Date: Fri 10-Jul-1998
Date: Fri 10-Jul-1998
Publication: Bee
Author: KAAREN
Quick Words:
vicar-Castaldo
Full Text:
St Rose Welcomes A New Parochial Vicar
(with cut)
BY KAAREN VALENTA
When the Rev John J. Castaldo came to St Rose of Lima Church last week to
serve as a parochial vicar, he couldn't believe the reception he got from the
parish.
"What a welcome -- even a carnival!" he said, flashing a big grin as he
introduced himself to the congregation during the homily at the 5:30 pm Mass
on Saturday. Laughter and applause immediately filled the church, welcoming
the 39-year-old priest who was transferred to St Rose from St Edward the
Confessor parish in New Fairfield.
Father Castaldo has served at three parishes since he was ordained to the
priesthood at St Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport in 1987, but his work has
extended far beyond those parishes. For the past 11 years he has provided Pre
Cana counseling, a marital instruction program required for all engaged
couples in the church, throughout the Diocese of Bridgeport. He also has been
involved in prison ministry since he was a seminary student and he serves as a
chaplain for Connecticut State Police Troop A in Southbury and G in
Bridgeport.
Growing up on Long Island, the oldest in a family of five siblings, he first
thought about becoming a priest when he joined the Knights of Columbus as a
senior in high school. He is now a fourth-degree Knight. But instead of
entering a seminary, he earned a bachelor's degree in sociology/psychology at
CW Post University, then worked as an accountant for two years.
"But after I made the decision to become a priest, I never looked back. I have
never regretted it for a second," he said.
Father Castaldo earned a master of divinity degree at Sacred Heart School of
Theology, in Hales Corners, Wis., the largest national seminary specializing
in second-career vocations to the Roman Catholic priesthood.
As part of his seminary training, Father Castaldo was asked to take on a
pastoral assignment. He decided to go into the prison ministry, and was
assigned to Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, N.Y.
"I decided I needed to do it to overcome fear, but I became totally enthralled
with it. It is very challenging work," Father Castaldo said. "Attica is a
maximum security prison, with a reputation as one of the most violent in the
country, largely because of overcrowding and the fact that 80 percent of the
prison population are lifers with no chance of parole. Some of them are
serving double and triple life sentences."
After ordination, he was assigned to St Theresa parish in Trumbull for four
years, then at St Mark in Stratford for three. While he was in Trumbull, he
volunteered as a radio dispatcher for the ambulance corps, then became a
state-certified emergency medical technician serving on ambulance calls. He
met many police officers on those calls and was encouraged to become a police
chaplain. Each year he serves with Bishop Edward M. Egan at a Mass at the
cathedral in Bridgeport for all deceased police officers of the diocese.
For the past four years, while assigned to St Edward the Confessor parish in
New Fairfield, he has volunteered at the jail in Bridgeport, doing individual
and group counseling, saying Mass and hearing confessions.
For the past 21 years, beginning in high school, Father Castaldo has worked as
a sports official, serving as a referee or umpire for four sports -- baseball,
basketball, softball and soccer -- usually on his day off each week, when he
drives to his mother's home on Long Island. (His father died last year.)
"My father was an electrical contractor," Father Castaldo said. "My youngest
brother took over the business after he died. One of my sisters is an FBI
agent in New York City, my other brother is a New York City court officer, and
I have a sister who is in the publishing business. Growing up, we were very
close as a family. I believe family values are so important and have tried to
do a lot in the parishes in the areas of social and spiritual activities."
Father Castaldo's major responsibility at St Rose will be with the youth
group, the school and CCD (religious education for public school students)
programs. He will also work with the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
(RCIA), the adult education program for people who are converting to
Catholicism or who may have been baptized Catholic but never practiced their
faith. RCIA classes begin each year in October and culminate in April on Holy
Saturday of the Easter Vigil.
Father Castaldo is accustomed to working in large parishes. There were 2,200
families at St Edwards, more than 3,000 at St Theresa's. St Rose has nearly
2,500 families.
"I'm very excited about being in this town," Father Castaldo said. "I will
miss St Edward's, of course. It's very hard to say goodbye, but we know when
we are assigned to a parish that we won't stay forever. It is good, for
personal growth, to work in different parishes. You take what you learn in
each parish with you. My hope is to have my own parish eventually, but that's
probably still a few years away."