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17 Priests Named Pastors of Parishes
Seventeen priests have been appointed pastors of parishes in the archdiocese, the Cardinal’s Office has announced. The assignments were effective July 1, with the exception of three appointments where noted.
Father Francis Amodio, O. Carm., is the pastor of Transfiguration, Tarrytown, effective July 6. He will remain vocations director for the Province of St. Elias, a position he’s held since 2016, and provincial delegate of the Lay Carmelites, a position he’s had since 2006. He was director of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Middletown, 2004-2008; prior and principal caregiver for senior friars at St. Albert’s Priory, Middletown, 2002-2008; and parochial vicar of Our Lady of the Scapular-St. Stephen’s, Manhattan, 1990-1999, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Middletown, 1985-1990. He was ordained in 1983.
Father Stefan Chanas was named pastor of St. John Nepomucene-St. Francis Xavier Cabrini-St. John the Martyr, Manhattan, where he served as administrator, 2021-2022. He was parochial vicar of St. Charles, Staten Island, 2016-2021; and served at St. John Nepomucene, Manhattan, as parochial vicar, 2012-2016 and 2003-2012, and administrator, 2012. He was ordained in Slovakia in 2003 and incardinated into the archdiocese in 2018.
Father Douglas Crawford was named pastor of St. Matthew and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Hastings-on-Hudson, effective June 1. He had served as pastor of St. Christopher-St. Sylvia, Red Hook, since 2021 and of Good Shepherd in Rhinebeck since 2016, where he had been administrator since August 2015 and also temporary administrator for four months prior. Before that, he was priest secretary to Cardinal Edward Egan and parochial vicar of Our Lady of the Scapular-St. Stephen’s, Manhattan, 2012-2015. He served as parochial vicar of St. Martin de Porres, Poughkeepsie, 2009-2012, and St. Augustine’s, Ossining, 2007-2009. He was ordained in 2007.
Father Daniel D’Alliessi was named pastor of St. Peter in Poughkeepsie, effective April 1. He had served as pastor of St. Mary’s, Wappingers Falls, since July 2017 and as administrator since October 2016. He was parochial vicar of Our Lady of the Assumption, the Bronx, 2012-2016, and St. Paul’s, Congers, 2004-2006. He also undertook graduate studies in moral theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was ordained in 2004.
Father William Damroth was named pastor of Immaculate Conception-Most Sacred Heart, Port Jervis, after serving as pastor of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Newburgh, 2018-2022. He served as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi, Newburgh, 2016-2018, and administrator of Sacred Heart, Newburgh, 2017-2018. He was at St. Francis of Assisi, Mount Kisco, as administrator, 2014-2016, and parochial vicar, 2011-2014. He served as parochial vicar of Immaculate Conception, Stony Point, 2010-2011; Our Lady Queen of Peace, Staten Island, 2006; Annunciation, Crestwood, 1998-2004; Sacred Heart, Newburgh, 1996-1998; and Christ the King, Yonkers, 1993-1996. He was administrator of Our Lady Queen of Peace, Staten Island, 2006-2010 and Infant Saviour, Pine Bush, 2004-2006. He was ordained in 1993.
Father Patric D’Arcy is pastor of Our Lady of Refuge, the Bronx, after serving there as administrator, 2019-2022. He was parochial vicar of St. Anselm-St. Roch, the Bronx, 2016-2019; administrator of St. Mary-St. Joseph, Poughkeepsie, 2015-2016; and parochial vicar of Our Lady of Angels, the Bronx, 2012-2015. He was ordained in 2012.
Father Peter Heasley was appointed pastor of Notre Dame parish and Corpus Christi parish, both in Manhattan, after serving at St. Michael the Archangel, the Bronx, as pastor, 2020-2022, and administrator, 2019-2020. He was at St. John the Evangelist, Goshen, as administrator, 2014-2015, and parochial vicar, 2014; and St. Gregory Barbarigo, Garnerville, as parochial vicar, 2013. He studied at Pontifical North American College, Rome, 2013-2014. He was ordained in 2013.
Father Fernando Hernandez was named pastor of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Newburgh, and will remain pastor of St. Patrick’s-Our Lady of the Lake, Newburgh, where he has served since 2016. He was pastor of St. Patrick’s, Newburgh, 2009-2016; temporary administrator of Our Lady of Fatima, Plattekill, 2014; administrator of Guardian Angel, the Bronx, 2006-2009. He served at Christ the King, the Bronx, as pastor, 2000-2006, and administrator, 1999-2000. He was parochial vicar of Incarnation, Manhattan, 1995-1999, and St. Thomas Aquinas, the Bronx, 1990-1995. He was ordained in 1990.
