By Mary Stadnyk | News Editor

During a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated April 12 in Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel in Morris Hall, Lawrenceville, Father James E. Coley was hailed by his brother priests as being a man who “took on his vocation with a strong spirit” and was an “effective parish priest.”

A priest for 65 years, Father Coley died April 8, nine days before his 92nd birthday. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., presided over the funeral Mass and was joined by Bishop Emeritus John M. Smith and about 20 priest concelebrants. Msgr. Casimir Ladzinski delivered the homily on behalf of Msgr. Ronald Bacovin, who was not able to be present for the Mass due to a previous commitment. Both Msgr. Ladzinski and Msgr. Bacovin are currently retired and living in Villa Vianney, the diocesan facility for retired priests in Lawrenceville.

In his written homily, Msgr. Bacovin recounted how in the late 1960s he served with Father Coley in Christ the King Parish, Manville, where Father Coley was pastor and Msgr. Bacovin was a young priest assigned there as parochial vicar. Msgr. Bacovin said he came to regard Father Coley as a mentor and learned a lot from him especially on the changes taking place in the Church as a result of the Second Vatican Council.

“Father Coley would admit that if you scratched just below the surface, you would find a pre-Vatican II priest,” Msgr. Bacovin said. “But he loved Vatican II and was able to adapt so well to the dramatic changes. He could do that because his feet were firmly rooted in the Church.”

Msgr. Bacovin recalled a range of characteristics that he felt helped to shape Father Coley’s vision of priesthood, namely his love for reading the Scriptures and for learning and his unwavering loyalty to the Church.

“He loved the Church and I mean he loved it with all its power to attract people. He… loved to see all sorts of people come to receive the ashes on Ash Wednesday, for it signaled the power of the Church working through its sacramentals. He saw that as a sign that the people were yearning for something more than what life seemed to offer, and that the Church had it to give,” said Msgr. Bacovin.

For Father Coley, related Msgr. Bacovin, “to love the Church, even with all its failings, meant to love the Lord Jesus. To teach what the Church taught was to teach what Christ taught.”

“Throughout his life,” said Msgr. Bacovin, “Father Coley’s hope was placed in God and in God’s son, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Father Coley was born in Trenton and his home parish was Sacred Heart, Trenton. He graduated from Trenton Catholic High School and La Salle University, Philadelphia. He prepared for the priesthood in Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington. He was ordained a priest May 31, 1947, by Bishop William A. Griffin in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton.

As an associate pastor, Father Coley served in Sacred Heart Parish, New Brunswick; Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Highlands; St. John the Evangelist Parish, Dunellen, and Holy Angels Parish, Hamilton.

In 1958, Father Coley began a term as chaplain for Catholic students in Rider College, Lawrenceville. Five years later, he was named associate pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Riverton, and in 1965, he was named to his first pastorate in St. John Parish, Allentown.

Father Coley also served as pastor in Christ the King Parish, Manville; Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Maple Shade, and St. Ann Parish, Hampton, with its mission church, Annunciation, Bloomsbury.

In 1976, he was named associate director of the newly established Office of the Diaconate.

Following a sabbatical from August, 1980 to June, 1981, during which he attended the Institute of Spirituality and Worship in the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, Calif., he was named pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Riverton, where he remained until he retired in 1990.

Father Michael Vona shared a similar experience to Msgr. Bacovin’s in which he recalled ministering with Father Coley in Sacred Heart Parish, Riverton, where Father Coley was pastor and Father Vona was parochial vicar.

“I got to know him and love him very dearly,” said Father Vona, who chuckled when he recalled Father Coley as being a man with a very “dynamic” personality and how “you were never bored in his company.”

Father Vona, who is now retired and living in Neptune, extended appreciation to Father Coley for teaching him “not to judge other people before you get to know them” and for the guidance he “gave me during some difficult personal decisions.”

“He was an intelligent man and he spoke with wisdom,” said Father Vona. “I found him to be a very compassionate and wise person.”