Weekly Letter from the Pastor

July 28, 2024

Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:
It is hard to believe that we are already in the last week of
July/first week of August, but here we are. It won’t be long
and we will all be back in school again. Here we are in the
process of refitting the school to accommodate an influx of
students for the coming school year. At some point we will
have an open house for those who are interested in seeing
what we have done and talk more about what we plan to do in
the future.
This weekend we observe Grandparent’s Day. We honor and
recognize the essential role of Grandparents in our lives, and
especially now as Grandparents are assuming more
responsibility for the care and support of their grandchildren.
This weekend we also have a special collection for the care
and support of our retired priests. We are fortunate here in the
Diocese of Trenton to have a well-funded pension plan, yet
the long-term care for infirmed priests is expensive. Thank
you for your support of this collection. We are most grateful
for the service of two retired priests here, Msgr. Jack Carroll
and Fr. Tony Carotenuto. Monsignor is a priest of the Diocese
of Paterson, and not a part of our diocesan retirement
program.
This coming week sees an important transition in the building
and grounds department here as we welcome Mr. Richard
Romero as our new Facilities Director effective on Monday,
July 29.
Richard most recently held the position as the Business
Manager at St. Rose of Lima parish in Freehold. He has over
40 years of experience in various capacities: facility and
property management, healthcare risk management, safety and
security, just to name a few. He previously served as Director
of Operations, Buildings and Grounds at St. Leo in Lincroft,
Richard was also the Director of Advancement and a coach at
St. John Vianney High School. Given his background, I am
confident that Mr. Romero will be able to take our facilities to
a new level, especially at a time when our middle-aged
facilities are starting to show their age more and more.
I am also happy to report that Mr. Thomas McGowan, who
has served as the pro-tem director will assume the role of
Head Custodian. We are all very grateful to Tom for his role
over the past five months, as he kept things moving forward in
the absence of a director.
Summer has been going very well here. I hope everyone has a
safe and blessed week ahead.
Father Garry Dear Fellow Parishioners of St. Benedict:
It is hard to believe that we are already in the last week of
July/first week of August, but here we are. It won’t be long
and we will all be back in school again. Here we are in the
process of refitting the school to accommodate an influx of
students for the coming school year. At some point we will
have an open house for those who are interested in seeing
what we have done and talk more about what we plan to do in
the future.
This weekend we observe Grandparent’s Day. We honor and
recognize the essential role of Grandparents in our lives, and
especially now as Grandparents are assuming more
responsibility for the care and support of their grandchildren.
This weekend we also have a special collection for the care
and support of our retired priests. We are fortunate here in the
Diocese of Trenton to have a well-funded pension plan, yet
the long-term care for infirmed priests is expensive. Thank
you for your support of this collection. We are most grateful
for the service of two retired priests here, Msgr. Jack Carroll
and Fr. Tony Carotenuto. Monsignor is a priest of the Diocese
of Paterson, and not a part of our diocesan retirement
program.
This coming week sees an important transition in the building
and grounds department here as we welcome Mr. Richard
Romero as our new Facilities Director effective on Monday,
July 29.
Richard most recently held the position as the Business
Manager at St. Rose of Lima parish in Freehold. He has over
40 years of experience in various capacities: facility and
property management, healthcare risk management, safety and
security, just to name a few. He previously served as Director
of Operations, Buildings and Grounds at St. Leo in Lincroft,
Richard was also the Director of Advancement and a coach at
St. John Vianney High School. Given his background, I am
confident that Mr. Romero will be able to take our facilities to
a new level, especially at a time when our middle-aged
facilities are starting to show their age more and more.
I am also happy to report that Mr. Thomas McGowan, who
has served as the pro-tem director will assume the role of
Head Custodian. We are all very grateful to Tom for his role
over the past five months, as he kept things moving forward in
the absence of a director.
Summer has been going very well here. I hope everyone has a
safe and blessed week ahead.
Father Garry