St. Jude's Parish May Take Months to Fill Deceased Reverend's Spot

Those who knew the Rev. John Joseph McGuigan know how difficult he'll be to replace after his death more than a week ago. The associate pastor served at Hopatcong's St. Jude's Parish for 25 years, and was widely respected throughout the borough.

Church officials said Tuesday they're in no rush to find McGuigan's successor.

"In the past, this particular process has taken a while," said the Rev. George Gothie, St. Jude's head pastor. "There's not immediate discussion at the moment.

Gothie, who has been with St. Jude's for 20 years, said the Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson's Bishop Anthony Serratelli would make the final decision.

"They take time to measure," Gothie said. "There'll be an evaluation. They'll look at the needs of the church. So I can't really answer [when a replacement will be hired] now. It won't be anything immediate."

With McGuigan's passing, St. Jude's is down to Gothie and Deacon Tom Friel. Gothie said Lake Hopatcong's Our Lady Star of the Sea church has been functioning with just a pastor and a deacon for a while. But Our Lady Star of the Sea Secretary Patricia Connolly said St. Jude's has a larger congregation.

Roman Catholic Diocese of Paterson Communications Director Richard Sokerka said the process could take at least a month to begin. Potential pastors will submit applications to the Diocese and Clergy Personnel Board, which then recommends candidate to Serratelli, who makes the final call.

"Certainly it's under consideration that someone will be [hired]," Sokerka said. "But those assignments aren't made immediately after someone passes."

McGuigan was found dead in his parish room on Sept. 11. Parishioners packed his funeral Mass at St. Jude's last Wednesday.

Born in Ireland, McGuigan was ordained in 1968 and came to America the same year. He served in Paterson before joining St. Jude's, and was buried Thursday in Paterson's Cavalry Cemetery.

"He was an absolutely wonderful man," friend Tom O'Reilly said. "He was very, very sincere. Very, very giving. Always willing to listen to anybody and you could confide in him. He had a lot of people who came here and just talked to him when they were having problems. And he treated everyone the same."

Kathy Barger, St. Jude's secretary, said finding a replacement would be difficult.

"We have no clue yet what's happening," she said. "We're not even there yet. We haven't even hit the first step."