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Father Erin Brown, chaplain in The College of New Jersey, Ewing, was born in 1971 in South Amboy. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Kean University, Union, in 1998, then worked as a welding inspector for a refinery in Rahway, a broker and bartender. Father Brown’s preparation for the priesthood began when he entered St. Mary Seminary and University, Baltimore, where he attended from 2002 to 2007. As a seminarian, he served in St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Yardville; St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish, Spring Lake, and Scared Heart Parish, Trenton. Following his May 19, 2007, priestly ordination by Bishop John M. Smith in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, Father Brown served as parochial vicar in St. Dominic Parish, Brick, and then St. Jerome Parish. West Long Branch. He also served as temporary adminstrator in St. Jerome and St. Mary Parish, Deal. In July 2011, he became a member of the Diocese of Trenton Synod Review Committee. In 2014, Father Brown traveled with Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., to Rome in advance of a pilgrimage to holy sites in Italy. He stayed in Domus Sanctae Marthae, the guest house where Pope Francis lives, and celebrated Mass privately with the Holy Father. Father Brown served a term as an assistant director of vocations in which he helped to promote vocations in college campus ministries around the Diocese.
Divine Word Father Guilherme ANDRINO Divine Word Father Guilherme Andrino, parochial vicar and youth coordinator in St. Anthony Claret Parish, Lakewood, was born to Geraldo Francisco and Vanira Fereira Andrino in Ibaiti, Parana State, in the southern part of Brazil. He has one living brother, Nathaniel; his brother Wellington is deceased. In February 1990, he joined the Divine Word Seminary in Penha as a sixth-grader. The following year, he transferred to the Seminary of Toledo in Parana State, where he completed his primary
education. From 1993 to 1995, he attended high school in Ponta Grossa, and in 1997, he began studies in philosophy in Pontificial Catholic University in Curitiba, the capital of Parana, finishing in 1999. In 2000, he began his novitiate year, during which he ministered to the African Brazilian community. On Jan. 7, 2001, he made his first profession of vows as a member of the Divine Word community, then began theology studies in Instituto de Ensino Superiores in San Paulo. He worked with Street Network of Communications, which provides assistance to the homeless, and also with Verbo Filmes, a Divine Word Missionaries communication center. He was ordained a priest April 14, 2007, by Bishop Jose Luiz Bertanha, S.V.D., of the Diocese of Registro. In March 2008, he arrived in the United States and was appointed to his first parish assignment as parochial vicar of Blessed Sacrament-Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd Parish, Trenton. In June 2011, he was named pastor of the parish. In 2015, he went to Mexico to study Spanish in order to minister to the Hispanic community in St. Anthony Claret Parish. Along with his pastorate, he is also superior of the District of New Jersey for the Divine Word Missionaries and ministers to the Brazilian and Portuguese communities in Riverside and Long Branch.
Father Douglas A. FREER Father Douglas A. Freer, pastor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina Parish, Lavallette, was born in 1963 in Morristown. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pa., he served as rector in St. James Episcopal Church, Long Branch, where he had worked with Father Daniel F. Swift, then pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, Long Branch, on many ecumenical events. Father Freer spent time as a chaplain in hospitals and hospices, but when the time called for Sacraments, he had to call in a Catholic priest. He eventually decided to transition from the Episcopal Church in order to share in the sacramental life of the Catholic Church. He began his seminary studies for the priesthood in Immaculate Conception Seminary, South Orange, in 1996, and served a seminarian assignment in St. Joseph Parish, Toms River; Holy Trinity Parish, Long Branch, and St. Aloysius Parish, Caldwell. Father Freer was ordained a priest May 19, 2007, by Bishop John M. Smith in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. He served as parochial vicar in St. Joseph Church, Toms River, before being named administrator of Holy Family Parish, Union Beach, in 2008. As pastor, Father Freer was assigned to St. Rose Parish, Belmar, in 2009, and to St. Jerome Parish, West Long Branch, and St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Deal, both in 2014. He became pastor of St. Pio of Pietrelcina Parish effective July 1. On a diocesan level, he served a term as episcopal vicar for Catholic education.
Father Joselito M. NOCHE Father Joselito M. Noche, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Hainesport, was born in the Philippines in 1964. After graduating from the University of Santo Tomas, Manila, in 1988, and earning a degree in medicine and surgery, he trained in anesthesia in St. Joseph Medical Center, Paterson, and worked as an anesthesiologist in Mercer Hospital and Helene Fuld Medical Center, Trenton. In 2002, he began his seminary studies in St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore, and was ordained May 19, 2007, by Bishop John M. Smith in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. He was appointed parochial vicar in St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish, Spring Lake, in 2007. In July 2011, he served as a parochial vicar in St. Mary Parish, Middletown, and was also appointed diocesan liaison for Family Life and Pro-life Activities. In 2016, he was appointed vicariate chaplain for Pro-Life Ministry for Burlington County.
Father James Francis O’NEILL Father James Francis O’Neill Jr. has been serving as parochial vicar in Visitation Parish, Brick, for nearly half a decade. Spending his first five years as a priest in Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Moorestown, he was originally a parishioner in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Whiting. He was ordained in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral May 19, 2007, by Bishop John M. Smith, and served in Moorestown from January 2007 to June 2012. Father O’Neill began his studies for the priesthood in St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood, Pa., in 2001, and took summer parish assignments in St. Catherine, Middletown; St. Vincent de Paul, Yardville; St. George, Titusville, and St. Aloysius, Jackson. He then served as transitional deacon in St. Peter Parish, Riverside (now Jesus, The Good Shepherd), and St. Thomas More Parish, Manalapan. Father O’Neill received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, in 1994, and a master’s degree from the State University of New York, Buffalo, in 1997. While at Stevens Institute, Father O’Neill co-authored and assisted Msgr. Joseph Shenrock in editing “Upon This Rock: A New History of the Trenton Diocese,” published in October 1993. From 1997 to 2001, he worked as the computer network administrator in Monsignor Donovan High School, Toms River (now Donovan Catholic). He has been the vicariate chaplain for Pro-Life Ministry for Ocean County since the fall of 2016. Continued on • S48
JULY 27, 2017 • TrentonMonitor.com •
Lives of FAITH • S47