Eight New Priests Will Be

Ordained This Weekend

Father Bryan J. Carney, the son of the late Bryan and Eileen Carney, was born in Brooklyn, April 28, 1948.

He was educated at St. Gregory’s School and Chelsea Vocational H.S., both Brooklyn. After high school, he entered the U.S. Air Force for four years, and during the Vietnam War he was in combat support at air bases in Thailand and Guam. He later joined the N.Y. Air National Guard and has continued to serve with it for 16 years.
After active military service, he had a tryout with the New York Mets as a pitcher and then entered the building trades as a steamfitter, work he pursued for 32 years before beginning studies for the priesthood. He earned a degree from St. John’s University, Jamaica, and then studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I.

A member of St. Thomas Aquinas parish, Flatlands, he did his pastoral year at Nativity BVM Church, Ozone Park, and served as a transitional deacon at St. Francis de Sales Church, Belle Harbor.

He will offer his First Mass at St. Thomas Aquinas Church on Sunday, June 3, at 12:30 p.m. Msgr. Robert J. Thelen will preach. Among the concelebrants will be Fathers Thomas V. Doyle, pastor; Angelo B. Pezzullo; and Francis A. Colamaria. A reception will follow in the parish auditorium.

Father Vincent G. Chirichella, son of Margaret and the late John Chirichella, was born in Brooklyn, Nov. 4, 1968.

He attended Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, Williamsburg; Christ the King H.S., Middle Village; Catholic Medical Center School of Radiology; St. John’s University, Jamaica; St. Francis College, Brooklyn, and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I.
Father Chirichella was a New York State-licensed X-ray technologist for 11 years before beginning studies for the priesthood at Cathedral Residence of the Immaculate Conception in Douglaston.

He spent his pastoral year at St. Ephrem’s Church, Dyker Heights, and served as a transitional deacon at St. Bernadette’s Church, also Dyker Heights. He also gained pastoral experience at St. Dominic’s Church, Bensonhurst. He has studied Italian in Florence.

Father Chirichella will celebrate his First Mass in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, his home parish, Sunday, June 3, at 11:30 a.m. Msgr. David L. Cassato will preach the homily. The concelebrants will include Fathers Joseph G. Fonti, pastor; Gennaro Dispigno; Franciscan Francis Dispigno; and Thomas R. Gilbert.

The two Fathers Dispigno are cousins of Father Chirichella, as is Father Andrea Laregina of Teggiano, Italy. A reception in the parish auditorium will follow the Mass.

Father Jean M. Delva, son of Renaud and Monique Delva, was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Dec. 8, 1975.
Before arriving in the United States in 1990, he attended Ecole De Frere Andre in Port-au-Prince. Here, he studied at Samuel J. Tilden H.S., Flatbush; Queensborough Community College, Bayside; Hunter College, Manhattan; Cathedral Residence of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston; St. John’s University, Jamaica, and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I.

He has studied Spanish in Mexico and the Dominican Republic and served his pastoral year at Holy Cross Church, Flatbush. He has also worked in a Catholic Charities program to assist the homeless.

Father Delva will celebrate his First Mass in St. Jerome’s Church, Flatbush, his home parish, Sunday, June 3, at 4 p.m. The concelebrants will include Fathers Gerard Dumont, his cousin; Jean-Miguel Auguste and Hugues Berrette.

Father Vincentius T. Do, the son of Joseph Tai Van Do and Mary Nga Thi Nguyen, was born in Saigon, Vietnam, March 23, 1975.

His early education was at schools in Dong Nai, Vietnam. After coming to the U.S. in 1991, he attended Greece Olympia H.S., Rochester; Mark Keppel H.S., Alhambra, Cal.; East Los Angeles Community College, Monterey Park, Cal.; and Queens College, Flushing.

He began studies for the priesthood in the Congregation of St. John the Baptist, an ethnic Chinese missionary community, and studied at Mount Angel Seminary, St. Benedict, Ore.; Holy Apostles Seminary, Cromwell, Conn.; Cathedral Residence of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston; and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I.

Father Do will offer his First Mass in Our Lady of the Snows Church, North Floral Park, his home parish, Sunday, June 3, at 1 p.m. Father Paul A. Wood will preach the homily.

