Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde celebrated the annual
jubilee Mass for diocesan and religious order priests to
recognize milestone anniversaries of their ordination to the
priesthood May 5 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Md.
55 Years
Father Cornelius O’Brien, ordained June 5, 1955, is retired
and living in County Cork, Ireland.
50 Years
Father Francisco Mendez de Dios was born in Galicia, Spain,
Aug. 9, 1935, and was ordained June 24, 1960, in Madrid.
Father Mendez moved to the United States in 1979 and was
incardinated into the Arlington Diocese April 4, 1986. He
served as parochial vicar of Blessed Sacrament Parish in
Alexandria, 1979-83; St. Bernadette Parish in Springfield,
1983-88; St. Rita Parish in Alexandria, 1988-90; and St.
Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington, 1995-2004.
Father Mendez was in residence at St. Rita from 1990-95 while
working for the Tribunal.
He is currently parochial vicar of All Saints Parish in
Manassas.
Father Thomas P. Tunney was born Dec. 12, 1934, in Ambridge,
Pa., and ordained as a member of the Congregation of the Holy
Spirit Sept. 21, 1960. In 1961 he went to East Africa, where
he served missions in the region for 35 years.
Father Tunney returned to the United States in 1996 and
served as director of the Spiritan Foundation, Wheaton, Md.,
1996-99, and as a member of the Provincial Council of the
Congregation of the Holy Spirit, 1997-2000.
In 1999, Father Tunney was appointed pastor of St. Mark the
Evangelist Parish, New York, N.Y., where he served for 10
years.
He was named parochial vicar of Our Lady, Queen of Peace
Parish in Arlington Oct. 1, 2009.
Bishop Anton Justs was born Nov. 22, 1931, in Varaklani,
Latvia. He left Latvia in 1944 to study for the priesthood at
the Seminary of Leo XIII, Louvain, Belgium, and at
Canisianum, Innsbruck, Austria. Bishop Justs was ordained
July 7, 1960, in Belgium and entered the Richmond Diocese in
1962.
He was incardinated into the Richmond Diocese in 1968 and the
Arlington Diocese in 1974.
Bishop Justs served at Blessed Sacrament Parish in
Alexandria, 1962-68; Star of the Sea Parish in Virginia
Beach, 1968-71; St. Francis Parish in Staunton, 1971-73;
Blessed Sacrament, 1973-79; St. Catherine of Siena Parish in
Great Falls as founding pastor, 1979-89; and St. Mark Parish
in Vienna, 1989-92.
He returned to Latvia in 1992 to work in the major seminary
in Riga, where he served as spiritual director until 1994,
when he was named rector. He was installed as the first
bishop of Jelgava, Latvia, on March 25, 1996.
Bishop Justs recently retired as rector of the seminary and
currently resides at the Cathedral of the Immaculate
Conception in Jelgava, Latvia.
Father Ronald J. Naylor was ordained by Richmond Bishop John
J. Russell May 3, 1960, in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
in Richmond.
His first assignment was St. Bernadette Parish in
Springfield. Two-and-a-half years later he was transferred to
St. Leo the Great Parish in Fairfax. Father Naylor entered
the U.S. Navy in 1971, where he ministered for more than 20
years.
Father Naylor was scheduled to celebrate his golden jubilee
May 2 with a Mass of thanksgiving in his home parish of St.
Colman in Turtle Creek, Pa.
45 Years
Bishop Paul S. Loverde, ordained Dec. 12, 1965, is bishop of
Arlington.
Father Canon Philip S. Majka, ordained May 1, 1965, is
parochial vicar of St. James Parish in Falls Church.
Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father William N. Dougherty,
ordained April 3, 1965, is parochial vicar of St. John
Neumann Parish in Reston.
Father Lawrence A. Kutz, ordained Aug. 8, 1965, serves at the
Opus Dei Study Center in Reston.
40 Years
Father Stanley J. Krempa, ordained Dec. 18, 1970, is pastor
of Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Winchester.
Father Thomas J. Lehning, ordained Dec. 18, 1970, is pastor
of St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Clifton.
Oblate of St. Francis de Sales Father Lewis S. Fiorelli,
ordained Sept. 12, 1970, is parochial vicar of Our Lady of
Good Counsel Parish in Vienna.
Father Robert A. Finamore, ordained May 16, 1970, is retired
from the Washington Archdiocese and lives in Arlington.
35 Years
Father Robert E. Avella, ordained May 10, 1975, is pastor of
Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Arlington.
Father Dominic P. Irace, ordained June 29, 1975, is retired
and living in Florida.
Father Mark A. Pilon, ordained Nov. 29, 1975, is parochial
vicar of St. Raymond of Peñfort Parish in Springfield.
Father William B. Schardt, ordained Nov. 29, 1975, is pastor
of St. Stephen the Martyr Parish in Middleburg.
30 Years
Father Richard J. Dair, ordained May 10, 1980, is retired and
living in Fairfax.
Father John T. O’Hara, ordained May 10, 1980, is parochial
vicar of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington.
25 Years
Father Robert L. Ruskamp was born Nov. 9, 1954, in Omaha,
Neb.
He earned a bachelor’s in philosophy from the University of
St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and a master’s in theology from
St. Charles Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa.
He was ordained May 11, 1985, by Arlington Bishop John R.
Keating. After serving his diaconate at St. John the Beloved
Parish in McLean, he was named parochial vicar of Sacred
Heart Parish in Manassas, 1985-87; St. Philip Parish in Falls
Church, 1987-88; St. Ann Parish in Arlington, 1988-91 (in
1990 Father Ruskamp was granted leave to explore a monastic
vocation at Our Lady of Gethsemane Abby in Trappist, Ky.);
St. Lawrence Parish in Alexandria, 1991-94; St. Patrick
Parish Fredericksburg, 1994-95; and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Parish in Lake Ridge, 1995-96.
In 1996, he became pastor of St. John Bosco Parish in
Woodstock, where he served for four years before he was named
pastor of St. Agnes Parish in Arlington.
Father Ruskamp served as chaplain of Christendom College from
2002-04, when he was appointed parochial vicar of Holy Spirit
Parish in Annandale.
He was named parochial vicar of St. Mary Parish in Alexandria
in 2005.
Father Jean Vanes Nicolas was born Oct. 25, 1957, in Les
Cayes, Haiti. He was ordained for the Cayes Diocese July 7,
1985, and taught high school philosophy and history from
1985-87. He was pastor in Cavaillon, Haiti, 1987-91, and
worked to create a secondary school with the help of
parishioners from St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington.
In 1991, he was named pastor of St. Jean Baptiste Church,
Miragoâne, Haiti, where he served until 2004. Father
Nicolas was also dean of the Cayes diocesan deanery.
Father Nicolas holds a bachelor’s in theology and a
licentiate in civil law. He currently is priest in residence
at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Falls Church. Father
Nicolas is fluent in Spanish, French, Creole and English, and
he assists with the needs of large immigrant population at
St. Anthony.
