2
Wallkill Valley Times, Wednesday, March 6, 2019
IN THIS ISSUE
Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Classifieds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Crossword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Letters to the Editor. . . . . . . . . . 8
Montgomery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Police Blotter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
School News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Service Directory. . . . . . . . . . . 32
Sports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Walden.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
PUBLIC AGENDA
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6
Climate Smart Gardiner Task Force. 7 p.m. Town
Hall, Route 44-55, Gardiner.
THURSDAY, MARCH 7
Montgomery Town Board, 7 p.m. Town
Government Center, 110 Bracken Road,
Montgomery.
Shawangunk Town Board, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 14
Central Ave., Wallkill
MONDAY, MARCH 11
Town of Montgomery Industrial Development
Agency, 5:30 p.m. , Town Hall, 110 Bracken
Road, Montgomery.
Valley Central Board of Education, 6:30 p.m.
Administration building, 944 Route 17K,
Montgomery.
Town of Montgomery Planning Board, 7:30 p.m.
Town Hall, 110 Bracken Road, Montgomery.
TUESDAY, MARCH 12
Gardiner Town Board work session. 7 p.m. Town
Hall, Route 44-55, Gardiner.
Pine Bush Board of Education, 7 p.m. Pine Bush
High School, 156 Route 302, Pine Bush. Budget
outline for 2019-20.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13
Town of Shawangunk Climate Smart Committee,
7 p.m., 45 Bridge Street Wallkill.
HOW TO REACH US
OFFICE:
300 Stony Brook Court
Newburgh, NY 12550
PHONE: 845-561-0170, FAX: 845-561-3967
Emails may be directed to the following :
ADVERTISING
[email protected]
CALENDAR SUBMISSIONS
[email protected]
TO REACH THE EDITOR
[email protected]
FOR THE SPORTS DEPARTMENT
[email protected]
PUBLIC NOTICES
[email protected]
WEBSITE
www.timescommunitypapers.com
The Wallkill Valley Times, (USPS 699-490) is a weekly
newspaper published every Wednesday at Newburgh,
NY 12550, with offices at 300 Stony Brook Court,
Newburgh, NY. Single copy: $1 at newsstand. By mail
in Orange, Ulster or Sullivan Counties: $40 annually,
$44 out of county. Periodicals permit at Newburgh, NY.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Wallkill Valley
Times, 300 Stony Brook Court, Newburgh, NY 12550.
9/11 firefighter is new MPB pastor
By LAURA FITZGERALD
[email protected]
T
he first time Father Tom Colucci,
Most Precious Blood’s new parish
administrator, was asked if he would
consider entering the priesthood, he
thought the priest who asked him was
crazy.
“I go, Father, please, I just dropped
out of college. I don’t think I’m priest
material here,” Colucci said.
Colucci heard this suggestion as a lost
20-year-old taking a year off from college.
He did enter the priesthood—forty years
later, at the age of 60.
After obtaining his degree and
completing a stint as a physical education
teacher, Colucci entered the New York
Fire Department in 1985. His 20-year
career in the department brought him to
three firehouses in the north Bronx, mid-
town Manhattan and lower Manhattan.
He forged life-long bonds with his fellow
firefighters, running to between 5,000 and
6,000 calls a year. It was a busy life, but he
enjoyed it.
He was at ground zero on 9/11 when
the second tower collapsed. His firehouse
lost five men, and he knew 100 of the
343 firefighters who died in the attacks.
The weeks after were spent digging
through the rubble, recovering bodies
and attending funerals for the fallen first
responders.
Amidst all the death and horror of
that day, Colucci witnessed acts of great
courage from emergency personnel,
doctors, nurses, and ordinary people.
“You saw the worst in humanity that
day, but then you saw the best,” Colucci
said. “Everybody said where was Christ
that day? And I just said in the people that
responded, not just firefighters, police,
EMS people, nurses, doctors.”
Always a religious man, the idea of
joining the priesthood had stuck in his
mind. He planned to enter the seminary
upon retirement, but then he got into an
explosion on the job. Recovering from a
major head injury, he decided to enter
Mt. Savior Monastery near Pine City, New
York.
His daily life at the monastery included
prayer seven times a week, waking up
at 4 a.m., and daily chores. His chores
involved cooking and manual labor, such
as mowing the lawn and plowing snow,
because he was the youngest monk.
“My last day at the firehouse, I was 48,
and was the oldest guy in the firehouse,”
Colucci said. “I go up to the monastery;
I’m the only guy under 70.”
Fr. Tom Colucci stepped in as the parish administrator at Most Precious Blood in Walden
on March 1. Colucci is replacing Father Bill Muhm, who was named Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese for the Military Services.
The monastery sits on a hill with sheep
roaming the grounds, a postcard-perfect
pastoral scene nestled in upstate New
York. Monks tended the garden and
orchard and sold crafts in the gift shop
for extra income.
“I made candles,” Colucci said. “Every
monk had an indoor craft.”
Eventually, Colucci was called to work
with people, and entered the New York
Diocese in fall 2012 at St. Joseph Seminary
in Yonkers. Being out of school for more
than 30 years, he had to adjust to new
computerized teaching methods and being
in the classroom with peers half his age.
He was ordained at St. Paul in May
2016. As the first retired New York
firefighter, Colucci’s ordainment was a
big event. His entire family and extended
family converged on Manhattan to attend
the event. About 300 firefighters were
inside the church and 1,000 more were
outside. Several TV stations covered his
ordination, including an Italian television
station.
“I had my 15 minutes of fame,” Colucci
said, chuckling.
Colucci thanks God for helping him
through all the challenges that life has
thrown at him, and for all the talents and
blessings God has bestowed.
“I owe a lot to God. He’s given me a lot
of graces,” Colucci said.
His first assignment was at St. Mary
Mother of the Church in Fishkill as a
parochial victor. His first day at Most
Precious Blood in Walden was March
1, his first assignment as a parish
administrator. The next step is to be
declared a pastor by the cardinal.
“I saved lives, now as a priest I’m saving
souls,” Colucci said.
Colucci is replacing Father Bill Muhm,
who was named Auxiliary Bishop of
Archdiocese for the Military Services.
His favorite part of ministry is working
with people, from baptism to weddings and
everything in between. He looks forward
to serving the parish’s congregation and
helping them in their spiritual journeys.
“I want to be the best priest I can for
the people, be available for them and help
them anyway I can to get closer to God,”
Colucci said.