Province Prepares to Celebrate 2026 Jubilarians

By Julia St. Clair, Province Communications Director

(New Rochelle, N.Y. – October 14) – On Saturday, October 17, the SUE Province will celebrate 13 confreres who have 40, 50, 60, and 70 years of religious profession and/or ordination. The jubilarians will be honored with a Mass at the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Stony Point, N.Y., at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Anyone who wishes to attend but is unable to is welcome to watch via livestream. A cocktail hour and luncheon reception will follow at Town & Country Caterers in Congers, N.Y.

At 98 years old, Fr. Enzo Trigatti is the most senior member of the province and heads this year’s roster of thirteen. July 1 marked his 70th anniversary of priestly ordination. Ordained at Bollengo (Turin) in 1956, Fr. Enzo was born in Zompicchia di Codroipo (Udine province) in 1928 and began his Salesian formation at Bagnolo (Cuneo) in 1943. He made his first profession in 1945 at Chieri, Italy. While still in Italy, he engaged in teaching, pastoral work, vocation direction, and spent 23 years assisting with secretarial work at the Generalate. He came to Montreal in 1996, where he ministered at Maria Ausiliatrice for 9 years. Since 2015, he has been an assistant pastor in Etobicoke, where he ministers particularly to the Italian population.

Two Salesians have the distinction of being double jubilarians who are celebrating 60 years of their first religious profession and 50 years of priestly ordination:

• Fr. Pat Angelucci made his first profession at Newton, N.J., on August 16, 1966. Born in the Bronx, he was ordained a Salesian priest in Columbus, Ohio, on April 24, 1976. Fr. Pat’s extensive service includes his tenure as provincial from 1997 to 2003, his time at Salesian High School from 2004 to 2013, and his service as pastor of St. John Bosco Parish in Port Chester from 2015 to 2024. Since 2024, he’s been a part of the Stony Point community, where he currently serves as the coordinator for the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians.
• Fr. Richard Authier also made his first profession on August 16, 1966, at Newton. Born in Montreal, he was ordained on June 5, 1976, at Sherbrooke, Que. Fr. Richard previously served as provincial of the Canadian vice-province, when it was a separate province, from 1988 to 2000 and again from 2006 to 2009. He has been the director of the Don Bosco Youth Leadership Centre (Don Bosco YLC) for 25 years.

Also celebrating 60 years of profession is Fr. Paul Dzaitkiewicz, who came to serve in the SUE Province in 2011. Born in Wroclaw, Poland, he made his prenovitiate there at the St. Michael community. He entered the novitiate at Kopiec in 1965 and professed there on August 16, 1966. He was ordained a priest in Krakow the following year, and next year will mark his 50th anniversary of priestly ordination. He currently serves as the spiritual leader of the sisters and residents at St. Joseph’s Home in Woodbridge, N.J., and is a canonical member of the Orange community.

Rounding out the 60-year milestones, Fr. George Hanna celebrates his diamond jubilee of priestly ordination this year, having celebrated the 70th anniversary of his first profession last year. Born in Pawtucket, R.I., he became a Son of Mary at Newton in 1953. He was ordained in Rome on March 5, 1966. As a young Salesian, he taught in Haverstraw and Beirut; as a priest, he has engaged in vocation ministry and an abundance of parish ministry: Paterson, Elizabeth, Harlem, Orange, and Washington, D.C., before joining the Marrero community in 2014. He continues to serve as the associate pastor of Mary Help of Christians Parish in Harvey, La.

This year marks the golden jubilee of profession for three beloved Salesians:

