500 years of priestly ministry

By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic

Photography: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC

MIAMI | The following priests, who are marking 25 and 50 years of ordination this year, were honored at the chrism Mass celebrated March 31 at St. Mary Cathedral. Here are brief biographies of the jubilarians.

GOLDEN JUBILARIANS: 50 YEARS

Msgr. William Dever

A native of County Mayo, Ireland, Msgr. Dever was ordained at St. Kieran’s College, Kilkenny, June 6, 1965, for the then Diocese of Miami. He began working that August as parochial vicar at Immaculate Conception Church in Hialeah. He then served as parochial vicar at St. John Fisher in West Palm Beach (which at that time was part of the Archdiocese of Miami); St. James, North Miami; St. Mary Magdalen, Sunny Isles Beach; and Holy Family, North Miami. From 1971 to 1978, he also served as director of the archdiocese’s Catholic Youth Organization (CYO). In January 1978 he was named pastor of St. Thomas More in Boynton Beach. He served on loan in the Diocese of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, from 1983 to 1986. Upon his return, in April 1986, he was named administrator, and then pastor, of St. Helen in Fort Lauderdale. He served there until August 2012, when he was named to his current assignment as pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Lighthouse Point. He was named a chaplain to His Holiness, and given the title of monsignor, by Pope Paul VI in 1974.

Msgr. Jude O’Doherty

Born in County Clare, Ireland, Msgr. O’Doherty was ordained there June 12, 1965 and arrived in South Florida in September 1965. He served as parochial vicar at Epiphany Parish in South Miami and spiritual director at its neighbor, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, until 1967. He then served as parochial vicar at St. Stephen in Hollywood and St. Patrick, Miami Beach, until being appointed administrator, and then pastor, of Immaculate Conception in Hialeah. He served at Immaculate from August 1971 to June 1982, when he was appointed to his current position: pastor of Epiphany, the parish where he had first served after arriving in South Florida. In addition to his parish assignments, Msgr. O’Doherty has served as archdiocesan director of lay retreats; member of the Commission for Christian Unity; member of the first archdiocesan synod; member of the archdiocesan Pension Plan Board; and overall coordinator of preparations for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Miami in 1987. In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI elevated Msgr. O’Doherty to the highest rank of monsignor: Protonotary Apostolic Supernumerary.

Father Michael Kish

Father Kish, a Miami native, was ordained June 12, 1965 as a Maryknoll Missionary. After working in Guatemala, he returned to South Florida in April 1968 and joined the diocesan priesthood. In July of that year he was appointed parochial vicar at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (now Our Lady of the Holy Rosary-St. Richard) in Cutler Bay. He then served as parochial vicar at St. Catherine of Siena, Miami, and chaplain of the Newman Center (or Catholic campus ministry) at Miami Dade College’s South Campus. Beginning in 1981, he also served as chaplain of the Miami Police Dept. He served as parochial vicar at St. Louis Parish in Pinecrest from February 1973 until his retirement from fulltime ministry in July 2012.

Father Jesús Lecea, Piarists

Father Lecea was born in Mendavia, Spain, and ordained for the Piarist Fathers July 15, 1964. He obtained a doctorate in theology from the Gregorian University, Rome, in 1967, and served as professor of theology at the Theological Institute in Salamanca, Spain, from 1967 to 1985. From 1985 to 1998, he served on the General Council of the Piarist Fathers; from 1997 to 2003, he served as president of the Religious Conference of Spain; and from 1998 to 2003 he was president of the Religious Union of Europe. From 2003 to 2009 he served as superior general of the Piarist Fathers, based in Rome. At the end of 2010, he applied to come to the Archdiocese of Miami, and he has been teaching since then at SEPI, the SouthEast Pastoral Institute.

Father Jeremiah Singleton

Father Singleton was born in County Cork, Ireland, and ordained June 13, 1965 for the Archdiocese of Miami. His first years here he served as parochial vicar at St. Helen, Vero Beach; St. Joan of Arc, Boca Raton; Sacred Heart, Homestead; and San Isidro, Pompano Beach. From 1971 to 1977, he served as administrator of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Immokalee, and assistant director of the Rural Life Bureau. He then served on the staff of the Catholic Service Bureau (now Catholic Charities) in West Palm Beach and as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart in Lake Worth. In 2002, he was named parochial vicar atSt. Anthony Church, Fort Lauderdale, becoming administrator in July 2004 and pastor in December 2005. He retired from St. Anthony and fulltime ministry in July 2014.

Father Jose Somoza, Franciscans

Father Somoza is a native of Cuba who spent more than 30 years working in the Archdiocese of Washington. Among his assignments there, he was director of education and coordinator of Hispanic ministry; director of the Centro Católico Hispano; and founding pastor of Nuestra Señora Reina de las Americas Parish. He came to South Florida in April 2002 and has been serving ever since at St. Timothy Parish in Miami.

