrick Parish, Chatham, and is currently pastor of Our Lady of the Magnificat, Kinnelon, where he has served since 1991. In 1994, he began serving a five-year term on the diocesan Presbyteral Council. In 1997, Msgr. Carroll and his parish were the recipients of the Archbishop Gerety Award.

Benedictine Abbot Richard Cronin was ordained in 1966 and elected as the 11th abbot of St. Mary Abbey in Morristown on March 8, 2014. He holds a master’s degree in history from Boston College. His first assignment was as a teacher and administrator at Bishop Grimes High School, East Syracuse, N.Y. from 1966 to 1982. In 1984, he professed solemn vows in the Order of St. Benedict at St. Mary Abbey. He has served as a weekend assistant at St. Thomas More, Convent Station. Since 1982, Abbot Cronin has served at Delbarton School in Morristown. He has taught American History and was the long-standing moderator of the Delbarton Mother’s Guild. He also was chaplain for the football and lacrosse teams at Delbarton. After being named abbot, he received an abbatial blessing from Bishop Serratelli on May 22, 2014.

Franciscan Father Richard Husted, a native of Caldwell, entered the Franciscan Order in 1959 and was ordained to the priesthood on March 5, 1966 in the Franciscan Monastery in Washington, D.C. He was graduated from the former St. Anthony School, Butler; St. Joseph High School in Callicoon, N.Y., and St. Bonaventure University, N.Y. He studied at St. Bonaventure University, N.Y., St. Francis College in Rye Beach, N.H. and Holy Name College in Washington, D.C. He has served as director of Beraka, a ministry to young adults and as a retreat master at the former Christ House in Lafayette. He has also served at parishes in Massachusetts. New York and in New Jersey parishes in Lafayette, Rochelle Park and East Rutherford, where he was named pastor of St. Joseph Parish in 1991. Since July 1, 2011, he has served as a parochial vicar at St. Mary Parish in Pompton Lakes.

Franciscan Father John J. Kull, a native of Lackawanna, N.Y., was ordained on March 3, 1966. For his priestly and college studies, he attended St. Joseph Seminary, Callicoon, N.Y., St. Francis College, Rye Beach, N.H. and Holy Name College, Washington, D.C. He served at parishes in New Bedford, Mass., Elmwood Park and Fair Lawn. He also served in the Franciscan missions in Bolivia. He has served at many parishes in the Archdiocese of Newark. He came to the Diocese in 1999 and was in residence at Our Lady Queen of Peace in West Milford. He retired to St. Anthony Friary, Butler, and in 2012, he moved to Holy Name Friary in Ringwood.

Franciscan Father Gerard Mudd, a native of Buffalo, N.Y. was ordained on Dec. 17, 1966 in his hometown. He studied at St. Francis College in Rye Beach, N.H. and Holy Name College in Washington, D.C. For his first years of his priesthood, he served in Brazil where he served as an educator, assistant pastor, pastor and in vocations work. He returned to the U.S. and served in Rhode Island and later in N.J., N.Y. and Massachusetts. He moved to St. Anthony Friary in Butler in 2014.

Msgr. Remigio G. Rocco, a native of Morristown, was graduated from Seton Hall University, South Orange. He completed his studies for the priesthood at the former Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, and was ordained by Bishop Casey on May 28, 1966. Following his first assignment, as parochial vicar at St. Virgil Parish, Morris Plains, he served as chaplain at Villa Walsh Academy, Morristown, and as parochial vicar at Blessed Sacrament Parish, Paterson; St. Pius X Parish, Montville, and Holy Family Parish, Florham Park. In 1982, he was named pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish where he remained until 1990 when he was appointed the pastor of St. Francis Parish, Haskell, the first diocesan priest to serve at the parish after the Franciscans had turned the administration of the parish over to the Diocese. Named a monsignor on Oct. 10, 1993 by St. Pope John Paul II, he served at St. Francis until his retirement.

