Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., the archbishop of Newark, ordained five men to the priesthood during the Rite of Ordination on May 28 in Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart — including one man served his diaconate in Belleville.
As their loved ones looked on with smiles and tears of joy in their eyes, the five priests-to-be — David Hinojosa (who served St. Peter’s Church, Belleville, for the last year and Roberto Julio Moreno Andrión, Matthew Gonzalez, Peter Jacob Volz and Ashton Ignacio Francisco Wong — were called forward one by one as Cardinal Tobin prayed over them and ordained them as priests.
Cardinal Tobin also spoke to the five men during his ordination homily, reminding them, “The people you will serve will always remain [Jesus’] people, as do you.”
After they were given their stoles and chasubles and had their hands anointed with sacred chrism oil by Cardinal Tobin, the five distributed communion to the faithful for the first time as priests. Then, once the ordination concluded, they offered their first blessings to many of those gathered.
The new priests were assigned to parishes throughout the four counties of the Archdiocese in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union. There, they will shepherd the faithful while celebrating Mass and the sacraments.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.