Hello.  I don't believe it has been so long. I must have deleted a lot.  But HAPPY NEW YEAR. I will try and keep up.

We had a fine lecture by Fr. Peter Schineller S.J. on the church in Africa, Asia and the americas.  let me clue you in on coming events" On saturday January 28 at 5 p.m in the commons we will have a memorial Mass for BJ Giannone who died last year.  .....Then on  Monday Feb. 13 at 6:30 at the powerhouse lounge we will have our 4th in the series of THEOLOGY on TAP.  "HERE COMES the JUDGE. Judge Kevin Callahan and Judge Dan D'Alessandro will share their story and give insights on a judge in Hudson countty. then on sunday Feb. 26 at 10 a.m  Fr. George Quickly S.J.former provincial for Jesuits in Nigeria and who worked in Baltimore in the prisons for 15 years will help us celebrate Black History Month.  all are invited.. Prayer and lecture and questions... Then on march 2-3 we will have an overnight retreat at Mount Arlington  Friday from 7 p.m to Saturday at  5 or 6. Cost would be $50...we will do our own cooking.  So e mail me at azzartoa@spprep.org to reserve a place . Lastly lok aheadMarch 18;  AAA  American Asian Alumni..mass at 4 p.m in the Chapel, followed by volleyball then some food from Max's of Manila...so look ahead.  i hope to do a better job.

AUGUST 17                Hello from 144.  Construction continues at a rapid pace and will soon be ready. We had reunions at the Bears and Jackals games...not a hugh crowd.  I had the opportunity to celebrate the 90th birthday of Mrs Glennon. She is Mom of Mike, Mark and Kevin . Mike was in the hospital for a week but good news is that he is back home. Dave McClave of the class of 65 was in to visit his sister at the shore. Dave teaches at Loyola Jesuit in Los Angeles and spent about 4 weeks with students in Argentina and Peru. Mike Tunney S.J. came down from Buffalo for baptism of new born son  (Clarke)to Mark and MaryEllen Usarzewicz... On the 20th Jim Keenan and I will join the family of Fr. Charlie Beirne S.J. for the burial at Auriesville. Charlie died last year and willed his body to medical research...

             9/11   We will have a Mass on Sunday September 11 at 11 a.m in the Commons. All are invited to join us for remembrance  and  prayers.

August 4, 2011;  Hello Hope all are enjoying the summer.  Few updates in case you missed therm: Mother of Tom Zimmerman(87) died. Also just heard that John Lee of class of 79 died at the shore. Also mother of John Krivinsky died last week.... had the joy to celebrate the marriage of Peter Williams , class of 96 to Jessica in Saratoga.  Mike Kinahan, Pat Fitzpatrick, Jason Artz, Ryan Scerba were all there.... Alumni gathered for Bears game on August 2.  Next game is Tuesday August 16 at 7 p.m .Jackals at yogi Berra Stadium in Montclair..all welcome. Mike Glennon's mom will celebrate birthday number 90 on Sunday at the casino....nice gathering at Jim Dondero's house in farewell to Roldan Jordan who will be going to BC high.  We look ahead for mass on Sunday September 11 at 11 a.m.  all invited....more to come

July 25.  hello.  Just deleted the message but will try again.  hello and sorry I have been remiss. I will try and catch you up on a few things. Newark Bears game on next Tuesday at 5;30  Aug. 2..say hello to the recent graduates..meet inside .  also on Aug. 16..7 p.m the game with the Jackals at Montclair state.. I will update you. Construction has begun in earnest..was not easy in 100 degree heat.  We will have about 280 freshmen in August.  Hap continues as John  Irvine does a great job with 225 7th graders...... I had the opportunity to be minister at the marriage of Nick Urbanovich...next week Peter Williams in Saratoga..then in the fall Chris Romano, Luke Drumond, Mike Iorio, Matt Spataro, I had a chance to see Matt Greeley and wife and 2 children.  Even went to W. Va on an immersion trip. Other trips for students will be in Camden, Kentucky etc. the spirituality committee met at the powerhouse lounge to plot out events for next year. Key event will be  Mass on 9/ll at Prep at 11 a.m. We soon will invite families of those who lost lives on that day...all are welcome. New basketball coach(Todd Decker, new baseball coach in Pat Laguerre.  Met up with John Feeney, Tom Liccardo, Craig Zegler and Paul Sciarra..all class of 80. John Louf, class of 2003, is on his way to Arizona to take up a new job and contiue in electrical engineering......The Jesuits have moved out of 180. The provincial wanted only one Jesuit community in Jersey City.  So a few went to NYC..14th street.  John Mullin is at the rectory of St. Aedan's church.  I am at 50 Glenwood Ave...Gothic towers..7th floor. there are other people living in the apartments...Jesuit dining room and chapel are on the 9th floor....will take time. Theology on tap on Monday Oct. 17..Emmaus revisited..come.  I will sign off but will try and keep up to date.  Pray for the Dodgers... I hope to attach soon a few articles.. Falling Upwards by Richard Rohr... had a chance to see Tree of Life..like a poem...great...even Captain America...article says the super heros are perfect...Saints like you and I have lot of faults and genuine human beings....soon.  tony asj.

