Vesper service remembers Msgr. Mark Giordani

PATERSON  Blessed with boundless energy, the late Msgr. Mark Giordani was a “force of nature” in his 31 years of service as rector of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist here until his retirement in 2018. But the beloved priest was also a “force of grace” who loved each person he met as God loves, said Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s current rector and diocesan vicar for special projects, at a vespers service in the cathedral last Sunday to mark the first anniversary of Msgr. Giordani’s death from cancer on Jan. 30, 2021. He was 78.

A wide array of churchgoers, who knew Father Giordani — his family, friends, and brother priests; St. John’s parishioners; local emergency-services personnel; and politicians — came in from the nine-degree cold outside to pray at Eucharistic Adoration in the cathedral, led by Msgr. Sylva with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney in attendance. Together, they fondly remembered Msgr. Giordani, who spent his entire priesthood in the city of Paterson. He also served as a longtime chaplain of many law enforcement agencies, and was a biker, who founded the Christian Riders Motorcycle Club.

“I’m sure that each one of us has been inspired by Father Mark’s selfless perseverance in bringing us into a more intimate union with Christ, no matter the physical pain that he was enduring,” Msgr. Sylva said in his homily at the 5 p.m. vespers service. Msgr. Giordani, he said, received God’s grace though Eucharistic Adoration — a grace that helped him fight cancer for more than 25 years and heal St. John’s faith community from the time he arrived at the cathedral in 1987. “He strove to live each day as God lives. And how does God live? God lives to love. And this made no small demand on Father Mark — on his body, his mind, and his heart. God lives to love. To be a Christian is to strive every day to follow this path. Father Mark certainly followed this path. He strove to love us as our heavenly Father loves us,” Msgr. Sylva said.

During the vespers service, prayers and hymns were recited and sung in English and Spanish, reflecting the diversity of the urban parish community, led by Luisa Torres, St. John’s music director, and the cathedral choir. Assisting Msgr. Sylva were St. John’s two parochial vicars, Father Cesar Jaramillo and Father Jorge Castaño. The service featured a tribute to Msgr. Giordani with a photo montage on two large screens in front of the altar, a large photo of the priest on the altar with flowers beneath it, and display of his Christian Riders jacket with various patches. Vespers was livestreamed and has been archived on St. John’s Face Book page.

In his homily, Msgr. Sylva said that he got to know Msgr. Giordani, after he arrived at the cathedral as a seminarian in 1989. He surmised that “Father Mark” was also inspired in his priesthood by a horrible incident: watching his father be shot and killed during World War II as four-year-old boy in northern Italy, where he was born. Msgr. Sylva said he heard that story more than 30 years ago.

“I can still remember the pain in Father Mark’s eyes but there too was the evident spark that made him offer his life so that no one would have to endure thinking they have lost a father — their Heavenly Father,” Msgr. Sylva said.

Msgr. Giordani was ordained to the priesthood in the cathedral on May 31, 1969 by Bishop Lawrence Casey. He attended Cathedral College, New York, and St. Mary College, Ky. He completed his priestly studies at Christ the King Seminary, N.Y.

His first assignment in Paterson was at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish (1969–73), where he founded the Christian Riders Motorcycle Club. For 50 years, Msgr. Giordani celebrated an outdoor “Motorcycle Mass” at the intersection of Main and Grand streets adjacent to the cathedral in early May, which included a blessing with Holy Water of all the bikers and their motorcycles for a safe riding season.

Before being appointed St. John’s rector in 1987, Msgr. Giordani served at St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson (1973–87). St. Pope John Paul II named him a monsignor in 1989. He also served as an administrator of St. Agnes Parish in Paterson (2002–07), while also serving as rector of the cathedral. Throughout his priesthood, he supported the work of diocesan Catholic Charities. A testament to his commitment was the naming of the Msgr. Mark Giordani Center for Rehabilitation at Straight & Narrow, Catholic Charities’ substance-abuse treatment center in Paterson.

Msgr. Giordani also was the longtime chaplain to many law enforcement agencies, including the Port Authority Police, the Paterson Police Department, the Haledon Police and Fire departments, the Passaic County Sheriff’s Department, the Passaic County Jail, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, the Constables Association, the Passaic County Police Academy, and the Fidelians in North Haledon. He had also served as chaplain for the Boy Scouts in the Diocese.

After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists’ attacks in New York City, Msgr. Giordani was a prominent figure at Ground Zero, where he ministered to the recovery workers in their grim task. He retired in 2018 and celebrated his 50th anniversary as a priest in 2019.

“I invite you to recall a time when Father Mark was that force of grace in your life, letting you know that you’re loved by God. Hold on to these feelings,” Msgr. Sylva said. He told churchgoers that Msgr. Giordani used to love squeezing his and other people’s cheeks until they were red. “Italians pinch cheeks with feeling. It’s a way to leave someone with affection. We can still feel his affection. We pray tonight for his soul all the while making a promise to him: Father Mark, you won’t die in our hearts; you will always be a force of grace for us,” he said.

At the end of the service, the Knights of Columbus Council of St. John the Baptist 17254 took up a collection to purchase new vestments in honor of Msgr. Giordani, Father Jaramillo said.

Bishop Sweeney spoke, telling the congregation that he was never able to meet Msgr. Giordani before his death amid COVID-19 concerns.

“But I feel that I know him from getting to know St. John’s community here. I can feel Msgr. Giordani's love here tonight. I can see his smile and it’s in each one of you who has shared his life and that gift of faith that he lived so beautifully. We remember him and give thanks to God tonight for his priestly service and his life of faith, hope, and love,” Bishop Sweeney said.