By Christina Leslie | Staff Writer

“I come away from these 23 years of service with an appreciation of the whole Diocese,” said Msgr. Sam Sirianni at his farewell as director of the diocesan Office of Worship. Both he and Sister of Mercy Eleanor McCann, who served as associate director of the office for 16 years, have stepped down from their positions to fulfill other roles in their ministry to God’s people.

Recently, Msgr. Sirianni and Sister Eleanor reflected back upon some of the pivotal moments during their terms in the office which, in Msgr. Sirianni’s words, “always acted as a resource to the parishes to assist in developing their liturgical life and the spirituality of their people.”

Joyful Memories

According to its website the Office of Worship aims to “support our Bishop, the chief liturgist of the Diocese, in his efforts to teach the Gospel of Jesus, especially through the celebrations of the Eucharist,” supplementing this service with “on-going materials for all, as they prepare to celebrate Mass, the Sacraments and other rites with ‘full conscious and active participation.’” The office sees its mission “to make it possible for all to understand easily… the elements in our daily and weekly worship of God.”

One such joyous liturgy was the July 30, 2010, Mass of Ordination of the Diocese of Trenton’s 10th shepherd, Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. “It took a lot of preparation and teamwork to pull it off,” Msgr. Sirianni admitted. He continued, smiling, “After [the Bishop] was ordained and was walking down the aisle, giving his blessing, and the choir was singing, I thought, ‘Can we do this again?’”

Sister Eleanor agreed. “I remember taking care of the invited guests, all the bishops and archbishops. It was a beautiful day.”

Msgr. Sirianni recalled the numerous celebrations in the Diocese to mark the beginning of 2000, the Jubilee Year as proclaimed by Pope John Paul II. “Pentecost was the culmination of a whole year of Jubilee celebrations mirroring what went on in Rome,” he said, noting special events for women and children were among those sponsored by the office. “We tried to unite as many people as we could.”

He cited another highlight as June 18, 1995, the date when then-Bishop John C. Reiss was principal celebrant of a Mass welcoming now Blessed Teresa of Calcutta to St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton. The travel plans of the Missionary of Charity and her sisters were constantly changing, presenting additional challenges to the office’s plan to host the celebration.

“Details were not firmed up until the week before,” Msgr. Sirianni revealed. “There were 1,500 to 2,000 people inside the Cathedral and the lower level, and about 1,000 around the Cathedral in the streets.”

Sister Eleanor focused upon the office’s mission to educate the people of the Diocese, citing a 2004 institute held at Georgian Court University for religious education leaders as one of her most joyful moments. “It was a full-four-day immersion of workshops with 115 participants from 17 different Dioceses,” she said with pride. “We had a five-person planning committee. Our office’s goal has been to enrich pastors and staff, share the teachings of the Holy Father and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops so various ministries can be served.”

The Sister of Mercy also named the annual diocesan Chrism Mass as one of her favorites. The Mass, held the Monday of Holy Week, is the occasion where the holy oils are blessed and distributed to each parish in the Diocese. “The Chrism Mass is an extremely wonderful highlight, more and more parishes and parishioners are becoming involved,” Sister Eleanor declared. “It is a celebration by the whole Church, with the priests renewing their vows, the deacons vested, many people from many churches attending. The oils are related to the Sacraments, central to our faith as Catholic Christians.”

Challenges, Sorrow Also Marked Service

With the joys of bearing the responsibility to plan major liturgies to enrich the lives of all those who participate also comes the sobering realization that strong faith is needed in times of sorrow as well. Msgr. Sirianni recalled the somber beauty of the funeral liturgies for Bishop George W. Ahr in 1993 and Bishop Reiss in 2012. “We gathered as a Diocesan family to bury our shepherds,” he noted.

The office also faced challenges at the introduction of changes in the new Roman Missal in late 2010. Sister Eleanor explained the strategy to enlighten each segment of the population of the Diocese.

“We held workshops for priests at Monmouth University, West Long Branch, in the summer, and separate sessions for school principals so they could teach their students,” she said. “We also held workshops for directors of religious education and for music ministers to teach them how the changes affected the language of the music and the Mass settings for the Diocese.”

“We had a pattern, we used it well,” Msgr. Sirianni said succinctly. “We implemented it as well as it can be done.”

The priest named the biggest challenge of his term as director was one he shared with the rest of the nation: the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

“The biennial diocesan pilgrimage [to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.] was to occur only four days later,” Msgr. Sirianni recalled, “and no one could travel. I called up all the bus captains and said, ‘Come to the Cathedral.’ We had a pilgrimage Mass, but changed it to a Mass of prayer and remembrance.”

Looking Back… and Ahead

Now that her 16-year term as associate director draws to a close, Sister Eleanor plans to take a short respite before serving part-time in a parish in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as a director of liturgical ministries. The Sister of Mercy shared her joy of working for the people of the Diocese of Trenton. 

“I have come to realize the privilege to work with the Church’s ritual books and research questions for people,” she noted as she gestured to a well-thumbed book on Rite of Christian Initiation of Adult practices with a binding which had given way from years of use. “It has been my privilege to be able to offer clarification on canon law and serve as a conduit of information.”

Msgr. Sirianni, who laughed that he has “always had one foot in the parish and one in the office,” will resume his duties as pastor of St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold,  full-time. “I came away from this 23 years of service with an appreciation of the whole Diocese. There are talented, resourceful and wonderful people in the priests, religious and people in all parishes that work together for the big events. It will always be a great blessing as I return to being a full-time parish priest,” he said.

He continued, “I’ve always been grateful to Bishop Reiss for selecting me to do this job, and to Bishops Smith and O’Connell for calling me into their trust to do this work. It is very humbling. I was overwhelmed by the beauty and power of our liturgies; even when we are not at our best, it works, but when it clicks…. there is nothing more powerful than the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church.”

On July 1, the directorship of the office was assumed by Father Michael Hall, who will also serve as parochial vicar in St. Gregory the Great Parish, Hamilton Square.