Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski, Bishop emeritus of the Metuchen Diocese, served as principal celebrant of a Mass of Christian Burial in St. John the Evangelist Church, Dunellen, for Msgr. Richard J. Lyons who died Feb. 25 at age 78. Msgr. Lyons was a retired priest of the Diocese and judicial vicar emeritus.
Msgr. Lyons was born in Red Bank. He prepared for the priesthood in Seton Hall University, South Orange, and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington. He was ordained a priest May 18, 1974 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, by Bishop George W. Ahr.
Parishes where Msgr. Lyons served as parochial vicar included Immaculate Conception, Somerville; Sacred Heart, South Plainfield, and St. Matthew, Edison.
In 1986 he was named administrator of St. John the Evangelist Parish before becoming pastor in 1989 and served there until 2008.
After the formation of the Metuchen Diocese in November, 1981, Msgr. Lyons was asked to pursue a license in canon law to establish a diocesan Tribunal. He served as associate judicial vicar of the Tribunal for 15 years before becoming judicial vicar in 2001. In 2016, he was named a Chaplain to His Holiness by Pope Francis with the title of monsignor. He retired from active ministry in 2020.
Msgr. Lyons was buried in Resurrection Cemetery, Piscataway.