Rev. Joseph S. Amato, 84

A funeral Mass was offered Nov. 26 at St. Mary's Church, Stamford, Conn., for Rev. Joseph Amato, who died Nov. 16. He was 84 and had been a priest of the Albany Diocese for 57 years.

A native of Connecticut, he served at St. Mary's, Glens Falls; Sacred Heart, Troy; and St. Rita's, St. Patrick's and St. Agnes, all in Cohoes, while on the faculty of Keveny Academy in Cohoes. He was also an auditor and pro-synodal judge at the diocesan Tribunal, chaplain at St. Vincent's Home in Troy, administrator of St. Michael's parish there, and pastor of Our Lady of the Assumption, Schenectady. He retired in 1996. He also worked as a consultant for the Diocese of Venice, Fla.

Among Father Amato's many assignments was shepherding St. Michael's parish in Troy through the painful loss of its original church building to a fire in 1978. It seems fitting that a priest who served in so many roles and in different dioceses was present as parishioners from St. Michael's attended Masses at different churches and even a gym in Troy, until a new church was built in a new location.

His service completed, may he rest in the arms of God.

Survivors include siblings Bruno Amato and Elizabeth DePreta of Stamford. Interment was in St. John's Cemetery, Darien, Conn.[[In-content Ad]]