Last Saturday morning, the church of the Diocese of Camden was blessed with the ordination of two new priests, Fathers Steven Bertonazzi and Carlo Santa Teresa, by Bishop Dennis Sullivan.
Since his installation as the eighth Bishop of Camden in 2013, Bishop Sullivan has ordained nine men to the priesthood to go out to South Jersey with their faith, hope and love, and make believers of all.
These men, in turn, credit their bishop’s faith, love and example for lifting them up in their work and strengthening their belief.
“Bishop Sullivan helps us see the good in ourselves, helps us stay positive and focused,” says Father Adam Cichoski.
As a seminarian, parish priest and, now, diocesan Director of Vocations, Father Cichoski has witnessed an “encouraging, supportive” leader throughout.
“The first time I can recall really getting to know Bishop was as a seminarian, studying First Theology at Seton Hall’s Immaculate Conception Seminary,” Father Cichoski remembered. “I was serving the Easter Triduum with him, and I could see how joyful and happy he was” to serve the people; “he’s a good shepherd.”
When Bishop Sullivan first arrived in Camden, he quickly identified a growing need for the church of South Jersey: more priests to minister the sacraments, bring hope and comfort to the needy, and share the faith to an increasingly secular community. So when he interacts with young men discerning God’s call for them in the seminary life, he makes sure “to know and remember all their names, and form a personal relationship with them,” through liturgical events and gatherings such as the iRace4Vocations fundraiser, Father Cichoski said.
It’s these personal interactions that priests such as Father Kevin Mohan, Administrator of Atlantic City’s Parish of Saint Monica, cherish. As a transitional deacon in early 2013, Father Mohan was on the altar during the annual Holy Week Chrism Mass in Blackwood, a few weeks after Bishop Sullivan’s arrival in Camden.
“On the altar, he reminded me that later that year, he’d ordain me (to the priesthood) with the same oil that he was blessing that day,” Father Mohan recalled.
“My only response to him, was ‘Awesome,’ and when I was ordained that May, he called back to that moment” goodheartedly, garnering laughs from Father Mohan’s family and friends in attendance. At his first priest ordination in the Diocese of Camden, Father Mohan recalled, Bishop Sullivan demonstrated his gentle, joyful and personal way.
After ordination and throughout their priestly lives, Father Mohan says, Bishop Sullivan has made sure to spend “quality time” with his brothers, including hosting priests at his residence or other social gatherings.
These encounters are “intentional. He creates opportunities to spend time with us,” said Father John March, parochial vicar of Blackwood’s Our Lady of Hope Parish, who was ordained in 2020.
He has been touched by the handwritten thank you notes Bishop Sullivan has been written to him throughout the years, thanking him for various gifts.
As well, the fact that the bishop “is a man who has spent time as a parish priest and as a pastor” has engendered “a level of trust” in the presbyterate, Father Mohan says.
“When he asks you to do something, you know it’s not something he hasn’t done,” he said. “Bishop Sullivan understands the challenge and difficulty (of the priesthood). The priests appreciate that.”
Father March agrees.
“He gives his all to us; we want to give our all to him,” he says.
Bishop Sullivan’s work ethic and non-stop schedule inspires the younger men, who sometimes struggle to keep up with the 76-year-old.
“His own dedication sets a good pace for us, to imitate his service. He motivates us to ask ourselves if we are doing our best,” Father Cichoski said.
Most importantly, the recently ordained priests see a leader who not only inspires them in their work for the Lord, but reaches out to South Jersey’s faithful. The young priests see a man who has awakened every day for the past 50 years, put his hand to the plow and tilled the soil.
“He’s sowing seeds of unity in the diocese, through generosity and love,” Father March says.
“It’s evident how much faith and prayer he puts in his homilies; he prays it, believes it, and it inspires me to do the same,” said Father Josh Nevitt, who was ordained by Bishop Sullivan in 2018, and is currently parochial vicar at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Absecon, and Part-Time Director of Catholic Identity at Holy Spirit High School there.
“The students at Holy Spirit love him; they know he cares about them,” he said.
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