Parsippany parish celebrates 85th anniversary

On June 25, the faith community of St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Parsippany, the first diocesan parish established after the foundation of the Paterson Diocese, welcomed Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney, who celebrated a Mass to commemorate the parish’s 85th anniversary.

Bishop Sweeney was the main celebrant and homilist of the anniversary Mass. Concelebrating were Father David Pickens, St. Peter’s current pastor; Father Sylwester Pierzak, a parochial vicar; and Father Diego Monsalve, a parochial vicar, and master of ceremonies of the liturgy. They were joined by Msgr. Herbert Tillyer, pastor emeritus of St. Peter’s; Msgr. Kevin Flanagan, pastor before Msgr. Tillyer; and the following clergy, who had previously served the parish: Father John DeMattia, Father Rick Hardy, Father Cesar Jaramillo, and Ron Sordillo. Also concelebrating was Father Mark Olenowski.

St. Peter’s was founded by Bishop Thomas McLaughlin, the first bishop of Paterson Diocese, on June 29, 1938. The new parish was comprised of the Parsippany-Troy Hills Township area. In 1940, a small clapboard church was built at the corner of Baldwin Road, and much later, a larger church was completed in 1988, overseen by Msgr. Kevin Flanagan, the parish’s pastor at the time.

“Served by joyful priests, deacons, and consecrated religious for more than 85 years, St. Peter’ the Apostle Parish has shown itself to be a diverse community of welcome. At St. Peter’s, the Gospel is preached, and the sacraments of living faith are celebrated so that what was once a small outpost of the newly established Diocese of Paterson has become ‘like a cornerstone chosen and precious’ (1 Peter 2:6),” Bishop Sweeney said in his homily.

There was a reception after the Mass in the Msgr. Herbert K. Tillyer Center, the gym at All Saints Academy on campus.