• Fr. Bill Bucciferro was born in Joliet, Ill., over a century after the birth of St. Dominic Savio. Inspired by watching Bl. Fulton Sheen on Life Is Worth Living, he originally aspired to be a YMCA director before he answered the call to religious life. He made his first profession on September 1, 1976, at Newton, and received the privilege of meeting his childhood idol Bishop Sheen during the last year of Fr. Bill's seminary formation before Bishop Sheen's passing. He was ordained a priest in Columbus, Ohio. Fr. Bill’s ministry highlights include his time as director and the first SDB pastor in the Chicago community and his time as coordinator of youth ministry (CYM) in East Boston, Mass. He has been the director of the Port Chester community since 2024, which was also the location of his first assignment in 1983, where he served at Corpus Christi Church for six years.
• A beloved member of the Tampa community, Bro. Alfred Flatoff was born at Stevens Point, Wisc., in 1949. He entered the Salesians as a Son of Mary in Newton in 1974. Two years later, he made his first profession on September 1, also at Newton, where he remained until 1979. Some highlights of Bro. Alfred’s service as a Salesian brother include, but are not limited to, his time as manager of the Marian Shrine’s (now known as the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians) bookstore, being treasurer in Ramsey and East Boston, and performing various duties in Ramsey, such as caring for the flower beds.
• Fr. Larry Gilmore also made his first profession at Newton on September 1, 1976. Born in Brighton, Mass., he was ordained a Salesian priest in Columbus and volunteered for the missions a year later. He has served in Africa ever since and has ministered in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Last year, he was assigned to the novitiate in Sunyani, Ghana.

Last year, Fr. Bill Ferruzzi and Fr. Tim Ploch celebrated their 60th anniversary of religious profession. This year, they mark the 50th anniversaries of their priestly ordinations. They were both ordained in Columbus, Ohio, on April 24, 1976.

• Born in Boston in 1947, Fr. Bill Ferruzzi was raised in Revere, Mass. He was in the first freshman class at St. Dominic Savio H.S. before he went to Ipswich as an aspirant. He has been director of communities in New Rochelle (twice), Columbus, and Tampa, besides teaching at Cedar Lake, New Rochelle, East Boston, and Goshen. He was a formator in South Orange and CYM at the Boys & Girls Club of East Boston. He joined the Stony Point community in 2021.
• Born in Paterson, N.J., in 1946, Fr. Tim Ploch has a lifelong Salesian connection through his mother, an alumna of Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon. He began his own Salesian journey as an aspirant at Haverstraw. He moved with the aspirants for the priesthood to Goshen in 1961 and entered the novitiate in 1964. He served initially in schools: Cedar Lake, Goshen, Ramsey, and Miami. He was also director in Columbus, Port Chester, and New Rochelle. He not only served as provincial of the SUE Province (1991-1997), but also as provincial of the SUO Province (2009-2014), the latter term interrupted when the 27th General Chapter elected him regional councilor for the Interamerica Region.

Celebrating 40 years of profession are Fr. Adaikala Raja John and Fr. Zbigniew Majcher:

• Born in Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu, India, Fr. Raja was an altar server as a child who learned about the Salesians by reading the Salesian Bulletin. He entered the novitiate at Vellakinar and made his first profession there a year later, on May 24. He was ordained a Salesian priest in his home city in 1997. Next year will mark his 30th anniversary of priestly ordination. Fr. Raja came to the SUE Province in 2016 and has served in Edmonton and Etobicoke. He became pastor of St. Benedict Parish in 2025 and was installed as director of the Etobicoke community this past summer.
• Born in Przemyśl, Poland, in 1966, Fr. Zbigniew Majcher made his first profession in Kopiec on August 22, 1986. He was ordained a Salesian priest in Krakow in 1994. He’s been in the SUE Province for 25 years. His service includes, but is not limited to, his time as chaplain of the Holy Trinity Province of the Little Servant Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, chaplain of the Marian Residence assisted living home, chaplain of St. John’s Retreat House in Atlantic City, and helping in different parishes in the Camden, Trenton, and Metuchen dioceses and the archdiocese of Philadelphia, where he also serves as a retreat master.

Finally, Fr. Dave Sajdak celebrates 40 years of priestly ordination. Born in Chicago, Ill., in 1955, he dreamed of being a millionaire and was on the path to do so until, one day, he asked the “dangerous question” in prayer: “Lord, you have anything for me to do?” Thus, the idea of priesthood came to mind, and he received his call. He made his first profession at Newton in 1979 and was ordained a Salesian priest on May 17, 1986, in his hometown of Chicago. His assignments include, but are not limited to, serving at Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, La.; Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa; and Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Surrey, B.C. He joined the Chicago community in 2021 and has served as its director since 2024.

Please pray for all of this year’s jubilarians and stay tuned to see how the event went. It will be featured in next week’s issue of Salesian News.