Pastoral Staff and Clergy
The Parish Staff is ready to welcome & assist you!
Office Phone: (203) 377-3133
Pastor: Father Joseph A. Marcello, Ext. 101
In Residence: Father Philip G. Bochanski
Deacon of the Parish: Deacon Patrick Toole
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Director of Parish Operations:
James J. Panullo, Ext. 102
Director of Music and Coordinator of Liturgical Ministries:
Dr. William H. Atwood, Ext. 105
Director of Religious Education:
Lindsay Tristine, Ext. 106
Director of Pastoral Care:
Mary Ellen Kovacs, Ext. 104
Parish Office Manager:
Ellen Moran, Ext. 101
Parish Accountant:
Mary Dineen
Coordinator of Communications:
Kate Gombos, Ext. 107
Coordinator of Youth Ministry:
Raymond Kingsbury, Ext. 111
Coordinator for Social Justice & Charitable Outreach:
Eric Vogel
Safe Environments Coordinator:
Nancy Lucas, Ext. 101
Parish Custodian:
Louis B. Spina
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Although the following are not members of the Parish Staff per se, the names of these key people in parish leadership are provided here for easy reference:
Lay Members of the Parish Corporation:
Atty. Marian E. Whiteman and Kenneth M. Martin, Jr.
Parish Financial Council Chair:
John W. Diercksen
Pastoral Advisory Council Chair:
Atty. Joseph R. Tristine
Principal of St. Catherine of Siena School:
Rachel Ambrosio 203-375-1947
Our Pastor: Father Joseph A. Marcello
The fifth and current Pastor of the Parish of Saint Catherine of Siena is Father Joseph A. Marcello. Father Marcello was installed as our Pastor on Laetare Sunday, March 15, 2015, by the Most Reverend Frank J. Caggiano, Bishop of Bridgeport.
Father Marcello is a native of southwestern Connecticut, having grown up in nearby Huntington and Monroe. An alumnus of St. Catherine of Siena School (1990) and St. Joseph High School in Trumbull (1994), he was graduated from Fairfield University in 1998, having majored in English literature and composition, with a minor in communication.
Following a year of philosophy studies at the St. John Fisher Seminary Residence in Stamford, Father Marcello’s priestly formation took place at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. His thesis in sacramental theology, entitled “Beauty, Reverence, and the Objectivity of Catholic Worship in the Writings of John Henry Newman” was completed in 2003.
Following his priestly ordination on May 17, 2003, Father Marcello served for two years as Parochial Vicar at St. Joseph Parish in Shelton, and then, from 2005 to 2009, taught theology and served as Spiritual Director of St. Joseph High School in Trumbull.
In 2009, Father Marcello was appointed Priest Secretary to the Most Reverend William E. Lori, Bishop of Bridgeport, a service he continued for two years in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, following Archbishop Lori’s appointment there in 2012.
Father Marcello has also served as secretary of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of Bridgeport, on the formation faculty of the diocese’s Permanent Diaconate Formation Program, as one of the diocese’s Assistant Vocation Directors, as the diocesan Vicar for Clergy, and as Vice Chancellor of the Diocese of Bridgeport.
He currently serves as Director of Seminarians for the Diocese of Bridgeport, and also as a member of the diocese’s Building and Sacred Arts Commission, the Liturgical Commission, and the Vocation Admissions & Advisory Board.
Father Marcello’s parents, Joseph and Ellen Marcello, live in Monroe, and his sister Lisa, his brother-in-law James, and his two nieces live in Trumbull.
In Residence: Father Philip G. Bochanski
Fr. Philip Bochanski, a native of suburban Philadelphia, received his MA in theology from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook, and was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in May 1999. Along with serving in several parish assignments and in special ministry (as a high school theology teacher, a chaplain for cloistered nuns and a spiritual director for seminarians), Fr. Bochanski served for five years as chaplain for the Courage Apostolate in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Founded in New York in 1980, Courage provides pastoral care and spiritual support for Catholic men and women who experience same-sex attractions and who desire to live chastely in accord with the teaching of the Catholic Church on homosexuality.
In September 2016 Fr. Bochanski was appointed the third Executive Director of Courage International, Inc., where he served as associate director since January 2015. Courage is an international apostolate of the Catholic Church that ministers to people with same-sex attraction.
Prior to his appointment, Fr. Bochanski served as a pastoral associate in several Philadelphia parishes and as chaplain for the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters, the Philadelphia guild of the Catholic Medical Association, and the Philadelphia chapter of the Courage Apostolate. Fr. Bochanski has been instrumental in implementing Clergy Study Days in the Philadelphia archdiocese, which provides continuing formation for the priests of a diocese about the teachings of the Catholic Church on homosexuality, how to present that teaching in a clear and compassionate way, and how to provide authentic pastoral care to men and women who experience same-sex attractions.
Parish Deacon: Deacon Patrick Toole
Deacon Toole serves as deacon to St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Trumbull. He was ordained to the permanent diaconate in June 2011, and served at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Fairfield until 2015. He also serves as an assistant master of ceremonies for Bishop Caggiano.
He is a professed member of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCDS) and serves as the spiritual assistant to the Mother of Sorrows OCDS community. Deacon Toole is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Deacon Toole retired from IBM in December 2017 after serving as senior integration executive of The Weather Company, an IBM business. His appointment coincided with IBM’s acquisition of The Weather Company’s product and technology businesses in order to accelerate its Watson business strategy. After joining IBM in 1984, he held a variety of executive and management positions, including the global chief information officer, general manager of technical support services and general manager of intellectual property.
Most recently, Deacon was named Episcopal Delegate for Administration of the Diocese of Bridgeport. The appointment, made by Bishop Frank J. Caggiano in January 2018, represents a position similar to Chief Operating Officer in the business world. He works directly with Bishop Caggiano and Msgr. Thomas Powers, diocesan vicar general. Deacon Toole serves as administrative leader responsible for the oversight of diocesan departments including Human Resources, Technology Services, Safe Environments, Real Estate, Catholic Cemeteries, Strategic and Pastoral Planning and Communications.
Deacon Toole holds a master’s degree in business administration from Queens University of Charlotte, N.C. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Notre Dame and serves on the university’s College of Engineering advisory council.
His community commitments include service as chairman of the board for the Center for Ignatian Spirituality of Fairfield University; vice chair of the board for Unshattered, an enterprise partner of Hoving Home program for women recovering from addiction; and a member of the board of directors of St. Joseph High School in Trumbull.
Deacon Toole and his wife, Lyndy, who serves as a music minister at St. Luke Parish in Westport, are the parents of five grown children. They have soon to be five grandchildren.