Father Louis Jerome is pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Staten Island, and will remain pastor of St. Peter, St. Paul and Assumption, Staten Island where he has served since 2021. He was pastor of St. Charles, Staten Island, 2015-2021; and Sacred Heart, Staten Island, 2003-2015, where he was administrator, 2001-2003. He was parochial vicar of St. Patrick, Yorktown Heights, 1994-2001; St. Mary’s, Poughkeepsie, 1993-1994; and Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scarsdale, 1988-1993. He was ordained in 1988.
Father Wilhelmus Klaver, M.H.M., was appointed pastor of St. Charles Borromeo-Resurrection-All Saints, Manhattan. He was administrator of St. John the Evangelist-Our Lady of Mount Carmel, White Plains, 2019-2022; and parochial vicar of St. Margaret of Cortona, the Bronx, 2016-2019. He also served in Uganda and Kenya. A native of the Netherlands, he was ordained for the Mill Hill Missionaries in 1995.
Father Omumuawuike Ambrose Madu was named pastor of Christ the King, the Bronx. He was at Our Lady of Good Counsel, Staten Island, as pastor, 2017-2022, and administrator, 2016-2017. He served in the Bronx as parochial vicar of St. Brendan-St. Ann, 2015-2016; Holy Family, 2013-2015; and St. Anthony of Padua, 2004-2009. He was a hospital chaplain at New York Presbyterian, 2009-2013. Ordained for the Claretian Missionaries in Nigeria, he was incardinated into the archdiocese in 2015.
Father Kevin Malick was named pastor of St. Peter’s, Rosendale. He was parochial vicar of St. Raymond, the Bronx, 2020-2022; and served at Our Lady of Fatima, Plattekill, as pastor, 2016-2020, and administrator, 2014-2016. He was temporary administrator at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Roosevelt Island, 2013-2014; and parochial vicar of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Staten Island, 2012-2013; Immaculate Conception, Tuckahoe, 2008-2012; and St. Augustine’s, New City, 2007-2008. He was ordained in 2007.
Father Daniel O’Reilly was appointed pastor of St. Philip Neri, the Bronx. He was at Corpus Christi, Manhattan, as pastor, 2016-2022, and administrator, 2013-2016. He served as spiritual director of St. John Neumann Residence, Dunwoodie; director of the archdiocese’s University Apostolate; and director of campus ministry at Columbia University. He was parochial vicar of Resurrection, Rye, 2003-2007. He was ordained in 2003.
Father David Rider was named pastor of St. Patrick, Highland Mills, and will remain pastor of Sacred Heart, Monroe, where he has served as pastor since 2020 and previously was administrator, 2019-2020. He was parochial vicar of St. Barnabas, the Bronx, 2018-2019; and Our Lady Star of the Sea, Staten Island, 2015-2018. He studied at Pontifical North American College in Rome after his ordination in 2014.
Father Luis Saldaña is pastor of Immaculate Conception, Gun Hill Road, the Bronx, after serving as spiritual director of St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, 2014-2022. He served at St. Elizabeth, Manhattan, as administrator, 2012-2013, and parochial vicar, 1999-2002. He was vice rector of Cathedral Seminary Residence of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston, Queens, 2011-2012; rector of St. John Neumann Seminary College, Dunwoodie, 2008-2011; and archdiocesan assistant director of Hispanic vocations to the priesthood, 2006-2012. He was professor of dogma at St. Joseph’s Seminary, 2006-2008; and did graduate studies at Pontifical North American College, Rome, 2002-2006. He was ordained in 1999.
Father Sebastian Pandarathikudiyil, V.C., was named pastor of Holy Rosary, Hawthorne, where he previously served as administrator, 2019-2022, and parochial vicar, 2010-2016. He was parochial vicar of Holy Rosary-Nativity of Our Blessed Lady, the Bronx, 2016-2019, and St. Patrick’s, Highland Mills, 1992-2001. He was ordained in 1988.
Father Timothy Wiggins was named pastor of The Magdalene, Pocantico Hills. He was pastor of St. Charles Borromeo-Resurrection-All Saints, Manhattan, 2021-2022; chaplain of Archbishop Stepinac High School, White Plains, 2015-2021; and administrator of Our Lady of Sorrows, White Plains, 2020-2021, and Our Lady of Mercy, Port Chester, 2013-2015. He served as parochial vicar of St. John the Evangelist, White Plains, 2003-2013, and St. Peter’s, Monticello, 2002-2003. He was ordained in 2002.
