Priest still hears call
By Chris Donahue
Staff Writer
Msgr. John R. Torney has come a long way from the bustling streets of Manhattan, where he grew up in a home on 34th Street, to the tranquil grounds of the Maria Regina Residence in the Somerset section of Franklin Township.
After being ordained a priest in 1939, his assignments took him to parishes in places such as Atlantic Highlands and Bernardsville. During World War II, he served as an Army chaplain in Iran and Iraq. He was pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Bernardsville, and diocesan vicar general when he retired from active ministry in 1985.
Although he celebrates his 95th birthday Oct. 16, he still occasionally celebrates Mass weekday mornings in St. Luke Church, North Plainfield. He and other residents of the home also occasionally hear the Sacrament of Reconciliation in churches around the Diocese of Metuchen and in its schools.
Msgr. Torney also finds time to socialize, and occasionally sing, said Rosemarie Gazaleh, office manager, St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral, Metuchen. She and her husband, Richard, met him more than 20 years ago while he served as diocesan vicar general.
“He likes to sing old World War II songs,” Rosemarie Gazaleh said with a laugh. “My husband and I usually go out for dinner with him once a month and on our way home he sings We’ll Meet Again.
“He’s a very holy man and very down to earth,” she added. “He held the second highest position in the diocese, but it never changed him.”
Msgr. Torney cited family genes and environment as factors for longevity in both his life and ministry.
“I just had a sister (Margaret) who celebrated her 98th birthday. Environment, meaning I was always happy in my priesthood. The pressures? I tried to leave in the hands of God,” he said.
What drew him to the priesthood was a background shared by many — family life, devout parents and Catholic schools.
“The church (St. Michael’s Parish), in my day, was everything. Our whole life revolved around it,” he said.
While attending Xavier High School in New York City, a military academy run by Jesuits, his calling was fostered by a priest on the faculty who challenged all students to become members of the clergy.
“That’s important, even today,” he said. “Even if it’s a challenge of saying to the altar boys, ‘Did you ever think about becoming a priest?’”
After graduating from Xavier, he attended St. Charles Preparatory Seminary in Catonsville, Md., and St. Mary Seminary, Roland Park, Md.
Ordained to the priesthood May 3, 1939 by Bishop Moses E. Kiley in St. Mary Cathedral in Trenton, he celebrated his first Mass two days later in St. Bartholomew Parish in Elmhurst, N.Y.
Monsignor Torney served as associate pastor of St. Agnes Parish, Atlantic Highlands, from 1939-42 before serving from 1942-46 as a U.S. Army chaplain. After his return, he served as associate pastor at St. Rose of Lima Parish, Freehold, before being appointed pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in 1947.
During his pastorate in Our Lady of Perpetual Help, St. Elizabeth School was built. Tom Stiff, a member of that parish, first met Msgr. Torney as a third-grader in the school in 1964.
“We used to call him ‘Mon Pere,’ because he was such a great guy. He helped us grow spiritually,” Stiff said.
In November, 1977, Msgr. Torney was named prelate of honor with the title monsignor by Pope Paul VI. In addition to serving as the first vicar general of the diocese, he was episcopal vicar of Somerset County, diocesan spiritual director of senior citizens and was honored as recipient of the Community Servant Award at the Flame of Charity Dinner in 1996.
Msgr. Torney, who occasionally celebrates weekday Masses in St. Luke Church, North Plainfield, said what he most enjoyed about being an active priest was “celebrating Mass, listening to their troubles, spiritually and, you might say, emotionally. All the many things that they come to the rectory for.”
“Being a good listener is most important,” he noted, “because first of all you certainly know that you don’t have all the answers and while you’re listening you’re saying, ‘Come, Holy Ghost,’ give me the answers because I don’t always have them,” he added with a laugh.
Father Charles W. Cicerale, administrator, St. James Parish, Woodbridge, was diocesan director of Ministry to Priests when Msgr. Torney moved into the newly-opened Maria Regina Residence in 1989.
“In many ways he encompasses the hospitality and welcoming one would expect to find in a good disciple of Jesus,” Father Cicerale said. “He has an interest in anything and everything.
“He’s just so open to life. He’s a good example of a priest of how not to let the negativity interfere with your love of the Church; let the Resurrection of the Christ be the center.”
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law