New Saint, Justin, has close ties to Archdiocese of Newark

On Sunday, May 29, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., celebrated Mass in thanksgiving for the canonization of Saint Justin, raised to the altars by Pope Francis the previous Sunday.

For this reason Father Louis Caputo, S.D.V, of the Society of Divine Vocations, Vocationists, who knew and was able to share a part of his life with Saint Justin, comments on some details of how these religious arrived in Newark and the process of canonization of Father Justin Maria Russolillo, S.D.V. founder of the Vocationist Fathers.

“We vocationists came to the United States and this area because Josephine, sister of Saint Justin, lived in Asbury Park, and it was the Saint’s desire to open a mission here,” Father Louis says. “As such, Saint Michael of Newark became the first parish that welcomed Spanish-speakers in 1964, then later, immigrants from Cuba and Puerto Rico. Today, we still maintain the only Catholic school in the area.” 

He adds, “We have been the foster home of many who, although they move, return to Saint Michael. I have seen people come from 28 different cities, and I have been told that they do it for three main reasons: homilies, the music, and the community. Hispanics have given life to The Church of Saint Michael.”

Father Louis continues about Saint Justin, saying: “The figure of this Saint must be known not only in our archdiocese but throughout the United States because he is a universal soul. Based on the principle that we are all called to be saints and that it is through the church and priests that universal holiness is promoted, the founder of the Vocationists planned to extend his work, always thinking of reaching the poorest. Poverty must never constitute an obstacle to following one’s vocation, said Saint Justin.”

Father Louis continues: “I attended the seminary in Pianura, Italy, the city where the Saint was born, because I could not afford the seminary, and there they helped me. I consider it a grace and a privilege to have known him and to have been enthusiastic and edified by his presence and closeness. Examples edify more than words, and Father Justin’s idea of universality has moved Vocationists; my desire has been to do for others what the Saint once did for me, so I have opened missions in several countries and continents, with the mentality that we need more priests.”

“The canonization of Father Justin is the opportunity for the church to show that holiness is possible. The Saints are ordinary men and women who with their universality are committed to serving and helping the whole world,” emphasizes Fr. Louis.

“Saints are models of life, intercessors who help enlighten minds and open hearts, and this canonization is an opportune time for greater evangelization,” he says.

Father Louis continues: “What attracts Saint Justin most is his indomitable optimism. This led him to see in each person a possible saint, to see the most beautiful, good, and holy in everything. And he goes on to say, “Saint Justin is the Saint of silent miracles. In Italy, there are many people who attribute miraculous healings to Father Justin. For his canonization, the miraculous cure of a fourth-grade cancer has been presented to a teacher at Saint Michael’s School.”

He concludes, “He is a Saint of our time who thought of the Hispanics, of the poor of South America, whom we can recognize in his spirituality of progressivity. Always more, always better, always forward, always upwards.”

Cardinal Tobin, together with all the Vocationists of the Archdiocese of Newark and his people, celebrated Mass in thanksgiving for the canonization of Saint Justin. View the slideshow below for pictures.

To learn more visit these links: https://www.vocationistfathers.org/blessedjustin/ or http://www.vocationist.org/.

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Featured image: Father Louis Caputo, S.D.V., next to the relics of Saint Justin in the residence of the Vocationists. (Photo/Marco Guerrero for the Archdiocese of Newark)