13 Priests Appointed Administrators of Parishes
Thirteen priests have been named administrators of parishes in the archdiocese, the Cardinal’s Office recently announced. The appointments were effective July 1, unless otherwise noted.
Father Jack Arlotta was named administrator of St. Joseph’s, Florida and St. Stanislaus, Pine Island, April 24, while remaining pastor of St. Stephen the First Martyr, Warwick, where he has served since 2015 after being appointed administrator there the year before. He was pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Highland Falls, 2002-2014. He was parochial vicar at Resurrection, Rye, 1996-2002, and Holy Rosary, the Bronx, 1992-1996. He was ordained in 1992.
Father John Backes was appointed administrator of St. Stanislaus, Pleasant Valley, where he previously served as pastor, 2011-2022. He was pastor of St. Charles Borromeo, Dover Plains, 2004-2011; and St. Gregory Barbarigo, Garnerville, 1990-2004, where he previously was administrator, 1989-1990. He served as parochial vicar of Regina Coeli, Hyde Park, 1980-1989, and St. Lawrence O’Toole, Brewster, 1973-1980. He also is the dean of Dutchess County; served as an adviser to the Metropolitan Tribunal in Poughkeepsie; and taught at John F. Kennedy Catholic High School, Somers. He was ordained in 1973.
Msgr. Jeffrey Conway was named administrator of St. Patrick’s, Staten Island, where he previously served as pastor, 2015-2022; administrator, 2014-2015; and parochial vicar, 1977-1987. He was pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Staten Island, 1993-2014, and St. Paul, Staten Island, 1989-1993. He served as administrator of Sacred Heart of Jesus, Manhattan, 1987-1989; faculty member of Cardinal Spellman High School, the Bronx, 1976-1977; and parochial vicar of St. Joseph, Croton Falls, 1973-1976. He was ordained in 1973 and named a monsignor in 1995.
Msgr. Thomas Derivan was appointed administrator of St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus, the Bronx, where he previously served as pastor, 2015-2022, and administrator, 2014-2015. He was at St. Helena’s, the Bronx, as pastor, 1996-2014, and parochial vicar, 1972-1996. He was ordained in 1972 and named a monsignor in 1999.
Father Cosme Fernandes was named administrator of St. Martin of Tours, the Bronx, where he previously served as pastor, 2010-2022, and parochial vicar, 2009-2010. He was a parochial vicar of St. Luke’s, the Bronx, 2006-2009. Formerly a member of the Society of the Missionaries of St. Francis Xavier, he was ordained in India in 1995 and was incardinated into the archdiocese in 2010.
Father Robert Grippo was appointed administrator of Annunciation-Our Lady of Fatima, Crestwood, where he also served as pastor, 2015-2022, and administrator, 2014-2015. He was pastor of St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus, the Bronx, 1991-2014; and parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scarsdale, 1980-1991, and St. Frances de Chantal, the Bronx, 1972-1980. He was ordained in 1972.
Father John Lauri is administrator of SS. Peter and Paul-St. Ursula, Mount Vernon, where he served as pastor, 2015-2022, and previously was at SS. Peter and Paul, as pastor, 2010-2015, and administrator, 2010. He was administrator of St. Anthony of Padua, West Harrison, 2007-2008. He was parochial vicar of Visitation, the Bronx, 2008-2010; Sacred Heart, Hartsdale, 1975-1981; Assumption, Tuckahoe, 1974-1975; and St. Frances of Rome, the Bronx, 1973-1974. He served on the Metropolitan Tribunal, 1999-2008, the faculty of Cardinal Spellman High School, the Bronx, 1984-1997; and as chaplain of Maria Regina High School, Hartsdale, 1981-1984. He was ordained in 1973.
Father Robert Morris is administrator of St. Bernard, White Plains, where he previously was pastor, 2010-2022; administrator, 2009-2010; and parochial vicar, 2006-2009. He was parochial vicar of Annunciation, Crestwood, 2004-2006. He was ordained in 2004.
Msgr. Emmet Nevin was named administrator of St. Aedan, Pearl River, where he served as pastor, 2014-2022. He was pastor of St. Paul’s, Congers, 2013-2015, and St. Catharine of Alexandria, Blauvelt, 2002-2013. He serves as dean of Rockland County. He was at Msgr. Farrell High School, Staten Island, as principal, 1992-2002, and teacher, 1980-1992. He was parochial vicar of Our Lady of the Assumption, the Bronx, 1977-1980. He was ordained in 1977 and named a monsignor in 1999.
