Priests mark 25, 40, 50 years of service to Church

25 YEARS

Two priests ordained for the Albany Diocese are marking the silver jubilees of their ordinations this year: Revs. Donald Czelusniak and Robert Powhida.

Ordained on May 13, 1978, Father Czelusniak, a native of Amsterdam, has served at St. John's, Rensselaer; St. Stanislaus, Amsterdam; and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Gloversville. He has been pastor of St. Mary of Mt. Carmel, Gloversville, since 1990.

He will mark his anniversary with a Thanksgiving Mass on June 8, 3 p.m., at his parish. A reception will follow.

Father Powhida, a native of Fort Edward, was ordained on Sept. 24, 1978. He has been an associate pastor at St. Thomas, Delmar; a chaplain at Glens Falls Hospital; and pastor of St. Mary/All Saints in Granville, St. Alphonsus in Glens Falls and St. Francis of Assisi in Northville, his current assignment.

Plans for observing his anniversary have not yet been finalized.

Also observing his silver jubilee is Rev. Jerome Gingras, pastor of St. Mary's parish in Clinton Heights. He was ordained as a Franciscan priest in 1978. He served in Clarence and Buffalo, N.Y.; Atlas and Sharon, Pennsylvania; Baltimore, Clarksville and Ellicott City, Md.; and Lawrence, Mass., before joining the Albany Diocese in 1994 as associate pastor of Immaculate Conception, Glenville. He has been pastor in Clinton Heights since 1997. He has already celebrated his anniversary in his parish and its school.

40 YEARS

Bishop Hubbard is also noting 40th year of his priestly ordination

Eleven priests -- and one bishop -- of the Albany Diocese are marking their 40th anniversaries this year. Eight of them were ordained on May 25, 1963, in Albany. The remainder were ordained either in Ireland or Italy.

This year also marks the Dec. 18, 1963, priestly ordination of Bishop Howard J. Hubbard, which was held in Rome, Italy. His anniversary will be covered by The Evangelist in December.

The eleven priests celebrating sooner are:

* Rev. John Cairns, a native of Troy, has served at Ss. Peter and Paul, Frankfort; on the faculty of Catholic Central High in Troy; and as pastor of St. Anthony's, Johnstown, and St. Edward the Confessor, Clifton Park, where he has been since 1981.

He will mark his anniversary with a Mass of Thanksgiving on May 25, noon. A reception will follow from 1-4 p.m.

* Rev. Liam Condon, a native of Ireland who was ordained there, came to the Albany Diocese the year he was ordained. He has served at St. James, Albany; St. Peter's, Troy; St. Alphonsus, Glens Falls; and Holy Cross, Salem, where he has been pastor for 22 years.

He will mark his anniversary in Florida with classmates from around the world.

* Rev. John Connery, a native of Troy, was an assistant at St. Mary's, Little Falls, before embarking on a lengthy stay in Alaska when the Albany Diocese began sharing its clergy and religious with that state. There, he was an associate pastor and administrator at Holy Family Cathedral, and administrator of St. Benedict's and St. Paul Miki, also in Anchorage, and at St. Michael's in Cordova. In Alaska, he was also director of vocations.

Returning to the Albany Diocese, Father Connery served as a chaplain at Albany Medical Center and then as pastor of St. Joseph's, Albany; St. Mary's, Little Falls; Sacred Heart, Little Falls; and, since 1990, Immaculate Conception, Glenville. He has also been liaison to the charismatic community.

He will mark his anniversary at all Masses on the weekend of May 17-18. A reception will follow each liturgy.

* Rev. Donald Kelly, a native of Green Island, has served at Annunciation, Ilion; St. Brigid's, Watervliet; St. Mary's, Amsterdam; St. Joseph's, West Winfield; St. George's, Pittstown; St. John the Evangelist, Rensselaer; St. Monica's, Johnsonville; and St. Joseph's, Green Island, where he has been pastor since 1996.

He will mark his jubilee with a Thanksgiving Mass on June 1 at 11 a.m. A dinner will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the Century House in Latham.

* Rev. Francis McCloskey, a native of Brooklyn, has been an assistant at Sacred Heart, Cairo; St. Patrick's, Athens (while on the faculty of St. Patrick's High School); Annunciation, Ilion; St. Teresa of Avila, Albany (while chaplain at Albany Medical Center); St. John the Evangelist, Rensselaer; St. Jude's, Wynantskill; and St. Ambrose, Latham. He was pastor of St. Brigid's, Copake Falls, and has been involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

Plans for his celebration have not been announced.

* Rev. Anthony Motta, a native of Italy who was ordained there, came to the Albany Diocese in 1967 and has served at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Amsterdam; St. Patrick's, Albany; St. Anthony's, Schenectady; St. John the Baptist, Walton; and Immaculate Conception, Haines Falls, where he has been pastor since 1981.

Plans for his anniversary celebration have not been announced.

* Rev. Jeremiah Nunan, a native of Ireland who was ordained there, has served in the Albany Diocese at St. Henry's, Averill Park; St. Mary's, Little Falls; Our Lady of the Assumption, Latham; St. Mary's, Hudson; and Sacred Heart, Cairo, where he has been pastor since 1980.

