Newly-named Msgr. Apoldite responds with humility to news of papal honor
February 8, 2022 at 8:42 p.m.
The conversation, recalled Father Apoldite, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Trenton, and episcopal vicar of Mercer County, began with the Bishop asking, “What are you doing?” Father Apoldite responded that he was setting up to celebrate the parish’s 12:10 p.m. weekday Mass.
The two men talked for a few more minutes before the Bishop shared the news that Pope Francis had bestowed a papal honor on Father Apoldite, naming him a Chaplain to his Holiness with the title of Monsignor.
“Monsignor” is an honorary title conferred on priests by the Pope in recognition of service in ministry, and it is the diocesan bishop who nominates a priest for that honor. Priests who hold the title of “Monsignor” are part of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, which includes the papal chapel and the papal family. As members of the papal family, monsignors are included in the Pontifical Yearbook, Annuario Pontifico, an official directory of the Holy See.
“All I could say was ‘Thank you,’” said a grateful but very humbled Msgr. Apoldite as he extended appreciation to the Holy Father for accepting Bishop O’Connell’s nomination.
“Never in my mind did I think I deserved it. I never expected the honor or the title,” he said, then steered his interview with The Monitor to topics about which he was more comfortable talking – his family, vocation story and highlights of his almost 44 years of priesthood.
One Career Choice
As far back as he can remember, all Msgr. Apoldite ever wanted to do was be a priest.
“Well, maybe when I was five or six, I thought I wanted to be a cowboy,” he quipped.
“But other than that, I wanted to be a priest,” he said, noting that even in the yearbook for his senior year at Cathedral High School, he listed the priesthood under his future plans.
Msgr. Apoldite admits that there was “no great revelation and nothing dramatic,” in his decision to become a priest. Instead, he shares, it was his firm grounding in the Scripture passage, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you” (Jeremiah 1:5).
He also credits the nurturing of his faith while growing up in a Catholic household in the Chambersburg section of Trenton during the 50s and 60s, where his parents, Lena and Andy, and two brothers Drew and Jerry, had always been close to their parish, St. Joachim, Trenton. He attended the parish grammar school staffed by the Religious Teachers Filippini; he was an altar server, and his parents were involved in various ministries and organizations both in the parish and school communities. Among the priests he acknowledges as role models were Msgr. Emilio A. Cardelia, longtime pastor of St. Joachim Parish, Trenton, who “was a great example of what it means to be a priest.”
Msgr. Apoldite also acknowledged Msgr. Carl Wagner, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Cinnaminson, where Msgr. Apoldite served as a transitional deacon. Msgr. Wagner was the diocesan vocation director in the early ‘70s when Msgr. Apoldite entered Mount St. Mary College, Emmitsburg, Md., to pursue undergraduate studies in social work.
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Following his college graduation, Msgr. Apoldite began studies for the priesthood in Mount St. Mary Seminary where he was awarded a master’s degree in theology.
A Love for What He Does
Since his May 20, 1978 ordination day, Msgr. Apoldite has had 44 joyous years filled with numerous parish and diocesan appointments. Reflecting on some of those highlights, he recalled serving in Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville, for many years. He was a part-time teacher for vocational students from 1980 to 1982, and then he served two terms as chaplain from 1982 to 1994 and from 2001 to 2009. He remarked that it was an “ideal place to grow as a priest.”
Working alongside the faculty, staff and students was like “being in a mini parish,” he recalled. Monsignor formed many lasting friendships there and, even after he left Notre Dame, he happily received invitations to celebrate weddings of students and Baptisms of their children.
As director of vocation recruitment, Msgr. Apoldite recalls drawing from what he learned from Msgr. Wagner in his effort to help men discern their call to the priesthood. “I understood their questions and struggles and I was glad to be there to encourage them. They need that,” he said.
The joy of the position was “knowing you helped someone get to the altar and be with them on their ordination day.”
On a parish level, the majority of Msgr. Apoldite’s time has been spent at Sacred Heart – the oldest parish in New Jersey. In 1984, he was named parochial vicar and served in that capacity until 1992, when, immediately following the retirement of Msgr. Leonard R. Toomey, he became pastor. Msgr. Apoldite was pastor of Sacred Heart for about five years when he was assigned as pastor of St. Mary Parish, Middletown, followed by an assignment as pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish, Hopewell.
In 2007, he returned to Sacred Heart as pastor, and for the past 15 years has shepherded over numerous celebrations, such as the parish’s 200th anniversary in 2014, and changes, including mergers with area parishes. In 2017, Sacred Heart Parish was merged with Divine Mercy Parish, and on July 1, 2018, Sacred Heart Parish was merged with Blessed Sacrament-Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd Parish, creating a trilingual community of parishioners of varying cultures, namely African, African-American, Polish and Anglo.
“When I look at our community as the people come together at Mass, I see unity, not diversity,” he said, adding that parishioners have blended well and have a true respect for one another. He is also pleased with how parishioners rally to help the wider community, especially those in need, through various service projects that include monthly food distributions and collecting items for area agencies.
Looking back on his priesthood and reflecting on the papal honor, Msgr. Apoldite says with great seriousness, “I have never worked a day in my life.”
And that, he said, is because he’s found true joy in everything about his priesthood – celebrating the Sacraments, handling administrative responsibilities and, most especially, being among the people he serves.
A Mass celebrated by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., is scheduled for March 5 in Sacred Heart Church, 343 South Broad St., Trenton, at which Msgr. Apoldite will be recognized for his papal honor.
