By EmmaLee Italia | Correspondent

For Father Michael Waites, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Riverton, the desire to serve God and the Church has been life-long. And despite his upcoming retirement, that calling remains indelibly etched in his heart.

Father Waites was able to take his desire and turn it into 32 years of shepherding through insightful homilies and a quiet openness to the friendships of those in the parishes he served. His vocation brought him to various parishes in Canada and New Jersey, always with the same intent: to teach, preach and serve.

With retirement officially scheduled for June 30, Sacred Heart Parish will hold a June 21 reception following its noon Mass to celebrate Father Waites’ years of service to the parish, and to wish him well in his new life chapter. The gift of his ministry will continue as he volunteers in the Diocese of Trenton.

Support of Community

Father Waites was born in 1945 in Philadelphia to, as he describes it, a “large, devout Catholic family ... I was the oldest of seven.”

For as long as he can remember, back to when he was a child of five or six years old, Father Waites wanted to be a priest.

“My family really encouraged it,” he said, noting that the entire growing up experience was guided by thoughts of the priesthood, from his family to his school to his parish priests.

In keeping with the family faith, he received his influential Catholic education at Immaculate Conception School, Levittown, Pa., a school no longer in operation and whose parish was recently merged with another area parish. 

Meanwhile the Immaculate Conception Parish pastor, Father Arthur Elliott, and particularly the associate pastor, Father John Gillespie, would play a major part in Father Waites’ decision to finally pursue his ultimate vocation.

Father Waites attended Bishop Egan High School, Levittown, from 1959-1961. In 1961, he enrolled in St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia, completing his bachelor’s degree in philosophy there in 1967. He then took some time working in personnel and human resources at a local retail store in Allentown, Pa. His priestly calling pulled him back to studies from 1979-1983 at St. Michael’s College/St. Augustine Seminary, Toronto, Canada, where he earned his master’s of divinity degree from the college’s school of theology.

“At the time St. Michael’s was with the T.O.R. (Third Order Religious) Franciscan Fathers, whom I had (been taught by) in high school,” said Father Waites. “I liked the university, and I started working in the Diocese there while studying ... I loved it.” In fact, he fell in love with Toronto, he said, and decided to continue his ministry there for a time.

Father Waites was ordained Sept. 24, 1983, in St. Michael’s Cathedral, Toronto, by Cardinal G. Emmett Carter. From there he began a series of Canadian appointments, starting in 1983 as parochial vicar in Blessed Trinity Parish, Willowdale, Toronto.

Subsequently he served as associate pastor from 1988-1992 in St. Thomas More Parish, Scarborough, Toronto; from 1992-1995 as pastor in St. Timothy Parish, Orangeville, Toronto, and from 1995-2003 as pastor in St. Patrick, Markham, Toronto.

After the events of Sept. 11, 2001, and a subsequent decline in his mother’s health, Father Waites elected to return to the United States and continue his ministry closer to home. He began in 2003 with six months as pastor in St. Denis, Parishes, Manasquan; then in 2004 as administrator of Sacred Heart Parish, Bay Head. In March 2005, he became administrator at St. Joseph Parish, Toms River; shortly thereafter he was officially incardinated into the Diocese of Trenton.

Father Waites became pastor of St. Rose Parish, Belmar, in August 2005. Then in June 2009, he began his final diocesan installment as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Riverton.

During all that time of ministry in Canada and New Jersey, Father Waites found strength in the true essence of his vocation.

“I think what I liked most throughout was the opportunity to animate a faith community,” he said. “I enjoyed being able to call people to share leadership, to call forth (their) gifts.”

To Father Waites, one of the best parts of his priestly vocation is “preaching and liturgy... I love the liturgy of Holy Week,” he said, “of the Triduum and Easter.” Though not himself a musician, he values and appreciates the presence of liturgical music as “an adjunct” to the celebration of Mass, and “I’ve always known and understood how integral music is to good liturgy, and I’ve had good musicians to work with.”

And the daily contact with his parishioners has also been an uplifting, nourishing part of his ministry.

“The interaction with the lay people, the commitment of the people in their parish, their interests and needs – that really helped me to grow,” Father Waites noted. “People are hungry for good liturgy and spiritual development,” he continued. “That’s why the parish community is so important.”

A Gift to His Parish

Deacon Joseph Donadieu, a parishioner and assigned to Sacred Heart Parish for more than 22 years, will miss “the effort (Father Waites) puts into preparing his homilies.”

“Father Michael is a very steady and stabilizing leader, quiet but determined,” he said. “He is effective in letting the pastoral staff take responsibility for their assigned ministerial tasks.”

Deacon Donadieu also appreciates the personal side of his pastor, and how he relates to his flock.

“What impresses me as his greatest strengths are his kindness and compassion,” he affirmed. “He is a very good homilist who brings the scriptural message to parishioners in terms of their everyday experience.”

Deacon Michael Stinsman, Sacred Heart parishioner for 38 years, and ordained for 11 years, has enjoyed Father Waites’ constant presence in their parish.

“At every Mass, whether he was the celebrant or not,” said Deacon Stinsman, “he was always there, greeting people as he came in. He was always present, in church and in the office – when he was there, he was there. He was open – he grew to know the people, and they grew to know him. He was very friendly and cheery.”

He also pointed out how Father Waites allowed the deacons and lay ministers to carry out their ministries without unnecessary interference.

“He never got in the way – he allowed the church to minister to itself,” Deacon Stinsman said. “He was very deacon-friendly; he really appreciated our ministry and encouraged us to be the best we could be,” he added, noting that Father Waites would readily make resources available to help those ministers attend a class or workshop if they wanted to improve their work.

Another key strength of Father Waites’ influence as a pastor was his preaching, Deacon Stinsman said. “You could see he took time to be prepared – and he was often encouraging others to do the same, to be prepared.”

Upon Father Waites’ retirement, Deacon Stinsman expects he will “miss seeing him (at church) – his presence and encouragement... He was always good at getting people together.”

While Father Waites won’t miss the duties of pastoral administration when he retires, he will miss the regular connection with the people as a pastor. But he knows he still has something to offer, playing more of a supportive role in the Diocese.

“I do want to continue to help in parishes as long as I can, and continue to preach,” he said.

With a new home in Villa Vianney, Lawrenceville, and living with fellow retired priests, Father Waites plans to take some time to “get settled in, and figure things out from there.”

And knowing the path he has travelled thus far, he is certain that the Spirit will lead him where he is needed.