He will mark his anniversary with classmates at St. Mary's, Amsterdam, on May 22, and with his family in Ireland in June. A parish celebration will be held on June 15.

* Rev. Robert Shinos, a native of Amsterdam, has been an associate pastor at St. Joseph's, Herkimer, and St. Bernard's, Cohoes; chaplain at St. Peter's Hospital, Albany; and pastor of St. Joseph's, Herkimer, and St. Anthony/St. Joseph, Herkimer.

He will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving on May 25, 1:30 p.m. A reception will follow in the VFW Hall, 3-6 p.m.

* Rev. James Steuer, a native of Brooklyn, has served at St. Margaret's, Rotterdam Junction; Our Lady of the Assumption, Latham (while on the faculty of Cardinal McCloskey High in Albany); St. Francis de Sales, Loudonville; Immaculate Conception, Schenectady (while on the faculty of Notre Dame High); St. Henry's, Averill Park; and St. Joseph's, Little Falls.

He has also been a chaplain at The College of Saint Rose and the University at Albany. Since 1986, Father Steuer has been pastor of Blessed Sacrament, Mohawk.

Plans for his anniversary have not been announced.

* Rev. Kenneth Tunny, a native of Albany, has been assigned to St. Joseph's, Schenectady; St. Teresa of Avila, Albany; St. Joseph's, Albany; St. Catherine's Middleburgh. He was also a chaplain at Russell Sage College in Troy and for Hospice of Schenectady, and a staff counselor for diocesan Counseling for Laity. He is now a sacramental minister at St. Gabriel's, Rotterdam.

Father Tunny expects to mark his anniversary in the fall.

* Rev. Gregory Weider, a native of Rochester, has served at Blessed Sacrament, Mohawk; St. Anthony's, Schenectady; St. Agnes, Cohoes; and St. Thomas, Delmar. He has been diocesan chaplain for Scouting and national chaplain for the National Catholic Committee on Scouting.

He has been administrator of Notre Dame, Schuylerville, and Sacred Heart of Mary, Watervliet, as well as a chaplain of Samaritan Hospital in Troy. Father Weider was pastor of St. John's, Schaghticoke; St. Monica's, Johnsonville; and Holy Trinity, Schaghticoke. He is now a chaplain at St. Mary's Hospital in Amsterdam.

He will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving with his classmates on May 22 and at St. Mary's Church, Amsterdam, on May 25 at 2 p.m. A reception will follow.

50 YEARS

Five priests of the Albany Diocese will note their golden jubilees in May. All of them were ordained on May 30, 1953:

* Rev. Joseph Barker, a native of Troy, has served as an associate pastor at Our Lady of Victory and St. Paul's, both in Troy; as administrator of St. Thomas, Schenectady; and as pastor at St. Mary's in Little Falls and St. Patrick's in Johnstown. He was dean of Herkimer and Fulton counties respectively while a pastor in each. He retired in 1998.

Father Barker will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving on June 1, 11 a.m., at St. Francis de Sales Church in Troy. A reception will follow. Relatives, friends and past parishioners are invited.

* Rev. Donald Doyle, a native of Fort Edward, has served at St. Peter's, Troy; Blessed Sacrament, Albany; St. Joseph's, Troy; the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Albany; Most Precious Blood, South Kortright; Sacred Heart, Albany; and St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, Windham, the last for 30 years.

He will offer a Mass of Thanksgiving at his parish on June 1.

* Rev. Joseph Halloran, a native of Cohoes, has been an associate pastor at St. Thomas, Delmar, and St. Mary's, Little Falls; chaplain at St. Mary's Hospital, Amsterdam; associate at St. Thomas, Schenectady, and St. Peter's, Saratoga Springs; and administrator of St. James, Chatham. He was pastor of Sacred Heart, Castleton, and Immaculate Conception in New Lebanon, where he served from 1971 until he retirement in 2000. He was also chaplain at Berkshire Farms and Center for Youth.

Father Halloran will celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving on June 22, 2 p.m., at Immaculate Conception. A reception will follow.

* Rev. Owen Shanley, a native of Troy, has served at St. Luke's, Schenectady; St. Catherine's, Middleburgh; St. Mary's, Hudson; and as pastor of St. Joseph's, Richfield Springs, and Immaculate Conception, Corinth, where he has been for 18 years.

He will offer a parish Mass on June 1, 1 p.m. A reception will follow.

* Rev. John Whalen, a native of Troy, was on the faculty of Mater Christi Seminary, Albany, and Mt. St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Md., from 1953-'61. He was then named an associate professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and was managing editor of the New Catholic Encyclopedia. In 1968, he was appointed acting president of CUA.

After serving in the Albany Diocese as pastor of St. Mary's parish in Oneonta, Father Whalen resumed working in Washington in 1972 as president of the Consortium of Universities. He served on many boards there and was president of Corpus Publications. He also wrote a weekly column for The Evangelist. He retired in 1994.

He will observe his anniversary privately.

(5/8/03) [[In-content Ad]]