Hundreds pray at Basilica Blue Mass for comrades who lost their lives in service to others (PHOTOS)

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, presided over the Archdiocese of Newark’s 29^th Annual Blue Mass honoring all active, retired, and deceased New Jersey law enforcement personnel on Nov. 3 in Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

Hundreds of police officers of all faiths representing federal, state, county, and municipal departments and agencies attended the Mass, which opened with dozens of honor guards carrying flags processing through the Cathedral while police pipes and drum corps played the “Star-Spangled Banner.”

Cardinal Tobin then acknowledged in his homily why everyone had gathered for the Blue Mass – to pray “in faith and gratitude” for the lives of all in law enforcement. But he also asked the officers what non-police could do for them, saying everyone must unite for the common good.

“We must work together with a special concern for families, especially those who are underserved by our institutions,” Cardinal Tobin said. “People of faith have a special responsibility for the common good. Saying ‘yes’ to God is something believers are called to do each day. Choose good over evil, truth over lies, and love for others over selfish gain.”

This year’s Blue Mass honored Senior Correctional Police Officer Daniel Sincavage, Port Authority Police Officer Anthony Varvaro, Middletown Police Detective Lieutenant Joseph Capriotti, Paterson Police Lieutenant Frank Petrelli, and former Newark resident Deputy First Class Glenn Hilliard.

Officer Sincavage, 41, was killed in May while driving from one area of the Cumberland County Southern State Correctional Facility to another. He veered off the road and hit some trees before his car caught fire.

Officer Varvaro, 37, perished in a crash on his way to work at the World Trade Center site where he was assigned a security detail on Sept. 11. He also had a successful career in Major Baseball League as a pitcher with the Atlanta Braves. Still, he said his dream was always to be a police officer.

Detective Lieutenant Capriotti, 62, was known in Middletown as the “keeper of the list.” It was his job after Sept. 11 to notify families when the remains of victims were found. He died in 2019 of World Trade Center-related cancer.

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Lieutenant Petrelli was with the Paterson Police Department for 36 years before retiring in 2003. Just days before his death in 2020, which was determined to be related to his time as a first responder at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, a state pension board approved him for the World Trade Center Disability Program.

Deputy First Class Hilliard, 41, of the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office in Maryland, was shot and killed in June while attempting to arrest a man wanted on multiple felony warrants. At his request, he had just been transferred back to patrol.

The Blue Mass also paid tribute to 10 law enforcement officers who served on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic and succumbed to the deadly virus this year. They are Bloomfield Detective James Peri, Clifton Sergeant Robert Miller, Lieutenant Matthew Vogel of the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, Perth Amboy Lieutenant David Formeza, Sergeant Matthew Horton of the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, Daniel Krupa of the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC), Paterson Captain John Phelan, Robert McCormack of the NJDOC, Dwayne Gibbs of the NJDOC, and Lakewood Captain Joseph Goertz.

Krupa’s wife Candice sat with her sister-in-law in one of the front pews set aside for the family, waiting for the Mass honoring her husband to begin .

“It’s overwhelming, touching, and emotional,” Krupa said. “We were married in the Catholic Church. It means a lot to come to Mass at the Cathedral.”

Chief Christopher Trucillo of the NJ Transit Police Department, the Blue Mass’ honorary chairman, also felt the Blue Mass was a fitting way to memorialize those police who made the ultimate sacrifice.

“Each time I hear of a law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty, no matter where they are from, I always think the same thing — they went to work looking to help people and their community, and as a result of the uniform they wear and the selfless work that they do, they lost their lives,” Chief Trucillo said. “Jesus teaches us that there is no greater love than one laying their life down for another.”

The Mass came two days after two officers of the Newark Police Department were shot while responding to a 911 call. Both officers are expected to recover fully, but the suspect eluded the authorities for about 24 hours before he was apprehended. In a sense, because the two officers survived, the Mass was also celebratory, Chief Trucillo said.

Gov. Phil Murphy, First Lady Tammy Murphy, and Attorney General Matthew Platkin attended the service.

“We will never forget the sacrifices they made in service to their communities and our state, and are forever in their debt,” Gov. Murphy wrote on Twitter about his attending the Mass.

Mike Tirado, Vice President of PBA 105 and a Blue Mass Committee member, told Jersey Catholic that the Mass honors not only the officers who have died but also their family members.

“We come to honor them, Tirado said. “When they see so many officers here, they see how many sisters and brothers in blue they have for the rest of their life.” Victoria Kuhn, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, attended the Mass to support her officers and the families of the deceased officers.

“Days like this, it’s a heavy day,” she said.

Before the final blessing, Cardinal Tobin told the women and men in blue: “This is not a one-off; we continue to pray for you.”