Discalced Carmelite Father Bernardo Velasquez, parochial vicar at Holy Trinity and Our Lady of Fatima in Passaic, is a native of Medellin, Colombia. For his studies, he attended Carmelite College in Sonson and Bogota, both in Colombia. He was ordained to the priesthood in Colombia on Nov. 20, 1966. He has a master’s degree from Carmelite University, Rome, Italy. In Colombia, he was ecclesiastical administrator of the Carmelite Province and director of the Carmelite Seminary, Medellin. Father Velasquez-Araque is also a trained musician. He plays piano, pipe organ and has studied voice. He has made recordings of Gregorian Chants and Carols with Sonolux of Colombia. He came to the U.S. in 2003 and served as part-time parochial vicar at St. Anthony Parish, Passaic. He served as a part-time chaplain at St. Joseph’s Wayne Hospital, and Preakness Healthcare Center, both in Wayne, and at the former Beth Israel Hospital, Passaic.

Father Joseph G. Buffardi, pastor of St. Christopher Parish in Parsippany, is a Newark native. He was ordained May 15, 1976 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson following studies at St. Mary College, Ky. and Mount St. Mary Seminary, Emmitsburg, Md. His first assignment was at Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham Township. He later served as an educator and chaplain at the former Paterson Catholic High School in Paterson and the former Paul VI High School in Clifton. During this time, he was also chaplain for the Franciscan Sisters of St. Elizabeth in Parsippany. He then served as parochial vicar at St. Christopher Parish in Parsippany and Sacred Heart Parish in Dover. In 1996, he was named pastor of St. Mary Help of Christians Parish in Paterson, where he served for eight years until he was named as pastor of St. Christopher’s. He has served as dean for Eastern Morris Deanery.

Father Michael J. Burke was ordained a priest on May 15, 1976 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. For many years, he served at Catholic Family and Community services, an agency of diocesan Catholic Charities, as the director of legal services, advocating for immigrants. During his priesthood ministry, he also has been involved in parish ministry, education as a teacher at Morris Catholic High School in Denville, and in the work of the Diocesan Tribunal. He was awarded a bachelor’s degree from LeMoyne College, Syracuse, N.Y.; a master’s degree in Sacred Theology from St. Mary Seminary and University, Baltimore; and a law degree from Seton Hall University Law School, South Orange. In 2000, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce in London. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the N.J. State Bar Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He has served as a member of the board of trustees of the Family Service League and the Morris County Children’s Consortium. He was sworn in as an officer of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2009.

Father Zbigniew Kluba, a native of Poland, was ordained there on May 16, 1976 for the Diocese of Czestochowa. He came to the United States in 1985 to serve in the Sioux Falls Diocese in South Dakota. His desire to serve in a Polish parish led him to transfer to the Paterson Diocese. He was assigned to St. Joseph Parish in Passaic in 1989 as parochial vicar. He was incarnated as a priest of the Diocese of Paterson on May 15, 1992. In 1994, he became a chaplain in the Pastoral Care Department at Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown where he still serves.

Benedictine Abbot Joel P. Macul, a native of Bar Harbor, Maine, was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Lawrence Casey in St. Paul Abbey, Newton, on April 23, 1976. He served in the formation of student monks and director of the former Queen of Peace Retreat House in Newton. He was a staff member of the former Camp Benedict and taught Scripture at the former Don Bosco College in Newton. He has served in the permanent diaconate programs of the Paterson and Metuchen Dioceses. He served as Benedictine Prior until 1989 and two years later, went to Nairobi, Kenya directing monks and teaching Scripture at Catholic University of Eastern Africa and Tangaza College. In January 1997, he was elected Abbot of St. Paul Abbey in Newton. He received an abbatial blessing on April 26, 1997 from Bishop Rodimer. In 2002, he helped to facilitate the handing over the administration of St. Paul Abbey to the Korean Benedictine monks of Waegwan Abbey in South Korea. On behalf of Ottilien Benedictine Congregation, he has served a small Benedictine community in Kerala, South India for eight years. In January 2015, he resigned as Abbott of the American community at St. Paul Abbey, where he continues to reside doing translations and editing books and source material of the history of the Ottilien congregation.

Franciscan Father Francis M. McHugh, a native of Philadelphia, was ordained on May 8, 1976 at St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Md. He studied at LaSalle College, Philadelphia, and the Washington Theological College, Washington, D.C. He served in Franciscan parishes in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York, Virginia and New Jersey. In the Paterson Diocese, he served as parochial vicar at Our Lady Queen of Peace in West Milford; served as parochial vicar and pastor of St. Anthony in Butler. In 2014, he was assigned to serve as parochial vicar at St. Bonaventure in Paterson.