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The conversation, recalled Father Apoldite, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Trenton, and episcopal vicar of Mercer County, began with the Bishop asking, “What are you doing?” Father Apoldite responded that he was setting up to celebrate the parish’s 12:10 p.m. weekday Mass.
The two men talked for a few more minutes before the Bishop shared the news that Pope Francis had bestowed a papal honor on Father Apoldite, naming him a Chaplain to his Holiness with the title of Monsignor.
“Monsignor” is an honorary title conferred on priests by the Pope in recognition of service in ministry, and it is the diocesan bishop who nominates a priest for that honor. Priests who hold the title of “Monsignor” are part of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, which includes the papal chapel and the papal family. As members of the papal family, monsignors are included in the Pontifical Yearbook, Annuario Pontifico, an official directory of the Holy See.
“All I could say was ‘Thank you,’” said a grateful but very humbled Msgr. Apoldite as he extended appreciation to the Holy Father for accepting Bishop O’Connell’s nomination.
“Never in my mind did I think I deserved it. I never expected the honor or the title,” he said, then steered his interview with The Monitor to topics about which he was more comfortable talking – his family, vocation story and highlights of his almost 44 years of priesthood.
One Career Choice
As far back as he can remember, all Msgr. Apoldite ever wanted to do was be a priest.
“Well, maybe when I was five or six, I thought I wanted to be a cowboy,” he quipped.
“But other than that, I wanted to be a priest,” he said, noting that even in the yearbook for his senior year at Cathedral High School, he listed the priesthood under his future plans.
Msgr. Apoldite admits that there was “no great revelation and nothing dramatic,” in his decision to become a priest. Instead, he shares, it was his firm grounding in the Scripture passage, “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you” (Jeremiah 1:5).
He also credits the nurturing of his faith while growing up in a Catholic household in the Chambersburg section of Trenton during the 50s and 60s, where his parents, Lena and Andy, and two brothers Drew and Jerry, had always been close to their parish, St. Joachim, Trenton. He attended the parish grammar school staffed by the Religious Teachers Filippini; he was an altar server, and his parents were involved in various ministries and organizations both in the parish and school communities. Among the priests he acknowledges as role models were Msgr. Emilio A. Cardelia, longtime pastor of St. Joachim Parish, Trenton, who “was a great example of what it means to be a priest.”
Msgr. Apoldite also acknowledged Msgr. Carl Wagner, pastor of St. Charles Borromeo Parish, Cinnaminson, where Msgr. Apoldite served as a transitional deacon. Msgr. Wagner was the diocesan vocation director in the early ‘70s when Msgr. Apoldite entered Mount St. Mary College, Emmitsburg, Md., to pursue undergraduate studies in social work.
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Following his college graduation, Msgr. Apoldite began studies for the priesthood in Mount St. Mary Seminary where he was awarded a master’s degree in theology.
A Love for What He Does
Since his May 20, 1978 ordination day, Msgr. Apoldite has had 44 joyous years filled with numerous parish and diocesan appointments. Reflecting on some of those highlights, he recalled serving in Notre Dame High School, Lawrenceville, for many years. He was a part-time teacher for vocational students from 1980 to 1982, and then he served two terms as chaplain from 1982 to 1994 and from 2001 to 2009. He remarked that it was an “ideal place to grow as a priest.”
Working alongside the faculty, staff and students was like “being in a mini parish,” he recalled. Monsignor formed many lasting friendships there and, even after he left Notre Dame, he happily received invitations to celebrate weddings of students and Baptisms of their children.
As director of vocation recruitment, Msgr. Apoldite recalls drawing from what he learned from Msgr. Wagner in his effort to help men discern their call to the priesthood. “I understood their questions and struggles and I was glad to be there to encourage them. They need that,” he said.
The joy of the position was “knowing you helped someone get to the altar and be with them on their ordination day.”
On a parish level, the majority of Msgr. Apoldite’s time has been spent at Sacred Heart – the oldest parish in New Jersey. In 1984, he was named parochial vicar and served in that capacity until 1992, when, immediately following the retirement of Msgr. Leonard R. Toomey, he became pastor. Msgr. Apoldite was pastor of Sacred Heart for about five years when he was assigned as pastor of St. Mary Parish, Middletown, followed by an assignment as pastor of St. Alphonsus Parish, Hopewell.
In 2007, he returned to Sacred Heart as pastor, and for the past 15 years has shepherded over numerous celebrations, such as the parish’s 200th anniversary in 2014, and changes, including mergers with area parishes. In 2017, Sacred Heart Parish was merged with Divine Mercy Parish, and on July 1, 2018, Sacred Heart Parish was merged with Blessed Sacrament-Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd Parish, creating a trilingual community of parishioners of varying cultures, namely African, African-American, Polish and Anglo.
“When I look at our community as the people come together at Mass, I see unity, not diversity,” he said, adding that parishioners have blended well and have a true respect for one another. He is also pleased with how parishioners rally to help the wider community, especially those in need, through various service projects that include monthly food distributions and collecting items for area agencies.
Looking back on his priesthood and reflecting on the papal honor, Msgr. Apoldite says with great seriousness, “I have never worked a day in my life.”
And that, he said, is because he’s found true joy in everything about his priesthood – celebrating the Sacraments, handling administrative responsibilities and, most especially, being among the people he serves.
A Mass celebrated by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., is scheduled for March 5 in Sacred Heart Church, 343 South Broad St., Trenton, at which Msgr. Apoldite will be recognized for his papal honor.