CRANSTON – Two senior priests ministering in the Diocese of Providence continue to make a significant impact on the spiritual and personal lives of men housed at the Anthony P. Travisano Intake Service Center at the Dept. of Corrections.
Msgr. Nicholas J. Iacovacci, pastor emeritus of St. Ann Church, Providence, and Father Joseph P. Henry, pastor emeritus of Sts. John and Paul Church, Coventry, celebrate Mass and offer spiritual counseling to Catholic men and those of other faiths who seek their guidance.
According to Msgr. Raymond B. Bastia, diocesan secretary for Planning and Financial Services, there are 85 priests retired from administration living in the Diocese of Providence whose pensions are funded in part by the Senior Priest Retirement Fund collection.
The Senior Priest Retirement Fund receives revenue from five sources: the Catholic Charity Appeal; the diocesan general fund; the annual Our Lady of the Clergy parish/agency assessment based on each active priest; gifts and bequests; and the annual collection which will be taken in parishes this weekend, Sept. 17-18.
Donations to the fund may also be made online at: www.providencediocese.org/donate/donate_senior_priests.htm; or by calling the Office of Stewardship and Development at 277-2121.
Msgr. Bastia emphasized that the fund’s strength is important not just for those who currently depend on it, but also for those priests who will depend on it in the future.
He added that many senior priests, once relieved from the responsibility of parish or agency administration, continue to celebrate daily and weekend Masses in parishes, visit the sick in nursing homes and hospitals, and serve as chaplains to Catholic organizations.
“As long as their health permits, the majority of retired priests are very active,” said Msgr. Bastia. “It’s a great testimony to their pastoral zeal.”
Msgr. Bastia said that when a priest retires from parish administration, he no longer receives room and board from his primary assignment, must pay for his own automobile insurance and is responsible for Medicare contributions. While it is mandatory that a priest submit his resignation to the ordinary at age 75, which he can refuse, many priests retire from administration at age 70 or younger in case of poor health.
Father Henry has been performing the vital prison ministry for eight years since he retired from parish administration.
“It’s very rewarding and very fulfilling,” said Father Henry. He celebrates Mass on Wednesdays and returns another day to hear confessions and speak privately with the men who are of all ages.
Father Henry added that while he visited parishioners housed at the correctional facility when he was a pastor, the responsibilities of parish administration didn’t afford him the time needed to devote to the vital ministry.
“I feel that I get an equal amount of what I’m giving to the men,” the prison chaplain observed.
Father Henry acknowledged that many of the men come from troubled backgrounds and have had few positive role models to emulate. Many inmates were raised in single parent homes without a male presence.
He added that while many of those incarcerated have good intentions and try to better their lives as they serve their sentences, once they return to society the temptations are too great.
Often times, when the men can’t find steady employment or provide for their families, they resort to their former ways, start selling drugs or stealing, and subsequently return to prison. While many men leave the correctional facility with the intention to change their lives, Father Henry said many men have few resources once they return to society and no one to serve as a positive mentor.
“The recidivism rate is very high,” Father Henry emphasized. “They need help with getting their lives straightened out. A mentoring program is very important.”
Noting that he celebrates Mass several times per week at St. Veronica Chapel and at St. Thomas More Church, both in Narragansett, Father Henry said that he often sees a young man worshiping in the congregation who he once counseled at the intake center.
“Thank God he has been able to turn his life around,” Father Henry said.
The prison chaplain advises the men that to change their lives, they need to establish a relationship with a church and place their trust in God who will help them overcome any challenge that they encounter.
Father Henry emphasized that for many of the men, a priest is the only individual in whom they place their trust. One man recently told him that he lives from Wednesday to Wednesday so that he can attend Mass and spend quiet time with the Lord.
“They tell me things that they don’t tell anyone else,” he observed, adding that men of all faiths seek his counsel and prayerful support.
Msgr. Iacovacci also began his prison ministry once he retired and has served at the intake center for 13 years.
“It’s tremendously rewarding to awaken the men to a new experience in religion,” he said, noting that the men are very receptive to attending Mass, listening to God’s word and receiving holy Communion.
In addition to his prison ministry, Msgr. Iacovacci also served as a hospital chaplain at the Rhode Island Hospital complex for four years after he retired from administration.
“It was ministering to people in crisis,” he recalled. “Many times it was meeting people when they needed the immediate presence of a priest.”