Father James A. Kuroly, the son of James and Bettina Kuroly, was born in South Ozone Park, June 1, 1980.
He was educated at St. Anthony of Padua School, S. Ozone Park; Cathedral Prep, Elmhurst; Cathedral Residence of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston; St. John’s U., Jamaica; and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I.

His pastoral year was served at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, Far Rockaway. As a transitional deacon, he served at Holy Child Jesus Church, Richmond Hill. He has studied Spanish in Puebla, Mexico. St. Anthony of Padua is his home parish.

Father Kuroly will offer his First Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Church Sunday, June 3, at 3 p.m. Auxiliary Bishop Octavio Cisneros will preach the homily. Among the concelebrants will be Msgrs. Thomas G. Caserta, Lawrence Hinch, and Michael J. Hardiman, and Fathers James M. Massa, Fulgencio Gutierrez, James J. Mueller, and James K. Cunningham. A reception will follow in the parish hall.

Father Bony Monastere, son of Rovil and Rosalda Monastere, was born in Rendel, Haiti, March 16, 1966, and studied at St. Andre de Rendel School, St. John’s College, Cayes, and Grand Seminaire Notre Dame, Port-au-Prince.

After coming to the U.S. in the mid-1990s, he studied at Cathedral Residence of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston; St. John’s University, Jamaica; and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I. He did his pastoral year at SS. Joachim and Anne Church, Queens Village, and has served with Fidelis Care and the diocesan Catholic Migration Office.

Father Monastere will celebrate his First Mass at Our Lady of Refuge Church, Flatbush, his home parish, Sunday, June 3, at 4 p.m. The homilist will be Father Andrew L. Struzzieri in English and Spanish and Oblate of Mary Immaculate Father Charles Joseph in French/Creole. The concelebrants will include Fathers Maurice Gauthier and Leslie Dauphin. A reception will follow in the parish hall.

Father Raphael Munday-Kukana, the son of Albert and Valerie Munday Mbongo, was born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, June 14, 1975.

He was educated at elementary and secondary schools and the Philosophat St. Augustin, all in Kinshasa. He then entered the novitiate of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in South Africa and later attended Ecole Theologique St. Cyprien, Yaounde, Cameroon. When he came to the U.S., he was accepted for studies for the priesthood in the Diocese ?of Brooklyn, completing theological courses at the Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I.

A member of St. Mary Mother of Jesus parish, Bensonhurst, he served his pastoral year there and with the deaf community through Catholic Charities. He is fluent in American Sign Language.

Father Munday-Kukana will celebrate his First Mass in St. Mary Mother of Jesus Church, Sunday, June 3, at 12:30 p.m. Father Kevin J. Sweeney will be the homilist. Among the concelebrants will be Fathers Casper J. Furnari, Raynolds Basilious, Ignace Loleke and Christopher Okoli. A reception will follow in the school gymnasium.

Father Thomas F. Vassalotti, the son of Alfred and Carmela Vassalotti, was born in Jamaica, April 18, 1964.
He began his education at St. Benedict Joseph Labre School, Richmond Hill, and later attended Garden City, L.I., Elementary School, Jr. High School and High School. He studied at Hofstra University, Hempstead, L.I., before enrolling at The Juilliard School, Manhattan, from which he earned two degrees.

Father Vassalotti began his studies for the priesthood at the Cathedral Residence of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston, and completed them at the Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington, L.I.

He formerly taught at Friends Academy, worked in publishing and has performed on double bass with the Long Island Philharmonic.

A member of St. Andrew the Apostle, Bay Ridge, he served his pastoral year at St. Barbara’s, Bushwick.

He will celebrate his First Mass in Our Lady of the Snows, N. Floral Park, Sunday, June 3, at 3 p.m. Msgr. Ronald T. Marino will preach. Included among the concelebrants will be Msgrs. Raymond F. Chappetto, pastor, and Guy Massie, and Fathers John J. Maduri, John Tino, Lukasz P. Trocha, Raymond P. Roden, Charles Caccavale, Marc E. Swartvagher and Vitus Nguyen.

Father Vassalotti’s cousin, Father Antonio Simonelli, is a priest with the Piccola Opera della Redenzione order in Naples.

back to top