Pastoral Staff and Clergy

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, and also as Vice Chancellor of the Diocese of Bridgeport. 

In July of 2017, Bishop Caggiano appointed Father Marcello to serve also as Vicar for Clergy of the Diocese of Bridgeport, while continuing to serve as our Pastor. In this capacity, Father Marcello has worked with the Bishop, the Vicar General, and the diocesan Council of Deans on matters related to the ministerial assignments, fraternal support, and ongoing formation of the priests and deacons of the diocese. 

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.

Father Luke P. Suarez, our Parochial Vicar, is the fifth of 10 children, six boys and four girls, born to Mario and Teresa Clavin Suarez. His father immi­grated to this country from Cuba; his mother, who is of Irish-German extraction, comes from New Rochelle, NY. Father’s brothers and sisters live along the East Coast, from North Carolina to upstate New York, and his parents currently live in northern Virginia.

A member of the first class of students at Ave Maria University in Florida, he graduated from Ave Maria in 2007. Having become a seminarian of the Diocese of Bridgeport, his priestly formation took place at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He was ordained to the Priesthood at St. Rose of Lima Parish in Newtown on May 14, 2011 by then-Bishop William E. Lori. 

Father Suarez’s first assignment was as Parochial Vicar at St. Rose of Lima Parish where, a year and a half into his priestly ministry, he was called upon to assist the Pastor, Msgr. Robert Weiss, in responding to the tragic shootings which took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December, 2012. At St. Rose, Father Suarez was also extensively involved in youth ministry and in visiting the sick and homebound.

Father Suarez’s next assignment was as Episcopal Chaplain at Notre Dame High School in Fairfield, with residence at St. Ann Parish in the Black Rock section of Bridgeport. Actively working for the evangelization of the students and faculty at Notre Dame, Father Suarez credits his time at NDHS as especially formative. Shortly before the end of his tenure at Notre Dame, Father Suarez almost singlehandedly renovated the chapel there, providing a place of beauty and dignity for the celebration of Mass for current and future NDHS students. [see attached article, below]

Since coming to St. Catherine’s as Parochial Vicar in 2017, Father Suarez has taken an active role in every aspect of parish life, from the celebration of weddings and funerals, to visiting the students in St. Catherine of Siena School and our Religious Education program, to visiting the sick and homebound, to leading the parish Youth Group. Since August of 2018, he has also served as Interim Director of Religious Education

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.

 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 two grandchildren.