At the invitation of Chris Colavito, a wonderful seminarian for the Diocese of Trenton, NJ, our family attended the 4pm Christmas eve (midnight mass) at St Nicholas of Tolentine, Atlantic City, NJ
The beautiful rectory
St. Nicholas of Tolentine's 1916 Moller pipe organ (Opus 2138) was rebuilt by Peragallo in 2006 and will be restored over the course of the next several years. The organ at St. Nicholas is one of the busiest in the country playing over 17 Masses per week, several choir rehearsals per week, and a host of weddings, funerals, and concerts.
http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/a_catholic_atlantic_city_experience_dont_bet_against_it
http://www.ststephenspennsauken.com/diocese/stnicholasoftolentineatlanticcity.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Nicholas_of_Tolentine_Church
Amazing gold tile everywhere
Built during the Great Depression
list of those that donated
back door for the tabernacle
Fr Augustus Sandman, 91 years old, received all his sacraments at St Nicholas of Tolentine, even ordination when the church was an Augustinian parish. Now it is Diocesan. Fr Sandman was at one time pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Staten Island, NY and is now retired at Villa Nova, PA. http://www.villanovan.com/2.7323/an-inside-look-at-the-villanova-monastery-1.1019652#.UOxuv-TAeHg
Vestments for mass are made with gold thread
The relics
Fr Sandman insisted that I take a photo of the late great Father John T. Sheehan, OSA., who he had given last rights to upstairs in the rectory in 1956. He fondly referred to him as "Dr Sheehan" because he had a doctorate in Canon Law. He was Prior Provincial of the Augustinian order from 1938 till 1944. Dr Sheehan was instrumental in the building of the Columbus Hotel (Knights of Columbus) across the street from St Nicholas of Tolentine. Msgr Hodge, current pastor of St Nicholas of Tolentine, describes Dr Sheehan as a visionary who held council meetings in his rectory at the dining room table during the prominent years of Atlantic City.
Father John T. Sheehan, O.S.A., was pastor of St. Nicholas for 27 years during four different terms of office, each broken by various other assignments in the Augustinian Order, including the office of provincial.http://www.augustinian.org/who-we-are/our-heritage/necrology
1881 – 1956
January 25 is the anniversary of John T. Sheehan.
John T. Sheehan was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1881. He entered the novitiate at Villanova, PA in 1898, and was ordained to the priesthood in Rome in 1903. He received his Doctorate in Canon Law there in 1905.
Father Sheehan taught at Villanova College until 1914, when he became definitor and Assistant at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine in Atlantic City, NJ. He was prior and pastor at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine from 1918 to 1926, from 1932 to 1938, and again from 1944 to 1949. He also served as prior and pastor at St. Laurence's in Lawrence, MA, from 1926 to 1932.
Father Sheehan was elected Prior Provincial of the Province of Saint Thomas in 1938, an office he held until 1944. Following the death of Father Mortimer A. Sullivan in July 1949, he was Rector Provincial until the Chapter of 1950. In 1950, he was again named prior and pastor of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine. While serving as pastor of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine in Atlantic City, Father Sheehan, as conference moderator, presided at and conducted the monthly clergy conference of the Diocese of Camden, NJ.
Father Sheehan held these offices until he died on January 25, 1958 at the age of 75. He is buried in the Community Cemetery at Villanova.
Sheehan Hall, a dormitory on the Villanova University Campus, is named in his honor.
John T. Sheehan was born in Philadelphia, PA in 1881. He entered the novitiate at Villanova, PA in 1898, and was ordained to the priesthood in Rome in 1903. He received his Doctorate in Canon Law there in 1905.
Father Sheehan taught at Villanova College until 1914, when he became definitor and Assistant at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine in Atlantic City, NJ. He was prior and pastor at Saint Nicholas of Tolentine from 1918 to 1926, from 1932 to 1938, and again from 1944 to 1949. He also served as prior and pastor at St. Laurence's in Lawrence, MA, from 1926 to 1932.
Father Sheehan was elected Prior Provincial of the Province of Saint Thomas in 1938, an office he held until 1944. Following the death of Father Mortimer A. Sullivan in July 1949, he was Rector Provincial until the Chapter of 1950. In 1950, he was again named prior and pastor of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine. While serving as pastor of Saint Nicholas of Tolentine in Atlantic City, Father Sheehan, as conference moderator, presided at and conducted the monthly clergy conference of the Diocese of Camden, NJ.
Father Sheehan held these offices until he died on January 25, 1958 at the age of 75. He is buried in the Community Cemetery at Villanova.
Sheehan Hall, a dormitory on the Villanova University Campus, is named in his honor.
This beautiful 4ft monstrance was created with the left over gold jewelry donated by local parishioners during the Great Depression
Two seminarian from the Diocese of Trenton
Chris Colavito, who attributes his conversion to St Nicholas of Tolentine and Msgr Hodge's persistent and gentle influence. He is studying at St. Mary's in Baltimore. Chris was a the manager at the NJ Motor Vehicle Commission agency in Manahawkin for 2 years and the 5 years prior was the executive assistant for a commissioner on the NJ Casino Control Commission in Atlantic City. Chris' home parish is St. Barnabas, Bayville, Ocean County, NJ.
Nicholas Dolan is presently the only college seminarian for the Diocese of Trenton, NJ and our second son. He is 20 years old and a junior at Franciscan University, Steubenville, Ohio. He is currently studying in Gaming, Austria. His home parish is St Rose, Belmar, NJ.
Chris and Nick were roommates this summer at Sacred Heart Church in Trenton, NJ.
Msgr Hodge with his cousin Theresa Kennedy of Ventnor, whose son is Edward Kennedy, a seminarian for the Diocese of Camden, NJ.
Msgr recently produced o CD to raise money to feed the homeless in Atlantic city.
The Singing Monsignor In Praise of Our Lady
http://www.amazon.com/The-Singing-Monsignor-Praise-Lady/dp/B0042GBN8G
Advice from a 91 year old priest to a 20 year old seminarian.
Make sure to visit the gift shop to support all the outreach to the needy in Atlantic City
| 1409 Pacific Avenue Atlantic City, NJ 08401 There is a gift shop on the 1st floor of the Rectory 9:30am - 3:30pm daily - buzz to get in. |
To order copies of this series of photos on a CD send $15.00 money order or certified check to:
Maria Dolan, P.O. Box 221, Allenwood, NJ 08720
Maria, if Fr Sandman is still alive would you please sent him my fondest regards. I met this wonderful priest in 1957 after I was critically injured in a bus crash. I was only eleven at the time. No one expected me to live. Father gave me Last Rites.in ER. Later he visited me in my hospital room at Atlantic City Hospital, He ministered to my mother who had also been badly injured. Later, after I was transferred to the Hospital of the University of Pa in Philadelphia, he used to visit me there.
ReplyDeleteStrange thing was... we weren't Catholic.
I never forgot Fr Sandman. Tell him that I became Catholic when I was in my teens.
I was left crippled by those injuries, but that didn't prevent me from getting a PhD in physics and a degree in civil engineering. I now live in the UK where, when I'm not working, I'm lead singer in an Irish band..
TIA, and many blessings to you,
(Father would know me as 'Jill')