July 16, 2025 at 10:31 a.m.
Father John A. Facci, 87
Father John A. Facci, SAC, 87, died June 24 at the Glendale Home in Schenectady.
Born in Schenectady on April 13, 1938, to the late John and Rose (Torelli) Facci, Father Facci was raised in Schenectady, where he graduated from Nott Terrace High School, Class of 1956.
After graduation, Father Facci went to the Boston School of St. Philip Neri for one year to advance his knowledge and ability to speak Latin. He then went to Toronto for one year and attended St. Jerome College.
Father Facci relocated in 1964 to Rome, Italy, where he attended novitiate for two years and studied two years of philosophy and four years of theology at the Pontifical Lateran University.
Father Facci professed in the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (SAC) on Sept. 29, 1965, and was ordained into the priesthood on June 20, 1971, by Bishop Luigi Liverzani at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Frascati, Italy (Basilica Cattedrale di San Pietro Apostolo, Duomo di Frascati).
His first assignment was in Malone from 1972-76. Father Facci pastored from 1976-2007, most notably in Cohoes. In 1991, he became pastor of Saint Rita’s and Sacred Heart Parish, where he retired in 2007. Since his retirement, Father Facci was pleased to assist several Capital District parishes as needed, especially his home parish Saint Anthony’s in Schenectady.
Father Facci was a member of the Knights of Columbus Fourth Degree in Cohoes.
When the 2012 movie “The Place Beyond the Pines” was filmed in Schenectady, Father Facci humbly played himself as a priest during the baptism scene at St. John the Evangelist Church, alongside well-known actors, Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling.
Parishioners always looked forward to Father Facci’s homilies, as he could be counted on for a good, appropriate joke that had a life lesson attached to it.
Besides his parents, Father Facci was predeceased by two sisters and brothers-in-law, Patricia (Donald) Trager and Louise (David) Murray.
He is survived by his siblings, James (Marlene) Facci of Schenectady, Anthony (Dorothy) Facci of Schenectady, Rosemary (Robert) Fisher of Scotia, and Angelo Facci of Schenectady. Many nieces and nephews, as well as grandnieces and grandnephews, also survive.
The Funeral Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on July 1, 2025 at St. Anthony’s, followed by The Rite of Committal in the Facci Family Plot in St. Anthony’s Cemetery in Glenville.
Contributions in Father Facci’s memory can be made to the Pallottine Fathers in Rome or St. Anthony’s Church in Schenectady.
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