By Mary Stadnyk | News Editor

Heartfelt were the sentiments conveyed around St. Thomas More Church, Manalapan, by the throng of faithful, family members, clergy and friends who gathered to commemorate the life of the parish’s beloved founding pastor, Father John Charles Petri.

Father Petri died June 10 in St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, Lawrenceville. He was 92.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated June 14 with Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., as principal celebrant and homilist. Concelebrating priests included Bishop Emeritus John M. Smith, Father Mark Crane, pastor of St. Thomas More, and Father John Bambrick, former pastor, who is now assigned as pastor of St. Joseph Parish, Toms River.

In his homily, Bishop O’Connell said that although he had never had the “privilege and pleasure” of knowing Father Petri, it was obvious to him that, by the presence of the many parishioners who came to the funeral Mass, Father Petri had “left his mark” on them.

“Your presence is an indication that bears witness to the fact that he lived his life and lived it to the fullest,” said Bishop O’Connell.

“I’m certain that his  ordination was a moment in his life that was transformative,” Bishop O’Connell said.

“He took all the love he had received from his parents, his family, his teachers, his friends and his brother priests; all the graces he received from the sacraments  throughout his life, and his many talents” that made Father Petri the son, the brother, the uncle, the friend and the brother-priest he was, said Bishop O’Connell.

“And for that we are grateful for this gift that God gave us.”

Father Petri was born Jan. 18, 1919, in New Brunswick and was the son of the late Florence and J. Charles Petri. He attended Sacred Heart Grammar School and St. Peter High School, both in New Brunswick.

Upon his high school graduation, he began preparation for the priesthood in St. Charles Seminary, Catonsville, Md., before going on to Immaculate Conception Seminary, Mahwah, where he completed his studies in 1945.

Following his March 17, 1945, ordination to the priesthood by Bishop William A. Griffin in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, Father Petri was associate pastor in Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish, Long Branch, 1945-1948; St. Mary Parish, Perth Amboy, 1948-1950; St. Cecelia Parish, Iselin, 1950-1953; Holy Cross Parish, Rumson, 1953-56, and St. Francis of Assisium Parish, Trenton, 1956-1960.

In 1960, Father Petri was named to his first pastorate of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, Englishtown, which was regarded as a small, country western Monmouth County parish.  During Father Petri’s 10 years at Our Lady of Mercy however, the parish and surrounding community experienced significant growth in population and in housing developments.

By 1970, the need for a larger worship site to accommodate the Catholics of the area became apparent. The decision was made to create a new Catholic parish in nearby Manalapan, and for Father Petri to transfer from Our Lady of Mercy and become the founding pastor of the new St. Thomas More Parish.

Though Father Petri had the daunting task of coordinating the many details of a new parish, some of the more poignant highlights of his tenure included the extreme care he showed for the poor and hungry of the area.

In 1971, he and the parish council initiated Project CALL (Christian Action on a Local Level). He also began the Christian Action Committee to provide for the physical and spiritual needs of folks in the Manalapan-Englishtown area that were in distress.

Though the parish for many years assisted the hungry by preparing emergency food baskets, it was Father Petri who recognized that there are many people consistently in need of food and opened a food pantry in the parish.

Broadening parish outreach to people who were grieving, Father Petri started a Christian Wake committee and parishioners were encouraged to assist bereaved families in all aspects of planning a funeral and ministering to them afterward.

Father Petri also showed his heart for ecumenical and interreligious affairs when he gave approval for the parish to become involved in an interfaith council comprised of a number of area churches representing various faith traditions.

Just before Bishop Smith led the final commendation at the end of Father Petri’s funeral Mass, Father Petri’s two nieces gave eulogies on the man they knew and loved as “Uncle Jack.” While Susan Petri, recounted significant high points of her uncle’s life, her sister, Kathy Harvey, read a moving, self-written poem.

Longtime parishioners Marie Grupico and Dolores Becker fondly reminisced on first coming to know Father Petri when he was pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Parish, but then were among the parishioners who chose to follow Father Petri and join St. Thomas More Parish.

Becker, who lives “right next door” to the parish, smiled as she recalled the numerous times she would get a phone call from Father Petri around 4:30 in the afternoon asking what she had planned for dinner.

Father Petri never had a cook, she said. Just about every evening he had a dinner invitation from a parishioner.

“He would eat anything, except for cucumbers,” Becker said. “He hated cucumbers. But dessert was a must. His favorite dessert was ice cream.”

Becker noted that she and her husband had volunteered for just about every parish ministry and organization, and that she served as president of the parish council. “It was wonderful” to be part of a new parish in the making and to work with Father Petri, she said.

“I just feel badly that the parishioners who are here now never got to know what a wonderful founding pastor we had.”