Though Msgr. Michael P. McCorristin has been gone from their midst for two decades, the generations of Catholics who loved and respected him as a priest and advocate of Catholic education remain grateful for the difference he made in their lives and the lives of their families.

Some 200 of those faithful admirers gathered in prayer and thanksgiving Dec. 4 for a Mass in memory of Msgr. McCorristin in the school that he founded and that still bears his name – Trenton Catholic Academy at McCorristin Campus, Hamilton. The gathering marked the 20th anniversary of his death, which fell on Dec. 4, 1990 at the age of 89.

Celebrant and homilist Father Daniel Cahill, who served with Msgr. McCorristin in St. Anthony Parish, Hamilton, from 1979-1989, told the gathering of invited guests, friends, alumni, students, and past and current faculty members that Msgr. Mc-Corristin “was truly a legend.” Father Cahill, who is currently pastor of St. Ann Parish, Keansburg, remembered his friend as “the ultimate priest,” and “an example for priests today.”

“He was a great champion of Catholic education,” said Father Cahill. “He wanted to be sure that the children were taken care of and that they would be provided with a well-rounded education.”

Father Cahill recalled the story of when Msgr. McCorristin had promised Bishop George W. Ahr that he could, “get you a high school within one year.” Msgr. McCorristin made that promise to the bishop following the closing of the all-boys’ Trenton Catholic High School in Trenton, in 1962.

St. Anthony High School was built on 50 acres of the Kuser Estate in Hamilton and Bishop Ahr renamed the school McCorristin Catholic High School in 1979. In 2005, the school was part of a diocesan consolidation and became Trenton Catholic Academy, a Pre-K-12 regional school.

Father Cahill remembered Msgr. McCorristin also as being a “savvy businessman.” When the eight-county Diocese of Trenton was split in 1981 and the top four northern counties of Somerset, Middlesex, Hunterdon and Warren were formed to create the new Diocese of Metuchen, “Msgr. McCorristin’s name was on many of the land deeds,” said Father Cahill.

Yet, Msgr. McCorristin was also a “people person,” and “an encouraging father figure to the students,” Father Cahill said.

Fond sentiments of Msgr. Mc-Corristin were shared by many, and were reflected in a film produced in his honor that was screened for those gathered following the Mass. Sean Kildea, a professor with the Department of Communications/Journalism at Rider University, Lawrenceville, collaborated with a student to create a documentary on Msgr. McCorristin.

The short tribute entitled, “Iron Mike: The Parish Priest” features interviews with those who knew Msgr. McCorristin and highlights “their personal experiences with him and what affect he had on their spirituality.”

Rosemarie Wallace Buker, a member of the first graduating class of St. Anthony High School, who is currently a parishioner in Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, West Trenton, shared a moving story.

“My parents were divorced and my mother didn’t have enough money to buy uniforms for my sisters,” Wallace Buker shared. “Monsignor bought them the uniforms so they could attend St. Anthony’s Grammar School.”

Franciscan Sister Marguerite O’ Beirne, who was principal from 1983-1996, said of Msgr. McCorristin: “He wanted the students in a faith-centered environment, to have an education rooted in our Catholic tradition.

“He sacrificed tremendously in order for these children to have a Catholic education,” she said, then added, while he was known for walking around the building and campus with his hammer in hand, “he would smile and light up when he saw the students.”

Sister Marguerite currently serves as the vice president for Mission and Ministry at Neumann University in Aston, Pa.

As many more guests shared stories about the priest they had come to know and love, they all agreed that while the school had witnessed many changes over the years, the legacy of Msgr. McCorristin remained very much alive.

“The years have been marked by name changes and even school color changes. But one thing remains the same, we will always be Iron Mikes,” St. Joseph Sister Dorothy Payne, president of Trenton Catholic Academy, stated proudly in her closing remarks.

“I look at the school and the environment and I am very hope-filled,” Sister Marguerite said. “Msgr. McCorristin would be proud.”