A New Saint – And a New Name for a Shrine in Sussex

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

“I say, ‘Father Justin,’ because that is what I always called him. He was my ‘Father Justin’ when I lived with him and got to know him. And now he is St. Justin.”

The above is not a direct quote, but those are the words I recall hearing on this past Tuesday, Aug. 2 at the (newly named) Sanctuary of Mary, Our Lady of the Holy Spirit and Shrine of St. Justin, when Father Louis Caputo recalled having known St. Justin Russolillo. St. Justin is the founder of the Society of Divine Vocations, commonly known as the Vocationists. He can be called a “new saint” because he was canonized less than three months ago by Pope Francis at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on May 15. There were nine other “new saints” canonized on that day.

There is a great deal of material available online about the group of 10 new saints. An article that I found especially helpful focuses on the life and importance of St. Justin, while also mentioning the other nine. The title of the article, published by the National Catholic Register, is Blessed Justin Russolillo: a Faithful Foreman for the Lord of the Harvest, written by Father Roger Landry, a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Mass. The title refers to “Blessed Justin,” rather than “St. Justin” because it was published on May 13, two days before he was officially canonized.

After describing how St. Justin was born and raised in Pianura, Italy, his journey to the seminary, ordination and early priestly ministry, Father Landry describes how St. Justin founded a community to support “vocations” — an awareness of our baptismal vocation, also known as the “Universal Call to Holiness,” that is shared by every Christian and also vocations to priesthood. The article then says:

“The Society of Divine Vocations received its initial diocesan approval in 1927 and became a congregation of pontifical right 20 years later. It now exists in 16 countries, being brought to the United States in 1962 by Saint-to-be Justin’s younger brother Ciro, who likewise became a Vocationist priest and who, after helping to renovate many of his community’s residences in Italy and serving four years as a missionary in Brazil, came to Newark, New Jersey, in 1955, just months before the death of his brother, to implant the SDVs in the USA.

“The miracle for Father Justin’s 2011 beatification took place in 1998 in East Hanover, New Jersey, when Ida Meloro was cured through his intercession of vaginal cancer. The miracle for his canonization occurred in 2016 for a Vocationist seminarian from Madagascar, Jean Emile Rasolfo, who was cured of acute respiratory failure, epilepsy and various other serious maladies, after he was visited with a relic of Father Justin as he lay in a coma.”

Blessed Justin Russolillo: a Faithful Foreman for the Lord of the Harvest

In these two paragraphs, we see how St. Justin and the Vocationist community became connected to our local Church, both in the State of New Jersey and in our Diocese of Paterson. One connection to Paterson surely is St. Justin’s first miracle, which took place in East Hanover, but our Diocese has been blessed by the presence of the Vocationist community and priests since 1986. The community’s Provincial House in the United States is located in Florham Park, in Holy Family Parish. Bishop Frank J. Rodimer solemnly blessed the “Father Justin Vocationary” in Florham Park on May 27, 1989. The Vocationist Fathers also have the pastoral care of St. Gerard Parish and School in Paterson.

Since 2019, the Vocationist community has also been responsible for the administration and care of the Sanctuary of Mary, Our Lady of the Holy Spirit. We know that “God works in mysterious ways” and we can see God’s providence in the willingness of the Vocationists to accept the responsibility of caring for and continuing the work of the Sanctuary. In 2019, Blessed Justin was already on the road to canonization, as he had been beatified on May 7, 2011, but it was not yet clear that he would be canonized so soon” in 2022. Once we received word that a date for canonization had been set, we realized that the Sanctuary of Mary could now become the Sanctuary of Mary and the Shrine of St. Justin. So it was a great privilege for me to be able to celebrate Mass on the feast day of St. Justin Russolillo (Aug. 2) and, at that Mass, in the presence of Father Louis Caputo, many Vocationist priests, sisters, and benefactors and many priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful of our Diocese, to read the Decree, officially renaming the Sanctuary and Shrine. I was also happy to be able to bless a beautiful new statue of St. Justin.

Some might be tempted to ask, “What’s in a name?” Or, “What difference does it make to rename the Sanctuary and Shrine?” The intercession of our Blessed Mother and the saints is a beautiful and spiritually powerful part of the gift of our Catholic faith. All of our prayer and devotion should ultimately be directed and lead us to our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but we know that we need some help along the way. Mary and the saints give us that help by their inspiration, companionship, and intercession. So renaming the Sanctuary and Shrine allows and invites pilgrims and all those who come in faith and prayer to this holy place to ask, in a special way, the help and intercession of both Mary and St. Justin.

I invite every reader to visit the Sanctuary and Shrine. It is located in a very beautiful setting, a peaceful quiet place, where the glory and presence of God can be seen and felt in the beauty of nature. I hope you can make an actual, in-person pilgrimage. You can also make a “virtual visit” and get a great deal of information by visiting the Shrine’s website.

Mary, Our Lady of the Holy Spirit, pray for us.

St. Justin Russolillo, pray for us.