By Mary Stadnyk, Associate Editor
Top photo caption: View from the choir loft in St. Rose of Lima Church during the Sept. 4 Mass of Christian Burial for Father James A. Conover. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., served as principal celebrant and homilist. Mike Ehrmann photo
Nolan Higgins, manager of Higgins Memorial Home in Freehold, said arranging the funeral of Father James Conover was “really tough.”
“It’s a sad thing when you have to take care of a funeral for someone you had known your entire life,” Higgins said of Father Conover, who served as pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish for 15 years and grew up in the Freehold parish.
Photo Gallery: Funeral Mass for Father James Conover
No place like home
Father Conover died Aug. 28 at age 77. His funeral services began Sept. 3 with a Vigil Mass in St. Rose of Lima Chapel. The following day, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial in the parish church where young James Conover had been baptized, received his First Eucharist and Confirmation, and ultimately served as pastor.
“There is something particularly poignant about celebrating the funeral of a priest in the church where he so often stood at this altar, preached the Gospel, celebrated the Eucharist, baptized children, witnessed marriages, heard confessions, anointed the sick and commended the dead to God,” Bishop O’Connell said.
“Today, the priest who so often prayed these prayers for others is the one for whom we now pray.”
The Bishop noted that Father Conover’s return to St. Rose of Lima represented a remarkable milestone in his life.
“The boy who once sat in the pews of this parish returned as its priest and pastor,” Bishop O’Connell said. “He came home. There’s something beautiful about that.”
Father Conover was born April 4, 1949, in Neptune, the only child of Anna and James Conover. He grew up in Freehold and was a lifelong parishioner of St. Rose of Lima.
Higgins said the priest “was certainly very strongly connected to this parish and the Freehold community at large.”
Father Conover attended Freehold public schools and, in 1967, he earned a certificate in medical technology from Monmouth College, now Monmouth University, West Long Branch. In 1973 he completed pre-seminary philosophy requirements at Georgian Court College, now Georgian Court University, Lakewood.
Before entering the seminary, he worked for the American Association of Blood Banks as assistant chief of the pathology department at Monmouth Medical Center, West Long Branch.
He attended Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Md., earning master’s degrees in arts and theology in 1978. Bishop George W. Ahr ordained him a priest May 20, 1978, in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton.
During nearly five decades of ministry, Father Conover served as a parochial vicar in parishes in Middletown, Howell, Hamilton and Keyport. He later became pastor of St. Catherine Labouré Parish, Middletown, before returning to St. Rose of Lima as administrator. In 2011, Bishop O’Connell appointed him the parish’s seventh pastor.
Music was an integral part of Father Conover’s ministry. He re-established the Diocesan Festival Choir in 1982 and served as its organist for more than 30 years. At St. Joseph Parish, Keyport, and St. Rose of Lima, he also directed eighth-grade handbell choirs for a combined 25 years.
He served as chaplain in the now-closed Mater Dei High School, Middletown, and in St. John Vianney High School, Holmdel. He also served on the diocesan Liturgical Commission and the Engaged Encounter team.
Father Conover’s retirement as pastor was scheduled to take effect Sept. 1, just days after his death.
A life well lived
Bishop O’Connell reflected on how Father Conover’s funeral was ultimately about more than remembering his life. It was also about the promise that had defined his priesthood.
A Catholic funeral “always looks forward,” the Bishop said. “And Jesus tells us why: ‘I shall raise him on the last day.’”
“Father Jim spent almost 49 years proclaiming that promise to other people,” Bishop O’Connell said. “And today, the Church proclaims that promise for him.”
As Elana Haros watched the long line of cars file in procession from the church to the parish cemetery, she recalled Father Conover as “a very compassionate, loving and supportive pastor and leader of the school.”
“Father Jim was very relatable in teaching children about the faith on a level that they can understand. That was very meaningful and helpful to their spiritual growth,” Haros said, noting that her son Jake, now a third grader in the school, had received his First Communion from Father Conover in the spring.
She said while preparing students for their First Reconciliation, “he made them feel very comfortable in a Christ-like way.”
“Father Jim was so compassionate. He was a true vessel of the Holy Spirit,” she added.
Jake recalled seeing Father Conover around the parish, at school Masses and “helping me receive my First Reconciliation and First Eucharist.”
“I wish Father Jim was still here,” Jake said. “I’m really sad.”