Hello..  NOTE  THE THEOLOGY ON TAP is at POWERHOUSE LOUNGE lst Street and Marin  Blvd.. Park at Prep.  It is within walking distance.  Near path station  walking toward shoprite. Owned bt Jeff Favia..new place.

Welcome to Fr. Tony Azzarto's home page. Please check this page regularly for upcoming retreat events and spiritual reflections.

Hello again.  This is October.  Hope all is well.  Upcoming events:   October 24 is renewal of Vows for married couples..could be 1 year, 10 15 etc.  It will be at 4p.m in the afternoon on Sunday    Just let me know if you can make it.....Few updates.  Wedding of Liam Ahearn of 2001 was last week.  Wedding of Erich Sekel comes up in two weeks.  Brian McCarthy was married about a month ago.  we had a great Baptism for Gabriella  Rakoski .  The Prep football team as well as Soccer team have both done well.   I am teaching a saints Course...help...need a few good Saints.  So HOPE TO SEE YOU SUNDAY OCT 24.

Hello and Welcome to September:  This will be brief.  We welcomed 260 freshmen for the class of 2014.

Upcoming Events:

October 24: Renewal of Marriage Vows:  (married 1 or 5 or 30 years etc.)  4 p.m Chapel.  We had 25 couples last year.  please contact me.

Nov. 15  Monday:  Theology on Tap at POWERHOUSE LOUNGE  6;30.  Fr. Peter Schineller S.J.. will share with us about 15 minutes on"How do we find God in a Busy Life"?..then discussion, have a beer, stay as long as you like.

December 8: 7 p.m  Lecture by Fr. John O'Malley S.J.  Ignatius...what does he say to us in 2010?   Mass at 6 p.m in the Chapel.  Open to all....More to come.

Hello on this August 26th.  Just celebrated Mass for the Washington Redskins football team..not a great crowd but fun.

Please remember in your prayers the following.  Matt Pike ,class of '95. He fell and shattered his good arm and is now at Cornel medical center.....also the father of Rob Dimler ,class of 88. Dad is at Clara Maas hospital and not doing well.   Also Butch  Peter Kachel, father of Brian of class of 94. Butch had had a heart transplant about 8 years ago. He is now in ICU at Duke Medical center with lung infection and failing kidneys.  Family is in North Carolina. ....... Few updates:

The "church" is being converted into a cafe and should be ready for the opening of school. The old locker room will now be 3 classrooms. The football , Soccer ad x-country teams have been in and doing well.  The alumni picnic is scheduled for Sunday September 19..Mass at 11 a.m and cookout afterwards. It is meant for everyone so bring the kids..facepainting, fire engine, balloon making , bounce house etc...  If anyone would like to donate hamburgers  or hot dogs or chips just let me know....the spirituality committee has worked hard and there will soon be a schedule of events posted.  Renewal of marriage vows on Sunday Oct 24,  Theology on Tap..or as I like to call it PSI  Prep Spiritual Investigation..one in each semester at the York Street Tavern or the Beer garden..speaker to share about 15 minutes then a discussion...also planned in 2011 is children's mass, retreat, Grandparents Mass.  Also on Wednesday, December 8 there will be a talk by Fr. John O'Malley S.J. on Ignatian spirituality..how do we grow in this busy world of ours ... More to come..Letter sent ...

