Father Ricciardelli, a retired priest of the Diocese for 42 years, died April 4 in Lawrenceville. He was 74.
Funeral services were held April 10 with a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated in St. Gregory the Great Church, Hamilton Square, Father Ricciardelli’s home parish. Principal celebrant was Msgr. Sam Sirianni, a classmate of Father Ricciardelli who is currently rector of St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold.
Father Ricciardelli was born in 1951 and he was the youngest of four children born to Albert and Rose (Rostock) Ricciardelli.
He attended Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey), Ewing, with the intent of becoming a teacher. After college, he worked for several years for the Mercer Country Probations Department, while remaining an active parishioner in St. Gregory the Great Parish. He prepared for the priesthood in Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, and was ordained a priest Nov. 10, 1984, by Bishop John C. Reiss.
As parochial vicar, Father Ricciardelli served in St. Ann Parish, Keansburg; St. Theresa Parish, Little Egg Harbor; St. Justin the Martyr, Toms River; St. Raphael (now part of St. Raphael-Holy Angels), Hamilton; Our Lady of Good Counsel, Moorestown, and St. Rose of Lima, Freehold.
In March 1995, he was named pastor of Holy Trinity Parish (now part of Christ the King Parish), Long Branch, and remained there until 1998 when he was named parochial vicar of Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton (now part of St. Raphael-Holy Angels Parish) with an added assignment as moderator of the Mercer County Holy Name Society.
In 2002, the priest was named administrator of Blessed Sacrament Parish (now part of Sacred Heart Parish), Trenton. In 2005, Father Ricciardelli returned to St. Justin the Martyr Parish as parochial vicar before becoming pastor of Holy Assumption Parish, Roebling (now part of Mary, Mother of the Church Parish, Bordentown.) in 2006.
In 2008, Father Ricciardelli was named chaplain of Morris Hall Home for the Aged and St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, Lawrenceville. He became administrator of Visitation Parish, Brick, July 2, 2010, and was appointed pastor Dec. 24, 2010, by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M. He retired in 2015 and resided in Villa Vianney, Lawrenceville, the retirement facility for priests of the Diocese.
When Father Ricciardelli celebrated his 25th anniversary of his priestly ordination in 2009, he said he considered himself to be “merely an instrument of the Lord, bringing his Word and blessing to the people of the Diocese of Trenton.”
He maintained that “all praise should be given to God.”
“I am not the center point of the Mass,” Father Ricciardelli said. “I let Christ come through me so I can be Christ to people who gather in his name. I am nothing without him.”
Father Ricciardelli was predeceased by his parents; his sister, Ann Bartolomei and brother, Anthony Ricciardelli. He is survived by his sister and brother-in-law, Carolyn and Bert Willie and many nieces and nephews.
Private burial of Father Ricciardelli’s cremains will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Hamilton.
Memorial donations may be made to the Diocese of Trenton, 701 Lawrenceville Rd., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648.