Longest-tenured employee of The Beacon recalls a special moment
By CECILE PAGLIARULO
Digital Media Specialist
Joyce De Ceglie has many great memories in her 34-year career at The Beacon, but one special memory stands above the rest. On Oct. 5, 1995, St. Pope John Paul II made a papal visit to New Jersey and celebrated Mass at Giants Stadium in the pouring rain.
“I attended the Mass with my mom, Elizabeth (who passed away in 2001). It was the most uplifting spiritual event I have ever attended. What a beautiful Mass and the presence of the Holy Father among us was awesome,” said De Ceglie. “That experience impacted my mom so much that she returned to the Church.”
De Ceglie recalls the adventure of that trip. “It poured all that day, and long-time Beacon Editor Rich Sokerka drove the Beacon staff and our guests in his van. After Mass, we were the last to leave the parking lot because the battery failed to start his van. Security at Giants Stadium did not allow tow trucks to enter the parking lot, so we all had to be picked up by family members. Rich and I still laugh at the memory to this day.”
De Ceglie has worked behind the scenes at The Beacon as an administrative assistant to the editor/bookkeeper/circulation manager. Her first day was June 5, 1990, which equates to working on almost 1,800 weekly newspaper issues. De Ceglie has worked with multiple editors and is the Beacon’s longest-tenured employee.
She will retire from The Beacon on Dec. 31. Reflecting on her time working for the diocese, she said she will miss working with the parishes. She especially enjoyed working with Diocesan Catholic Charities for The Beacon’s Christmas Sharing Fund and giving back to the community.
“I loved working here,” De Ceglie said. “I knew I could earn more money in the corporate world, but that did not matter. It was an honor to serve here.”
Something special to De Ceglie was the family atmosphere created among her diocesan colleagues and the multiple bishops she worked with in her long tenure. “We’ve experienced all our milestones together,” she said. “We’ve congratulated each other for our happy moments and careers. I have attended weddings and baptisms. We’ve also grieved together at the loss of family members.”
De Ceglie said she would fondly look back at all the faithful readers of The Beacon. She quipped, “I will miss all those who called me asking, ‘Why hasn’t my Beacon been delivered yet?’ Our readers always looked forward to receiving the paper each and every week in their mailboxes every Thursday.”
At its heart, working as a Catholic journalist for The Beacon is personal
By MICHAEL WOJCIK
News Editor
It started with a phone call. Rich Sokerka, then general manager/editor of The Beacon, was on the other end of the line. He was trying to poach me from my reporting job at the Catholic Advocate, then the newspaper of the Newark Archdiocese.
I told Rich, “Yes.” It was spring 2000. I was excited to start at The Beacon. But I was also concerned that the smaller Paterson Diocese wouldn’t offer me the same wealth of stories to tell as a journalist as in Newark. Back then, Newark had 1.3 million Catholics compared with 400,000 faithful in Paterson.
My fears immediately evaporated when I joined Paterson in June 2000. I realized that a smaller population can offer more storytelling possibilities. It was easy to get to know the local priests, religious, and laity — their stories, families, and faith lives. Faith feels more personal to me today.
Many powerful stories local Catholics experienced moved me. I wrote about Father Raimundo Rivera, a diocesan priest from El Salvador, who had to carry out the horrific duty of burying family members murdered in 1981 during the country’s civil war. Later, he found it in his heart to extend God’s forgiveness to the killer when they met face to face.
I have been touched by some of the unusual ways people evangelize the Gospel. I profiled Robert Barkovitz, who created a striking devotional of Baby Jesus in his crib for the holidays on the deck of his Pompton Lakes home. He made it from a doll he found abandoned on the side of a road and by building a crib from repurposed wood and fashioning clothes from rags.
My reporting has opened my heart to various types of spirituality, such as when I tried Visio Divina, praying by meditating on religious art. Many of the countless homilies and presentations I’ve heard gave me a wealth of faith insights. One speaker who suggested that youth can draw inspiration for a Confirmation name from pop culture characters like Harry Potter captivated me.
I grieved with my diocesan family over 9/11 and the death of Father Edward Hinds, a diocesan priest. I felt the new day dawning for the diocese covering the dedication of the St. Paul Inside the Walls evangelization center. I experienced the joy of the Paterson faithful who attended Pope Francis’ Mass in Philadelphia in 2015. I saw the local Church innovate to reach out to its flock during COVID-19 — primarily through digital technology.
My work at The Beacon is also personal because of the many friends I made in the diocese, both on staff and among the readership. I’ve enjoyed working with three bishops, Frank J. Rodimer, Arthur J. Serratelli, and Kevin J. Sweeney. I’ve also learned so much from my two extraordinary bosses, Rich Sokerka and now Jai Agnish, who has been leading The Beacon into the digital media age.
By MARC STUMBO
Production Editor
The end of the print edition of The Beacon represents many things for me, not the least of which is the relentless march of time. There has been at least one printed newspaper in my life for more than 60 years. My family’s newspaper in Ohio has been publishing every week since Oct. 1961, and several spin-offs have come, gone, and merged over the years. Add to that my 23 years at The Beacon and I’ve had plenty of printer’s ink “flow through my veins.”
Times change, costs increase, and things that were once just part of doing business have now become untenable. I stopped printing my newspaper in Ohio in 2020 — for small weekly newspapers (and some not so small), print production costs have become unsustainable. The newspaper is now thriving online with more readers than ever, and I am able, at least for now, to keep the long-ago promise I made to my parents.
Change is good. I look forward to working in an environment that is immediately connected to readers in ways print could never be. More time spent producing quality content and less time dealing with the technical restrictions of print will be a welcome change. I won’t miss the pressure of press day.
I embrace this new chapter at The Beacon and look forward to exploring the different and ever-changing ways we can connect with the public — all with a refreshing immediacy.
