BISHOP DAVID M. O’CONNELL, C.M., CELEBRATED A MASS OF THANKSGIVING July 7 to commemorate the canonical establishment of the Red Bank Oratory of St. Philip Neri by Pope Francis.
Held in the Oratory Church of St. Anthony of Padua, Bishop O’Connell served as principal celebrant and homilist of the Mass. Principal concelebrants included Father Alberto W. Tamayo, C.O. and Father Nicholas Dolan, C.O., the priests of the Red Bank Oratory, as well as Oratory of St. Philip Neri officials, Father Marco Guillen, C.O., Apostolic Delegate, and Father Michele Nicolis, Procurator General. Other concelebrating priests included priests of the Diocese as well as priests from Oratories in New York and Washington.
“St. Philip Neri was an amazing man, a devoted priest of the 16th century and a saint whose profound spiritual impact continues throughout the world almost 450 years later,” Bishop O’Connell said in his homily to the hundreds of people in attendance. “With the approval and petition and blessing of their superiors in Rome, today, the Red Bank Oratory – by decree of our Holy Father, Pope Francis – is formally and permanently established in this Diocese.”