Servant Leadership

DENVILLE  At various times in his life, Father Peter Clarke, president of Morris Catholic High School here, has walked with St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, patron of Catholic schools and the first U.S.-born saint, in his faith, vocation and pursuit of higher education.

Before becoming a priest, Father Clarke attended St. Peter Parish in Manhattan, where Mother Seton converted to Catholicism in 1805. Years later, as a priest in Catholic schools in the Diocese, he was inspired to pursue a doctorate in educational leadership at the College of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, named in the saint’s honor and operated by the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth. Yet it was his mentor, Msgr. Thomas McDade, a St. Elizabeth’s professor, who finally nudged him — after a pause in his studies — to spend the past year finishing his dissertation for the doctorate, which he received this May. The degree has prepared Father Clarke to become a globally conscious and morally purposeful servant leader — qualities that he now imparts to Morris Catholic students.

“I’m so happy, because getting a doctorate has been a personal goal of mine,” said Father Clarke, who was appointed Morris Catholic’s president in the summer of 2017 by Bishop Serratelli. “The program teaches servant leadership — how to be more of service to the school but also to the community and the world. It shapes everything I do at Morris Catholic. As Catholic educators, we are called to evangelize every day. All 25 educators in the degree program — only three of whom came from Catholic education — modeled what good education looks like. They were engaged in thinking outside the box and giving good people the space to be creative and get great things done,” he said.

In addition to inspiration from God, Mother Seton and Msgr. McDade, Father Clarke received financial help for his doctoral studies from the Diocese through its Partners in Faith (PIF) capital and endowment campaign. Through PIF, Catholics of the Diocese supported initiatives of the Church of Paterson — including continuing education for priests beyond their priestly formation — by generously pledging more than $60 million to the campaign, said Timothy Potter, diocesan development director.

PIF supports individual parishes, Catholic Charities, Catholic school education, healthcare for retired priests, the Passaic Neighborhood Center for Women and, starting with Father Clarke, education of priests beyond priestly formation. It helped fund the major renovations to the Diocese’s mother church, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson, which Bishop Serratelli rededicated last June, Potter said.

With great pride, Bishop Serratelli publicly presented a check to Father Clarke to reimburse him for his educational expenses at Morris Catholic’s commencement ceremony on June 7 in the auditorium. To roaring applause, the Bishop announced, “I would like to say a special word of congratulations to Dr. Clarke.”

“All along the way, not only did Father Clarke do his very best to serve the students and faculty and administration but also he has been so dedicated to Catholic education. I don’t know how he did it [earned a doctorate] in his spare time,” said Bishop Serratelli, before calling the priest up to the podium on the stage. “It gives me great joy to make this presentation. As part of our Partners in Faith capital campaign that we ran for our Diocese, we allocated funds so that priests could assume roles in Catholic education. I am very pleased to present Father Clarke with a check to cover his entire doctoral studies,” the Bishop said.

Father Clarke accepted the check and thanked him at the June 7 commencement. Later in an interview with The Beacon, the priest expressed his gratitude for Bishop Serratelli’s “commitment to priests in their leadership roles in Catholic schools in the Diocese.”

“I’m grateful to the generous faithful, who made pledges to Partners in Faith. They are forward thinking to put some of that money into Catholic education, which is important to the Diocese,” Father Clarke told The Beacon. “Mary Baier, diocesan schools superintendent, once called Catholic schools ‘privileged platforms of evangelization.’ It’s good that Bishop Serratelli has placed priests to serve in leadership positions in many of our schools,” he said.

Seven years ago, Father Clarke started pursuing a doctorate at the College of St. Elizabeth’s, completing his coursework, as principal of St. Brendan School, Clifton, from 2011 to 2016. Before that, he was chaplain, religion teacher and theology department chairman at DePaul Catholic High School, Wayne. He returned to DePaul as principal from 2016 to 2017, before moving to Morris Catholic, where he finished researching and writing his dissertation on “The Integration of Service Learning in the Theology Curriculum.”

“I always have wanted to be a teacher,” said Father Clarke, a Mount Olive native, who earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and psychology from Centenary University, Hackettstown; a master’s degree in school administration from New York University and a master’s degree in theology from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore. Bishop Emeritus Rodimer ordained him to the priesthood in 2004. “I identify with being a teacher in the priesthood. As both a teacher and preacher, I want to give context and background to Scripture and encourage the faithful or students to ask, ‘Where is God calling me?’ ” he said.

In a letter to the Morris Catholic community last summer, Robert Stickles, then the school’s interim president, introduced Father Clarke, writing that he “has exactly the kind of training and experience that make for a terrific Catholic school leader.”

“He is extremely well prepared, and more than ready to take on his new responsibilities,” Stickles wrote. “As extensive as his training and experience is, Father Peter’s deep commitment to schools like ours is equally impressive. He has structured his priestly career around the world of Catholic education, helping to bring a faith-based, quality experience to students of all different ages and backgrounds,” he wrote.

This past academic year, Father Clarke helped Morris Catholic students place their charitable works in the context of Scripture and Catholic Social Teaching as part of a new program that combined theology with good works. With help from Susan Drew, theology chairperson, and the theology department, the priest implemented a program as part of his dissertation, which involved teachers explaining Gospel and Church teachings on charity, before students went to St. Francis Residential Community to spend time with seniors. Then, students reported on their experience, saying they would “do it again,” Father Clarke said.

“The program gave students the tools to become advocates of service, to be of service to others and to encourage others to be of service,” Father Clarke said.

Pledges to PIF continue to be fulfilled through the end of 2018, according to Potter. As many of the faithful continue to fulfill their pledges, the various ministries that receive funding from the campaign continue to be fostered.

“St. Ignatius Loyola wrote, ‘Teach us to give and not count the cost.’ I am grateful to the thousands upon thousands of parishioners who looked at the important needs and ministries supported by Partners in Faith and responded with a generous heart. Our Church is blessed by such stewardship,” Bishop Serratelli said.