Father Patrick Ryan, pastor of St. James of the Marches Parish in Totowa, was ordained to the priesthood on Aug. 28, 1976 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany, N.Y. after studying at St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. He served in the Albany Diocese as a parochial vicar, administrator and pastor in three different parishes over 18 years before coming to the Paterson Diocese in 1995. His first assignment was to St. Patrick, Chatham, as parochial vicar. He then served as parochial vicar at St. Cecilia and Sacred Heart in Rockaway, and also served as temporary administrator at Our Lady Star of the Sea, Lake Hopatcong. He then served as pastor of Blessed Sacrament in Paterson until 2011 when he was named pastor of St. James. While serving as pastor at Blessed Sacrament, he was also administrator of Our Lady of Lourdes, Paterson, and Dean of the Paterson Deanery. He has served as chaplain to many police departments and as president of the St. Michael Society, a fraternal organization of Catholic police officers. He was heavily involved in ministering to law enforcement after the terrorists’ attacks on 9/11. He holds N.J. certification as a police academy instructor. He has served as on several diocesan education councils and has been a member of the diocesan Vivere Christus Award Committee and has served as its chair.

Father Dariusz Kaminski, a native of Poland, was ordained on May 26, 1991 in his homeland. He came to the Paterson Diocese in 2000 after he had been released by his archbishop from service in the Archdiocese of Bialystock in Poland. His first assignment was as parochial vicar at St. Joseph Parish, Passaic. In 2003, he was incardinated as a priest of the Paterson Diocese. He was released from service in the Diocese in 2004 so that he could serve as director of formation at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, Orchard Lake, Mich. He returned to the diocese in 2005 and was named parochial vicar at St. Patrick Parish in Chatham. In 2007, he was named pastor of St. Stephen Parish in Paterson where he currently serves. He has also served as diocesan director of transitional deacons.

Holy Cross Father Fulgens Katende, a native of Uganda in East Africa, serves at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Totowa. He studied at Consolata Seminary in Nairobi, Kenya, after joining the Congregation of the Holy Cross. He made his first vows in 1987. For theological studies he attended Hekima College in Nairobi. On Aug. 17, 1991, Father Fulgens was ordained. His first assignment was at Holy Cross Parish in Uganda and he later served there as pastor. In 2000, he served as director of Holy Cross Family Ministries and then formation director. In 2013, he began studies at Fordham University, the Bronx, N.Y., for his master’s degree in spirituality and spiritual direction. While he continues his studies, he is serving as chaplain to the Little Sisters of the Poor and he is also associate chaplain at Trinitas Regional Medical Center.

Father Owen B. Moran, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in East Hanover, was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Rodimer on Dec. 14, 1991 in Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Limerick City, Ireland. Born in London, he lived in Scotland before his parents moved to Ireland when he was 6. He was graduated from Rockwell College in England in 1975. After graduation he went to culinary school in Zurich, Switzerland. He returned to Ireland and worked as a pastry chef before entering seminary in 1984. He was graduated from St. John College in Waterford, Ireland, with a degree in philosophy and art. After his ordination, he was assigned to St. Patrick Parish in Chatham as parochial vicar. He was appointed pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in East Hanover in 2003.

Franciscan Father Frank R. Sevola, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Pompton Lakes, graduated from St. Bonaventure University, N.Y., in 1982 with a degree in history. He entered the Franciscan Order in 1987. After completing his philosophy requirements at St. Bonaventure University, N.Y. and attending Washington Theological Union in Washington, D.C., he was ordained a priest on Sept. 7, 1991 in Silver Spring, Md. He served as assistant director of vocations for Holy Name Province at its New York headquarters before taking a leave of absence from the friars. In 1998, he obtained a master’s degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix, where he lived at the time. He returned to life as a friar and was assigned to St. Patrick-St. Anthony Parish in Hartford, Conn., where he stayed until 2002. He was then assigned to St. Francis Chapel in Providence, R.I. where he was guardian and executive director while also serving as pastor of St. Mary Parish there. In 2011 he came to Pompton Lakes to be pastor of St. Mary’s. He serves on the board of trustees of St. Bonaventure University and marked 25 years as a friar in 2012.

— Compiled by Cecile San Agustin