Diocesan priests among those chosen by Pope as Missionaries of Mercy

Pope to commission hundreds of priests from around the world during Ash Wednesday Mass

ROME  Five priests from the Paterson Diocese will join hundreds of priests from around the world on Feb. 10, Ash Wednesday, in St. Peter’s Basilica here to receive the mandate from Pope Francis to serve as Missionaries of Mercy — preachers of mercy and confessors filled with mercy — during his Jubilee Year of Mercy. These priests, selected by their bishops or religious superiors, also will concelebrate the Ash Wednesday Mass with the Holy Father and, before that, meet with him during an audience, where he will speak about their duties as Missionaries of Mercy.

Those Diocesan priests who plan to travel to Rome to be sent forth by the Pope are: Father Paul Manning, executive director of St. Paul Inside the Walls: the Diocesan Center for Evangelization at Bayley-Ellard, Madison, and diocesan vicar for evangelization; Msgr. John Hart, pastor of Assumption Parish, Morristown; Father Dariusz Kaminski, pastor of St. Stephen Parish, Paterson; and Father John Madrid, parochial vicar of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Oak Ridge, and St. John Vianney Parish, Stockholm. Father Geno Sylva, the English language official for the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, already will be in Rome, because he serves at the Vatican. Father Hernan Arias, vicar for pastoral care and pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Morristown, said that he has not yet finalized travel plans. Father Stanley Barron, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Flanders, has been designated as a Missionary of Mercy but will not be traveling to Rome.

Pope Francis calls these Missionaries of Mercy to become “a living sign of the Father’s welcome to all those in search of his forgiveness.” Also, they are to be “facilitators for all, with no one excluded, of a truly human encounter;” “a source of liberation, rich with responsibility for overcoming obstacles and taking up the new life of Baptism again;” “guided by the words, ‘For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all’;” “inspiring preachers of Mercy;” “heralds of the joy of forgiveness” and “welcoming, loving, and compassionate confessors, who are most especially attentive to the difficult situations of each person,” according to the Pontifical Council’s website about the Jubilee Year of Mercy, at www.im.va.

“This will be exciting. Priests, along with everyone, are called to speak of the mercy of God and Jesus is the face of God,” said Msgr. Hart, who has not yet met Pope Francis. “Mercy is at the heart of the Gospel. Mercy is unique to Catholicism and the Church. The world needs God’s mercy,” he said.

Bishops in the countries of these 850 priests worldwide — 100 from the U.S. — will invite them give missions or specific initiatives for the Holy Year, with particular attention to Reconciliation. The Holy Father will grant them the authority to pardon even those sins reserved to the Holy See, including violation or profanation of the Holy Eucharist, states the website of the Pontifical Council, which Pope Francis has entrusted with the organization of the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Msgr. Hart called the Pope’s sending forth of Missionaries of Mercy a “historical moment.” He plans to spend time in reflection and walk through the Holy Doors in the four major cathedrals in Rome: St. Peter’s, St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Archbasilica of St. John in the Lateran and the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. He also plans to celebrate daily Mass in St. Peter’s in the morning.

Father Kaminski wanted to become a Missionary of Mercy, in part, because of his deep connection to the devotion to Divine Mercy. He was born in Bialystok, where Blessed Michael Sopocko, spiritual director of St. Faustina, who promoted the devotion, died, and also because Bishop Serratelli has approved the Eucharistic Missionaries of Divine Mercy at St. Stephen’s. Recently, parishioners held a special prayer service for Father Kaminski in anticipation of his trip to Rome.

“The Holy Father wants us Missionaries of Mercy to be preachers of mercy, but also to be patient and merciful confessors,” said Father Kaminski, who will meet Pope Francis and visit Rome for the first time, although he had previously met St. John Paul II, who designated the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.

Father Madrid expressed excitement about meeting Pope Francis for the first time, having attended several events during the Pontiff’s first visit to the U.S. in September. Like the rest of the missionaries, he secured Bishop Serratelli’s endorsement, applied to become a Missionary of Mercy and received a letter from the Pontifical Council, notifying him that he was accepted.

Yet Father Arias of St. Margaret’s, the location of one of two Holy Doors in the diocese, along with Holy Rosary Church, Passaic, remains unsure whether he wants to leave his congregation on Ash Wednesday. He noted that priests do not have to attend the ceremony in Rome to become Missionaries of Mercy.

“I believe in the mercy of God and that we see mercy in Jesus. We are to carry that mercy to people and bring them the ‘Good News,’ ” Father Arias said. “We are to welcome everyone into the Kingdom of God. Also, we are to be compassionate, accepting, and forgiving of sinners and those people, who have been marginalized by society and the Church,” the pastor said.