The joys of jubilarians

Father Paul J. Alciati,

pastor of St. Margaret Church,

Homer, ordained in May 1977

Father Alciati said he appreciates the ways in which the laity serves the parishes that he has served in: in Syracuse, Camillus, Binghamton, Baldwinsville, Utica, and Homer.

He said each day in his ministry is different, and “each day brings new challenges and more joy.”

Asked to  summarize the appeal of Homer, he said,  it’s “very, very welcoming, inclusive.”

“We have a variety of people of different professions,” he said, “physicians, teachers, nurses, some manufacturing workers. It’s a great variety. … It’s a very welcoming town and it’s easy to move into and get to know people. I’d have to say it’s one of my best assignments.”

Father Alciati loves boating, walking around Homer, cycling, and winter skiing. A skier since high school, he skis Greek Peak and Killington, Vt.

Asked if his years in the ministry have gone by quickly or slowly, he said, “I would say it’s a blur. It’s a complete blur, very quickly. I’ve tried to slow life down but it doesn’t happen. … It just keeps getting faster. All of a sudden it’s 4 p.m. Saturday and it’s time for Mass and it seems like we were here a few days ago.”

 

Father Paul F. Angelicchio,

pastor of the parish communities of

St. John the Baptist,

Rome, and

Transfiguration, Rome,

ordained in May 1977

Father Angelicchio said every day has been different in his ministry.

“It’s just hard to believe it’s been 40 years,” he said. He has served in Syracuse, Manlius, and Rome. He remembers his eagerness to begin his ministry alongside the now-retired Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Costello, who was then the associate pastor at Our Lady of Lourdes in Syracuse. He said that like Bishop Costello, he views himself as “one who serves.”

“You look back,” he said, “but you know, when you’re doing the work of the Lord, time means nothing. It’s just a good feeling.” He wouldn’t change anything as far as his ministry is concerned.

“It’s been very rewarding,” Father Angelicchio said, “all the different people I’ve met. … No two days alike as a priest; that’s the beauty of it.” He was having a roller coaster week: four funerals, a wedding, and three baptisms.

“You’re there for the needs of the people at their particular moment,” he said. “Not ours. Theirs.”

Father Angelicchio loves to play golf and to cook. He’ll have some priest friends over to enjoy his Italian cooking, which is “nothing spectacular, no gourmet cook.”

For golfers, he has this advice: “Don’t try to kill the ball.”

 

Msgr. Frederic F. Elkin,

“on-call” priest, retired

U.S. Navy chaplain

and captain,

Virginia Beach, Va.,

ordained in May 1977

The much-traveled and much-decorated Msgr. Elkin has served in Japan and Spain. In this country, he has served in Syracuse, New Hartford, and several states. “The Lord has taken care of me here, there, and everywhere,” he said from Virginia Beach.

Originally from Oswego, Msgr. Elkin went into the Marines right out of high school. He was in active duty from 1959 to 1963 in Iwakuni and Okinawa in Japan, and in Philadelphia. He served in the Marine Reserves from 1963 to 1965.

Early on, he was inspired by the priests at St. Paul Church in Oswego and elsewhere in the Syracuse Diocese, and then by Navy priest-chaplains.

On the occasion of his jubilee, he is “reflecting on the fact that I was called by the Lord and that I was able to discern that call. I was 35 when I was ordained.”

Now he lives in the balmy South, where he enjoys sweet She Crab Soup and reads about whales that appear at area beaches.

Because there are so few active-duty priests in the military, he helps out at military bases in the area and also at parishes in the Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Tidewater, and Hampton Roads areas.

“The years have gone by pretty quickly,” the monsignor said. “I’ve been blessed to work with a lot of phenomenal young people in the … military … that every day put their life on the line and they’re always inspirational.”

His military honors include the Legion of Merit, National Defense Medal (one star), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (three stars), and Navy/Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon (three stars).

Included was a two-year tour at the Navy Bureau of Personnel. At the time, there were about 950 chaplains of various faiths, including 233 Roman Catholic priests. Msgr. Elkin and another worker had to coordinate the reassignment of about 300 out of the 950 around the globe every year. “Always a ‘party,’” the monsignor said. “The ‘Spirit’ was definitely deeply involved in that action, and we tried our best to keep Satan out.”

In May 2002, he was awarded the designation of Chaplain of His Holiness Pope John Paul II with the title of “Monsignor.”

He retired as a Navy chaplain in 2003, and he is grateful for the Syracuse bishops who have granted him permission to serve in the Richmond Diocese and at the military installations.

He is very happy down South.

“I try to exercise and keep up on reading and homiletics,” he said.