Father Jose Rivas was appointed administrator of St. Athanasius, the Bronx, where he previously served as pastor, 2010-2022. He was parochial vicar of St. John Chrysostom, the Bronx, 1998-2010. Ordained in his native Colombia in 1989, he was incardinated in the archdiocese in 2010.
Father Jose Serrano was appointed administrator of St. Anthony, the Bronx, after serving as pastor of St. Philip Neri, the Bronx, 2016-2022; St. Teresa’s, Manhattan, 2015-2016; and St. John Vianney, 2009-2014. He was administrator of St. John Vianney and Holy Family, both in the Bronx, 2014-2015. He served as administrator of St. Columba, Manhattan, 2006-2008; and parochial vicar of Sacred Heart, Newburgh, 2008-2009; St. Ann, Ossining, 2003-2006, and St. Elizabeth, Manhattan, 1995-2003. He was ordained in 1995.
Father Kareem Smith is administrator of St. Michael the Archangel, the Bronx, after serving as parochial vicar of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Shrub Oak, 2021-2022, and Annunciation-Our Lady of Fatima, Crestwood, 2018-2021. He was ordained in 2018.
Father Jon Tveit was named administrator of St. Mary’s, Wappingers Falls, April 1. He had served as parochial vicar of St. James the Apostle, Carmel, since 2019 and of Resurrection, Rye, 2016-2019. He was ordained in 2016.
Nine Priests Named Parochial Vicars, One to Serve on High School Faculty
Nine priests have been appointed parochial vicars at parishes in the archdiocese, and another has been named to the faculty at Our Lady of Lourdes High School, Poughkeepsie, the Cardinal’s Office has announced.
Father Richard Baker was named parochial vicar of St. Francis of Assisi, West Nyack, April 1. He had served as pastor of St. John Nepomucene-St. Francis Xavier Cabrini-St. John the Martyr in Manhattan since 2015. He was pastor of St. Malachy’s-The Actors’ Chapel, Manhattan, 2004-2015. He was director of music at St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, and director of music for the archdiocese. He was parochial vicar of St. Eugene’s, Yonkers, and St. Philip Neri, the Bronx. He taught and was an administrator at St. John Neumann Seminary Residence. He was ordained in 1990.
Father Jorge Luis Cleto was appointed parochial vicar of St. Elizabeth in Manhattan, April 1.
Father Jeffrey Maurer was named parochial vicar of Good Shepherd in Rhinebeck and St. Christopher-St.Sylvia’s in Red Hook, with residence at Good Shepherd, March 15. He was ordained in 2005.
Father Gerard Rafferty was named parochial vicar of SS. John and Paul parish and St. Augustine parish, Larchmont, March 1. He had been parochial vicar of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scarsdale, since 2012. Before that he served as professor of Scripture at St. Joseph’s Seminary, Dunwoodie, beginning in 1994. He was administrator of Our Lady of Fatima, Scarsdale, 1992-1993, after having served there as parochial vicar since 1987. Before that he studied at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and Harvard Divinity School, beginning in 1983. He was parochial vicar at Resurrection, Rye, 1979-1983. He was ordained in 1979.
Father Jose Amable Taveras was appointed parochial vicar of St. Ann in Ossining, April 1.
Father John Figueroa was named parochial vicar of St. Augustine in Ossining, July 1. He had been parochial vicar of Annunciation and Our Lady of Fatima, Crestwood, since 2021. Before that, he was parochial vicar of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Shrub Oak, beginning in 2019, the year he was ordained.
Father Sixto Quezada was named parochial vicar of St. Anthony of Padua in the Bronx, July 1. He served at Christ the King, the Bronx, as pastor, 2016-2022, and administrator, 2011-2016; and at Ascension, Manhattan, as parochial vicar, 1987-2011. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic in 1983 and was incardinated into the archdiocese in 2015.
Father Jean Pierre Seon was appointed parochial vicar of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Shrub Oak, July 1. He previously served as parochial vicar of St. Augustine, Ossining, 2018-2022; and St. Barnabas, the Bronx, 2016-2018. He was ordained in 2016.
Father Wesbee Victor was named parochial vicar of Holy Name of Jesus-St. Gregory the Great in Manhattan, July 1. He had served there as a parochial vicar on summer assignment in 2021, before resuming studies in Washington, D.C. He was ordained in 2021.
Father Michael Connolly has been named to the faculty of Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie, and will be in residence at St. Mary’s, Wappingers Falls. The appointment was effective July 1. He had served as parochial vicar of St. Martin de Porres parish, Poughkeepsie, and part-time chaplain at Our Lady of Lourdes High since last year. Before that, he was parochial vicar of St. Columba, Hopewell Junction, since his ordination in 2018.
