Religious Order Priests Appointed Pastors of Six Parishes

Six religious order priests have been named pastors of parishes in the archdiocese, and four other priests have been named administrators, the Cardinal’s Office has announced.

Also, another priest was named a parochial vicar and two others have been incardinated into the archdiocese.

The new pastors are Father Ralph Berg, C.M.F., Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, White Plains; Father Raphael-Mary Ezeh, M.S.P., St. Bartholomew’s parish, Yonkers; Father Walter Tonelotto, c.s., Our Lady of Pompeii parish, Manhattan; Father Pablo Waldemann, I.V.E., St. Paul’s parish, East Harlem; Father Freddy Washington, C.S.Sp., St. Mark the Evangelist parish, Harlem; and Father Timothy Zak, S.D.B., Our Lady of the Rosary parish, Port Chester.

The appointments of Father Berg and Father Tonelotto were both effective June 1; Father Zak on June 15; and Father Ezek and Father Washington, both on July 1. Father Waldemann’s will become effective Sept. 1.

The new administrators are Father John Antony, Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish, Poughkeepsie; Father Dennis Dinan, St. Francis of Assisi parish, Newburgh, while continuing as pastor of St. Joseph’s, New Windsor; Father Matthew Fernan, Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish, Ardsley, while continuing as pastor of St. Matthew’s, Hastings-on-Hudson; and Father Gerard Mulvey, O.F.M. Cap., Holy Cross parish, Manhattan.

Father Patrick McCarthy was named parochial vicar of St. John the Evangelist, Mahopac, effective July 1.

Two priests were incardinated on June 28. They are Father Brendan Fitzgerald, administrator of Regina Coeli parish, Hyde Park, and Father Slawomir Ciszkowski, parochial vicar of St. Augustine’s, Ossining.

Pastors

Father Ralph Berg, C.M.F., served most recently as a parochial vicar in Arizona and in California, and was a pastor in both states. He was a provincial superior, 1996 to 2001, and a missioner to Africa, 1981-1991. Earlier, he was a pastor in Texas and Colorado and was superior of a house of studies in San Francisco.

He was ordained for the Claretian Missionaries in 1964.

Father Raphael-Mary Ezeh, M.S.P., had served since 2006 as pastor of a parish in Chicago. He previously served as a pastor, administrator and parochial vicar of parishes in New Orleans. A native of Nigeria, he was ordained for the Missionary Society of St. Paul in 1996.

Father Walter Tonelotto, c.s., had done full-time ministry with Radio Maria since 2011. From 2006 to 2011, he was pastor of St. Joseph’s, Monroe Street, and administrator of St. James, also Manhattan, 2007-2011. In New York, he was executive secretary to the American Committee on Italian Immigration, 1989-1995, and executive director of the Northeast Italian Apostolic Conference, 1986-1989. In 2005, he served as rector of a house of philosophy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He was ordained for the Missionaries of St. Charles (Scalabrinians) in 1974.

Father Pablo Waldemann, I.V.E., returns to St. Paul’s parish in East Harlem where he had previously served as parochial vicar, 1998-2002. He was most recently provincial of the Institute of the Incarnate Word in Peru and Ecuador, 2006-2013. He also served as a pastor in Guyana, 2002-2006. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, he was ordained for the Institute of the Incarnate Word in 1997.

Father Freddy Washington, C.S.Sp., returns to Harlem where he was chaplain at Harlem Hospital, 2001-2005. For the past eight years, he served as pastor of two parishes in Chicago and was formation director for members of his religious community studying at Catholic Theological Union there. He was pastor of another parish in Dayton, Ohio, 1992-2001. He was ordained for the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans) in 1992.

Father Timothy Zak, S.D.B., has served since 2007 as pastor of a Salesian parish in Chicago. He earlier was youth minister at a parish in Paterson, N.J., 2005-2007, and at Holy Rosary (Our Lady of the Rosary) parish, Port Chester, 1997-2005. He was an assistant at a Salesian house of formation, 1992-1997. He also taught for a year at a high school in New Orleans.  He was ordained in 1991 for the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Administrators

Father John Antony had served since 2011 as parochial vicar of Immaculate Conception parish, Tuckahoe. Before that, he had served at St. Clare of Assisi, the Bronx, 2010-2011; St. Barnabas, the Bronx, 2000-2010; St. Joseph’s, Millbrook, 1997-2000; and St. Teresa’s, Staten Island, 1996-1997. Ordained for the Secular Institute of Our Lady in his native India in 1991, he was incardinated into the archdiocese in 2005. 

Father Dennis Dinan has served since 2012 as pastor of St. Joseph’s parish, New Windsor, a post he will continue to hold. He previously was administrator there for three months. He also served as pastor of Immaculate Conception, Port Jervis, 1999-2007, and was administrator of Sacred Heart, Port Jervis, 2004-2007. He served as parochial vicar of Holy Family, Staten Island, 2007-2010; St. Sylvester’s, Staten Island, 1996-1998; St. Catherine’s, Blauvelt, 1995-1996; and St. Francis of Assisi, Newburgh, 1992-1995. He was ordained in 1992.

Father Matthew Fernan has served since 2004 as pastor of St. Matthew’s parish, Hastings-on-Hudson, a post he will continue to hold. He was parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scarsdale, 2000-2004, and St. Benedict’s, the Bronx, 1989-1992. He was a faculty member at Cardinal Hayes High School, the Bronx, 1992-2000. He was ordained in 1989.

Father Gerard Mulvey, O.F.M. Cap., had served since 2011 as parochial vicar of St. John the Baptist parish, Manhattan, where he had also served, 1996-2001. Before that he served as pastor of a parish in Middletown, Conn. In Manhattan, he also served as pastor of Our Lady Queen of Angels parish, 2001-2007, and was parochial vicar of Our Lady of Sorrows, 1991-1996. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Capuchin Franciscans in 1991.  

Parochial Vicar

Father Patrick McCarthy had most recently served at Our Lady Queen of Peace parish, Staten Island. Before that, he was parochial vicar of St. Barnabas, the Bronx, 2008-2011. He was ordained in 2008.

Incardinated

Father Slawomir Ciszkowski has served since 2009 as parochial vicar of St. Augustine’s parish, Ossining. Before that, he served at St. Stanislaus Kostka, Staten Island, 2005-2009. He was ordained for the Diocese of Lublin in his native Poland in 2000 and served there for five years.

Father Brendan Fitzgerald has served since 2012 as administrator of Regina Coeli parish, Hyde Park. From 2010 to 2012 he served as priest secretary to Cardinal Egan, Archbishop Emeritus. He served as parochial vicar of Our Lady of the Scapular-St. Stephen’s, Manhattan, 2011-2012; St. Margaret of Cortona, the Bronx, 2009-2010; and St. Barnabas, the Bronx, 2006-2009. He was ordained in 2000 for the Diocese of Limerick in his native Ireland and served there for six years.