Tradition in Trenton

     Almost two months ago, I had the privilege of interviewing the Reverend H. Todd Carter, Pastor of Holy Innocents Parish, Neptune. I interviewed him on his conversion story, his vocation, and the history of the Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin Mass) in the Diocese of Trenton. In this post, I incorporated the historical aspects into a timeline of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Trenton as well as the state of New Jersey.                   I first asked Father, of his conversion story. Looking back on it, Fr. Carter described his conversion as “everything fitting together.” For those who don’t know, Fr. Carter was born and raised a Lutheran. By the time he was enrolled at The College of New Jersey, Fr. Carter said that he was involved in a Presbyterian youth group and prayed but wasn’t practicing in the traditional Christian sense (regular Sunday attendance). Following...

     Last month on April 4 th , I interviewed Fr. Brian Patrick Woodrow, Liaison to the Extraordinary Form for the Diocese of Trenton as well as the newly installed pastor of the Church of Saint Dominic in Brick. In this interview, I asked about his vocation, his introduction to the Latin Mass, his role in implementing it, as well as tips for priests who want to implement the Traditional Mass in their parishes at a level comfortable to the congregation.                   I first asked Fr. Woodrow about his vocation. A rare occurrence nowadays, Fr. Woodrow entered straight into seminary out of high school. I asked him when he knew about his early vocation. He told me that when he attended Mass on Holy Thursday as a kid in Union Beach, he said from that moment he knew he wanted a more intimate connection with God and that whatever he was going to do, God would be a major part of it. By his senio...

     Thursday, May 2 nd I had the privilege of interviewing Fr. Dan Hesko. Fr. Dan Hesko has been the pastor of Saint Catherine Laboure in Middletown since the early 90’s and his parish has the distinction of celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass over a decade before everyone else. Following a peaceful afternoon drive on the Northbound Garden State Parkway and a joyride on Rotue 36, Fr. Hesko and I sat down for an interview as a part of a series on the history of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Trenton.      I first asked Fr. Hesko about how he felt during the initial changes that took place during the Second Vatican Council. Father told me that since he started attending a Baptist Church at the age of 12, the changes were minimal. In addition to that, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and his childhood pastor were both very conservative so there were hardly any signs of liturgical change. For fifteen years he was a Baptist until a Redempt...

Hello readers, I am a young Catholic layman living in the Diocese of Trenton dedicated to promoting the spread of the Traditional Latin Mass. How I ended up attending this beautiful liturgy has a long and colorful story to it. I would like to thank Fr. Scott Shaffer and Mrs. Mulvaney for allowing this to be a part of a school project. I would also like to thank the priests who collaborated with me on the first blog project already, and I look forward to additional collaborations in the future. I hope everybody enjoys this blog, and if you want any event to be covered, please email me!