.1Dear Prep Alumnus, friend of St. Peter’s:

                                             Hello from Jersey City.  Thought I would update you on the last 7 weeks.  I spend the weeks from June 17 in  St. Joseph’s parish in Benin City, NigeriaWest Africa.  I had served there from 1980-5 and saw many familiar faces.  Some of the elders had died, the young teens are now married with children.  I served mostly in the parish with Mass, communion calls, visiting the sick, confessions, counseling and being present.

Fr. Jude Odiaka S.J. is the parish priest(former Mass server) and I was able to pinch hit for him as he supervised the building of the new church.

                                          Benin City is a traditional city. Edo language is preserved and the parish has Mass in Edo(bini) every other Sunday at the 10;30 Mass. The Gospel at all Masses on Sunday is also proclaimed in Edo. The language of school, television , newspaper is English.  Jude Odiaka S.J. has been the parish priest(pastor) for the last 4 years. It took great courage for him to tear down the old church(repairs were needed) and build a new one

In eleven months. People were very generous and the merchants donated tile, roofing etc. He was able to get a great group together who got donations from leaders in different States (36 in Nigeria). No money came from the province or the US. Most people in the parish are poor so there was a need to get people who could help. Jude will be going to Tertianship and studies. It is amazing and a sense of God at work as I realize  Jude was once a Mass server (altar boy) in 1982.

                                      We had 4 Masses on Sunday : 6 a.m, 8:15 , 10:30 and 5 p.m.The 6 a.m was  most crowded..almost 2500 people there !  I also had a chance to visit Faith House(a community of about 17, 13 of whom are mentally or physically handicapped.), Joseph house…(4 minute  walk from the parish). Joseph house is a community for those who are homeless or not able to be on their own.  There is also a soup kitchen attached…..The Daughters of Charity run Ossiomo Leper hospital and village.. It is a large community with a school, clinic etc. Often people with leprosy are not accepted by the family.  It was a great privilege to celebrate Mass a few Mondays. The hospital is about 50 minute car ride from the parish.

                                      Nigeria, as any culture, is difficult to understand. Electricity can be off for weeks yet everyone has a cell phone. Traffic and roads  can be a nightmare (can take 3 hours to go the distance from Jersey City to Bayonne). There are very few traffic lights, plenty of OCADAS)motorcyles weaving in and out as they transport people. Traffic can resemble  mid town NYC.  Some in the parish live in nice homes, others  in small crowded rooms. The young have difficulty finding jobs and schools are erratic.  The best part is the wonderful people  who have great faith and are so welcoming.  This was the rainy season ; while it was 95 in New Jersey we had a comfortable 75.   English is the spoken language , however my Bklyn-JerseyCity accent was not always understood..

                                     I never did get to the prison but I had a group wedding for 9 couples(to keep cost down), Baptism one Saturday for 25, a wake keeping Mass in the street for a young person who died, a day of retreat for widows.  9 new novices were accepted into the  Jesuit novitiate on July 30. We celebrated the feast of St. Ignatius  with the novitiate and retreat center communities.   On July 22 the church was  officially dedicated by Bishop Gbuji..Mass was 3 hours and 45 minutes.  Two days later on Saturday July 24 4 Nigerian priests were ordained  by Jesuit Archbishop Joseph Atanga  S.J. from  Cameroun.. Celebration and dancing of thanksgiving  by the 3000 in the church was a witness to the work of God in the people. We ended after 5 hours! This was  followed by a reception outdoors. Tents were set up and people arrived with coolers of  Rice  and soft dinks and water.  People from the villages of the newly ordained were given accommodations  at local schools etc.

                                I have many stories…...there is always a struggle to  just get food for the family, try and pay school fees, avoid malaria and overcome corruption on all levels. The parish is a safe place for people to make friends, share their hearts, be creative and find the presence of God.  I joke with many and say”you pray too much”.  The parish is well organized..lectors, ministers of protocol, Eucharistic ministers, 5 different choirs, parish and laity council, finance committee. I always felt most safe  and humbled by the generosity and warmth of the people. A lady brought bananas in thanksgiving for a job we helped her to get in 1982…. There are always so many needs..adult education, basic health care, food for most people and electricity for the city. Malaria is common and everything costs(kickback)… Nice to be back in Jersey City. I come enriched by the goodness of the people, their care for one. another and their great faith.  (15 rolls of film will tell the more complete story.

                                      Tony Azzarto S.J.  August 6, 2010