Two Diocese of Trenton Priests Gain U.S. Citizenship

February 12, 2025 at 10:28 a.m.
Father Gregg Abadilla, left, sits with Father Damian McElroy, pastor of St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish, Spring Lake, to celebrate his U.S. citizenship. At right, Father Arian Wharff holds an American flag while standing in front of a model of the Statue of Liberty. Courtesy photos
Father Gregg Abadilla, left, sits with Father Damian McElroy, pastor of St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish, Spring Lake, to celebrate his U.S. citizenship. At right, Father Arian Wharff holds an American flag while standing in front of a model of the Statue of Liberty. Courtesy photos


Father Arian Wharff and Father Gregg Abadilla, parochial vicars in the Diocese of Trenton, recently became U.S. citizens after emigrating from Colombia and the Philippines.

Father Gregg Abadilla, parochial vicar of St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish in Spring Lake, joined Father Damian McElroy, pastor, in celebrating his U.S. citizenship in a Jan. 15 Facebook post. Father Abadilla, originally from the Philippines, moved to the United States in 2009 to study theology in St. Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore. He was ordained a priest by Bishop O’Connell in 2016.

Father Arian Wharff, parochial vicar of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Hightstown and a native of Colombia, became a U.S. citizen Jan. 30. Father Wharff arrived in the Diocese of Trenton in 2010 and studied for the priesthood in St. Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained by Bishop O’Connell in 2015.


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Father Arian Wharff and Father Gregg Abadilla, parochial vicars in the Diocese of Trenton, recently became U.S. citizens after emigrating from Colombia and the Philippines.

Father Gregg Abadilla, parochial vicar of St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish in Spring Lake, joined Father Damian McElroy, pastor, in celebrating his U.S. citizenship in a Jan. 15 Facebook post. Father Abadilla, originally from the Philippines, moved to the United States in 2009 to study theology in St. Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore. He was ordained a priest by Bishop O’Connell in 2016.

Father Arian Wharff, parochial vicar of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Hightstown and a native of Colombia, became a U.S. citizen Jan. 30. Father Wharff arrived in the Diocese of Trenton in 2010 and studied for the priesthood in St. Mary’s Seminary, Baltimore, where he earned a Master of Divinity degree. He was ordained by Bishop O’Connell in 2015.

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