Class of 1953 Celebrates 50 Years of Priesthood Of the men ordained 50 years ago, 24 were ordained by the late Most Rev. Thomas A. Boland, Archbishop of Newark to become priests of the Archdiocese of Newark. They were also the last class to be ordained in the Pro-Cathedral. Four were ordained in the Diocese of Paterson at St. John Cathedral by the late Bishop James A. McNulty. The remaining priest was ordained into the Diocese of Trenton by the late Bishop George W. Ahr. Today, two are still in active ministry and seven retired from active ministry after service in the Archdiocese, and one is a pastor in Paterson. Following is a list of the surviving members of the class of 1953, and a brief bio of each priest.
Most Rev. Dominic A. Marconi is a retired Auxiliary
Bishop of Newark. His first assignment was at St. Anthony’s
Parish, Union City, where he served as associate pastor from 1953
until 1966. In 1966, he was named associate director of the Family
Life Apostolate and four years later became director of this ministry.
In 1975, he was named co-director of the Division for Services to
the Elderly, Associated Catholic Charities. He was Chaplain of St.
Joseph’s Home for the Blind in Jersey City from 1966 until
1976. He was appointed an auxiliary bishop of Newark on May 4, 1976
and Episcopal Vicar for Union Counter later that same month. He
was ordained a bishop on June 25, 1976 in the Cathedral Basilica
of the Sacred Heart in Newark, and retired on July 2, 2002. Rev. Donald A. Cooper retired on August 1, 1997 from Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Washington Township, where he served as parochial vicar. Prior to retirement Rev. Cooper served the following parishes as a parochial vicar (also known as associate pastor): Corpus Christi, Hasbrouck Heights; Immaculate Conception, Montclair; Church of the Presentation, Upper Saddle River; St. Michael, Palisades Park; St. Catherine, Hillside; Sacred Heart Church, Rochelle Park; and Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Washington Township. He was pastor of St. Pius X Parish in Old Tappan, and was a Chaplain to the Rev. Thomas F. Canty Council, No. 3197, in Hillside. Rev. Alfred V. Celiano retired from Seton Hall University on August 12, 1998. Rev. Celiano joined the staff at Seton Hall after ordination, and was appointed in 1960 the Chairman of the Chemistry Department. He was acting Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Rev. Msgr. J. Francis Feenan, a priest of the Diocese of Paterson, is pastor of St. Thomas More Church, Convent Station. After ordination, then Rev. Feenan was assigned to Assumption Parish, Morristown, as associate pastor, and served as associate pastor at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Boonton and St. James, Totowa. In 1966, he was named the founding pastor of St. Thomas More, a parish he has stayed with for 37 years. Rev. Msgr. Feenan was elevated to Monsignor in 1993, and will retire on June 1, 2003. Rev. Msgr. Joseph F. Flusk retired on October 1, 1997 from St. Luke, Ho-Ho-Kus, where he was a parochial vicar, though he was most noted throughout the Archdiocese for his singing. Appointed to the Archdiocesan Commission for Sacred Music in 1964, then Rev. Flusk became Commission Chair in 1972, and was a member of the Archdiocesan Choir Guild. He served St. Rose of Lima, Newark as a parochial vicar, he was appointed to the faculty of Immaculate Conception Seminary in1967, where he remained until he was named rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral in 1975. In 1979, Rev. Msgr. Flusk was elevated to Monsignor, and was named pastor of St. Agnes, Clark later the same year. Appointed parochial vicar of Our Lady Mother of the Church, Woodcliff Lake, in January 1988, he remained there until his appointment to St. Luke in June 1988. Rev. Msgr. Flusk was appointed Spiritual Director for the Lay Missionaries of Charity of New Jersey in 1990. Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Hajduk is the current pastor of St. Henry, Bayonne, a parish he has been with since 1992. After ordination, then Rev. Hajduk was assigned to Sacred Heart Parish, Lyndhurst, until he was appointed Archdiocesan Youth Director in 1969. While serving as Youth Director, he was a member of the Advisory Board of the National Conference of Bishops and Archdiocesan Boy and Girl Scout Director. In 1978, he was named Administrator of St. James, Newark and Co-Chairman of the Archdiocesan 125th Anniversary Celebration, before being elevated to Monsignor and being named rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral in 1979. Before being named pastor of St. Hedwig, Elizabeth, in 1984, a position he held until he came to Bayonne, Rev. Msgr. Hajduk was an associate at St. Mary, Dumont. Rev. George S. Macho retired on August 1, 1994 from Church of the Nativity, Midland Park, where he was pastor. After ordination, Rev. Macho was assigned as associate pastor to St. Paul the Apostle, Irvington, until he accepted a commission to the United States Navy as a chaplain in 1967. Achieving the rank of Captain, he retired from the Navy in February 1990, and enrolled at the Institute for Continuing Theological Education at the North American College in Rome. Upon completion of his studies, Rev. Macho returned to the Archdiocese to serve the Church of Madonna as parochial vicar. In September 1990, he was appointed Administrator of Nativity, and named pastor two years later. Rev. Msgr. James P. McMenemie currently serves the Archdiocese as the Associate Judicial Vicar in the Office of the Metropolitan Tribunal, where he has held various positions since 1964. After he was ordained, then Rev. McMenemie was assigned to Our Lady of Visitation, Paramus, as associate pastor, until he was appointed Spiritual Director of Seton Hall University in 1968. Rev. Msgr. McMenemie was elevated to Monsignor in 1986, and will retire on July 1, 2003. Rev. Robert A. O’Leary retired August 1, 1977, from St. Philomena, Livingston, where he was parochial vicar. Rev. O’Leary’s first assignment after ordination was at St. Rose of Lima, Newark, where he was an associate pastor for 15 years. He was then named chaplain at B.S. Pollak Hospital and Jersey City Medical Center, both in Jersey City, for the next eight years, until he was assigned to St. Peter, Belleville, as Associate Pastor in 1976. In June 1978, he was named pastor at St. Matthew, Ridgefield, before being assigned to St. Philomena in 1981. Rev. Thomas F. Olsen retired February 15, 2000 from Church of the Epiphany, Cliffside Park, where he was Pastor since 1992. His first assignment was at Our Lady of Mount Virgin, Garfield, where he stayed for 14 years, before he was transferred to All Saints Parish, Jersey City, where he was also named Hudson County CYO Director. Appointed administrator of All Saints in 1974, he was named pastor three years later. In 1979, he was named pastor of St. Paul of the Cross, Jersey City, where he remained for 10 years. In 1989, he was appointed the first director of the new Archdiocesan Youth Center in Kearny. Rev. Olsen came to Epiphany in 1991, when he was named parish administrator, he became pastor the following year.
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