Funeral Services for Former St. Catherine of Siena Pastor Monsignor William A. Genuario

Funeral services for Monsignor William A. Genuario, who served as pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Church in Riverside for 17 years, will be held at the church on Friday.

The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano, at noon today. The homily will be given by Msgr. Alan F. Detscher, pastor of St. Catherine of Siena.

The 84-year-old monsignor died Wednesday, June 24, at the Queen of Clergy Residence in Stamford.

Born and raised in Norwalk, Msgr. Genuario was the son of the late Joseph (Giosue) and Antoinette Gerardi Genuario. He attended St. Mary’s grammar school, Fairfield Prep, and entered the minor Seminary in 1948 at St. Thomas in Bloomfield.

He received an Associate in Arts degree in 1950, and was assigned to the major Seminary, St. John’s in Brighton, MA, where he received both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree. Monsignor was ordained a priest by Bishop Laurence J. Shehan, Bishop of the newly established (1953) Diocese of Bridgeport at St. Augustine Cathedral on Feb. 2, 1956.

Shortly after first being assigned to Sacred Heart Parish in Stamford, Father Genuario was sent to study Canon Law at the Gregorian University in Rome.

In 1958, he returned to the Diocese with a Licentiate (Master’s) in Canon Law and worked in the Diocesan Tribunal with residence at St. Peter’s in Bridgeport. In 1963 he completed his studies at the Gregorian University and was awarded a Doctorate in Canon Law (Magna Cum Laude). Subsequently, he filled the positions of Vice Chancellor, Chancellor, Director of Planning, Administration and Development, Presiding Judge, and Vicar General over a period of 29 years.

In 1963, Pope Paul VI honored him with the appointment as a Papal Chamberlain with the title of Very Revered Monsignor. Fourteen years later, Pope Paul VI named him an Honorary Prelate. Pope John Paul II promoted him as a Protonotary Apostolic (highest rank of Monsignor), in February 1986.

Monsignor Genuario, besides being a resident at St. Peter’s, Bridgeport, also lived at St. Theresa’s, Trumbull before becoming Pastor at Blessed Sacrament in 1968 and Pastor of St. Anthony in 1974. During his tenure as Vicar General, he was in residence at St. Ambrose, Bridgeport. Then in September 1987, Monsignor Genuario was installed as the Pastor of St. Catherine of Siena in Riverside where he remained until his retirement in 2004.

Throughout his priesthood, Monsignor Genuario has served on numerous boards and organizations such as Chaplain for Park City Council, Knights of Columbus, Chairman for Action for Bridgeport Community Development and Chairman for Sacred Heart University’s Board of Directors, to name just a few. He has also served 24 years in the Public Defenders Services Commission for the State of Connecticut and was a member of the Greenwich Hospital Ethics Committee. He was also a member of the Canon Law Society of America and served as a Judge in the Bridgeport Diocesan Tribunal.

Since his retirement from St. Catherine’s, Msgr. Genuario has lived at Queen of the Clergy Residence for retired priests, and worked in the Diocesan Tribunal at the Catholic Center as a Judge. He served regularly in St. Philip’s in Norwalk on Sundays, and also at St. Mary’s in Bridgeport.

He is survived by his sister Marie Stapkowski, of Westport, and his nieces and nephew, Diane Calabro and husband David, of Cheshire, Joan Stapkowski, of Fairfield, Marion Toth and husband Imre, of Kirkland, WA, Andrea Douyard and husband Michael, of Middlebury, Sandra Knierim and husband Skip, of Dover, NH, Donna Jones, of Trumbull, Daniel Stapkowski and wife Tina, of Wilton.

Burial will be in St. John Cemetery, Norwalk.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. Catherine of Siena Parish, 4 Riverside Ave., Riverside, CT 06878-1693 or Queen of Clergy Residence, 274 Strawberry Hill Ave., Stamford, CT 06902.

Obituary information from Collins Funeral Home in Norwalk.