With great joy, St. Bonaventure and Our Lady of Pompei parishes in the Stoney Road section of Paterson, N.J., were merged into one shared parish, officially named for St. Pio of Pietrelcina, also known as “Padre Pio,” on the sunny afternoon of April 12, Divine Mercy Sunday.
Learn how this new parish came to be in this special documentary produced by the Communications Office of the Diocese of Paterson, in collaboration with members of the Padre Pio Parish transition team.
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney leads hundreds from both parishes in an outdoor Eucharistic procession from Our Lady of Pompei on Murray Ave. to St. Bonaventure’s on Ramsey Street, just three blocks away. The event began with a bilingual Divine Mercy Chaplet at Our Lady of Pompei and ended with Benediction at St. Bonaventure’s, where the merger decree was read. New St. Pio parishioners smiled throughout the day, becoming more united spiritually, personally, and canonically.
Among those interviewed in the documentary is Historian and Archivist Msgr. Raymond Kupke, who discusses each parish’s history.
Also interviewed is Msgr. George Hundt, pastor of St. Gerard Majella Parish in Paterson and outgoing Our Lady of Pompei pastor.
Father Manuel Cuellar, the new pastor of Padre Pio Parish, shares his perspective in the video as well, and also discusses the birth of a Spanish-language Mass and community at Our Lady of Pompei.
Raysa Gonzalez, a lector at Our Lady of Pompei, talks about her return to church, involvement, and the impact the Spanish-language Mass has had on her and her son.
Father Alex Nevitt, who was administrator of St. Bonaventure and a key member of the Padre Pio Parish transition team, gives an overview of the merger process and discusses how prayer was a key part of the transition, and more.
The documentary was produced and edited by Diocesan Communications Director Jai Agnish, who also composed music for it. Cecile Pagliarulo and Michael Wojcik of the Diocese of Paterson’s Communications Office assisted with the production, all in collaboration with Father Nevitt and the Padre Pio Parish transition team. Special thanks to Bishop Sweeney for additional direction. Marc Stumbo, also of the Diocesan Communications Office, created the video thumbnail illustration.
The documentary includes still photography and video by Joe Gigli and Pagliarulo.
Archival photographs of St. Bonaventure courtesy of Msgr. Kupke, with some credits to the Paterson Evening Press.
Michael Wojcik contributed to this article.
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