The Paterson Diocese rejoiced in welcoming its newest priests, Father Joseph Samuel DeMarzo III and Father Brendon John Harfmann, after Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney ordained them to the diocesan priesthood during a Mass he celebrated at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson on June 7. The bishop urged these men to become “true priests of the New Testament.” Celebrated in English and Spanish, the Mass was steeped in the rich traditions of the early Church. Click here for a detailed description of the Ordination Rite to the Priesthood.
On that Saturday morning, Bishop Sweeney conferred the sacrament of Holy Orders on Father DeMarzo, 31, of Chatham, and Brendon Harfmann, also 31, of Brooklyn, N.Y., ordaining them as priests. Father DeMarzo will start his priestly ministry as parochial vicar of St. Andrew Parish in Clifton. Father Harfmann will begin as parochial vicar of St. Anthony Parish in Hawthorne.
“Strive to gather the faithful together into one family, so that you may lead them to God the Father, through Christ, and in the Holy Spirit,” Bishop Sweeney, the Mass’s principal celebrant and homilist, told the men. “Keep always before you the example of the Good Shepherd, who did not come to be served but to serve and who came to seek and to save what was lost.”
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Celebrated in English and Spanish, the Mass was steeped in the rich traditions of the early Church.
Well-wishers, including family, friends, priests and religious, members of the parishes the men have served, and diocesan faithful, came to support the new priests. The Mass was livestreamed on the diocese’s website for those unable to attend. To learn about the ceremonial details on the Rite of Ordination, see related Beacon article.
Many bishops, as well as priests from the diocese and beyond, concelebrated the Mass with deacons and seminarians assisting. They included Bishop Emeritus Nicholas DiMarzio and Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Raymond Chappetto, both retired from the Brooklyn Diocese. The diocesan choir, led by Preston Dibble, the diocesan music minister and choir director, performed worship music during the liturgy.
With pride, Bishop Sweeney looked at the two new priests on the altar toward the end of the Mass and asked the congregation, “Father Brendon and Father Joseph — Doesn’t that sound great?” The faithful answered with rousing applause.
On the day after the Mass, June 8, Pentecost Sunday, Father DeMarzo and Father Harfmann celebrated their first Masses of Thanksgiving as priests in local parishes.
Toward the end of Mass, Bishop Sweeney also thanked the priests’ families, parishes, and seminaries, which had representatives at the liturgy, for nurturing their vocations. After the recessional, the new priests returned to the front of the altar at St. John’s to give their first blessings as priests to family members and well-wishers.
In his homily, Bishop Sweeney also urged the new priests, when presiding over the Mass, to “imitate what you celebrate as celebrants of the mysteries of the Lord’s death and resurrection. May you strive to put to death whatever is sinful within you and walk in the newness of life.”
The bishop also encouraged the men to be “true priests of the New Testament.”
“Let your teaching be nourishment for the people of God, and let the holiness of your life be a pleasing fragrance for Christ’s faithful, so that you may build up by word and example that house, which is the Church of God,” Bishop Sweeney said.