Father Kenneth J. Wolnowski

A native of Cleveland, Father Wolnowski was ordained May 22, 1965 for the Diocese of Cleveland. He served in various parishes there, including as pastor of St. Josephat in Cleveland from 1980 to 1986 and pastor of St. Peter in Lorain from 1986 until his retirement in 2009. That same year, he moved to Fort Lauderdale, where he continues to help at various churches.

 

SILVER JUBILARIANS: 25 YEARS

Msgr. Kenneth Schwanger

A native of Harrisburg, Pa., Msgr. Schwanger moved to Florida after high school to attend the University of Florida, where he obtained a law degree in 1984. That same year he entered the seminary and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Miami May 12, 1990. After serving as parochial vicar at St. Agnes, Key Biscayne, he was sent to Rome to study canon law. Since 1996, he has served in the Metropolitan Tribunal, as a judge, adjutant judicial vicar and most recently Promoter of Justice. He also served as pastor of St. Jerome in Fort Lauderdale from April 2002 to December 2009, when he was named to his current post as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes, Miami. In July 2007, Pope Benedict XVI named him a chaplain to His Holiness, with the title of monsignor.

Father Edmund Aku

Father Aku was born in Cameroon and ordained there July 14, 1990, for the Archdiocese of Owerri. He speaks English, Spanish, French and Portuguese and has a master’s and doctoral degree from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium; a master’s in education from Fordham University; and a master’s in psychology from Southern Connecticut State University. He served as a hospital chaplain in Waterbury, Conn., Los Angeles and Sacramento, Calif., before coming to South Florida. In November 2011 he was named chaplain at Catholic Health Services’ South Campus (St. Anne’s Nursing Center and Residence) in Miami.

Father Armando Alonso

Born in Cuba, Father Alonso graduated from Immaculata-La Salle High School in Miami after moving to South Florida. He was ordained for the archdiocese May 12, 1990 and has served as parochial vicar at Holy Family, North Miami; Epiphany, South Miami; St. Helen, Fort Lauderdale; St. Michael, Miami; and St. Timothy, Miami. In 2000, he began pursuing doctoral studies in psychology and psychiatry. He was in residence at St. Clement, Fort Lauderdale, and St. Mary Magdalen, Sunny Isles Beach, until May 2012, when he was given permission to work in the Diocese of Orlando.

Father Michael Davis

Father Davis was born in Hamilton, Ohio, and ordained May 12, 1990 for the Archdiocese of Miami. He first served as parochial vicar at San Isidro Mission, Pompano Beach and St. Patrick, Miami Beach. Then he was in residence at Sts. Peter and Paul in Miami while serving as chaplain at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, and later chaplain and faculty member at Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame Prep. He served as religion teacher and interim assistant principal at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Fort Lauderdale, while in residence at Blessed Sacrament, Fort Lauderdale, and Nativity, Hollywood. From 1997 to 2000, he taught at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami. In August of 2000, he began working as chaplain and teacher at Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School in Miami, where he remained until 2008, having taken over as supervising principal in 2002. He served temporarily at St. Mary Seminary of the West in Cincinnati from July 2008 until January 2010, when he was named administrator, and then pastor, of St. Jerome in Fort Lauderdale. In June 2011 he was named to his current position as pastor ofLittle Flower in Coral Gables. Father Davis will celebrate a Mass to mark his anniversary on Saturday, May 30, at 5 p.m. at Little Flower.

Father Ethel Iwu Ifeanyi

Father Ifeanyi is a native of Nigeria who was ordained Aug. 25, 1990, for the Okigwe Diocese. Post-ordination, he obtained an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Ashworth College in Georgia, a master’s in health care management from the College of St. Elizabeth, and pursued doctoral studies in psychology — specifically mediation and conflict resolution — at the University of the Rockies. He served as chaplain at St. Clare’s Hospital in Dover, NJ, before coming to the archdiocese in 2011, where he now serves as director of pastoral care at Catholic Health Services’ North Campus (St. John’s Nursing Center, St. Anthony’s Rehabilitation Hospital) in Lauderdale Lakes.

Father Jozef Dariusz Zarebski, Salvatorians

Father Zarebski was born in Poland and ordained for the Salvatorian Fathers May 24, 1990. In addition to Polish and English he also understands Russian. From 1990 to 1994 he served as parochial vicar at several parishes in Poland. He then went to Canada, serving at various parishes there and working as a chaplain for young offenders until 1997, when he was named pastor of St. Ambrose in Coaldale. From 1998 to 2006 he served as pastor of St. Peter’s in Nanaimo, Diocese of Victoria; and from 2006 to 2010 he served as pastor of Holy Cross in Burnaby, Archdiocese of Vancouver. Since coming to South Florida in 2011, he has been serving as parochial vicar at St. Ambrose in Deerfield Beach. Father Zaresbski will celebrate a Mass to mark his anniversary on Saturday, April 25, at 5:30 p.m. at St. Ambrose.