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 Joseph O. Ocran
Deacon of the Parish: Deacon Patrick Toole
________________________________________
Director of Parish Operations
Robert J. Cavallero, Ext. 102
Director of Sacred Music & Organist:
Zac Schurman, Ext. 105
Director of Religious Education:
Leah DeVito, Ext. 106
Director of Pastoral Care:
Mary Ellen Kovacs, Ext. 104
Director of Communications & Digital Media:
Kate Gombos, Ext. 107
Parish Office Manager:
Ellen Moran, Ext. 101
Parish Accountant:
Elena Oppedisano
Coordinator of Youth Ministry:
Raymond Kingsbury
Coordinator for Social Justice & Charitable Outreach:
Eric Vogel
Safe Environment Coordinator:
Denise Huertas, Ext. 101
________________________________________
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:
Ross Bacarella and Jeff Wright
Parish Financial Council Chair:
John W. Diercksen
Pastoral Advisory Council Chair:
Atty. Joseph R. Tristine
Principal of St. Catherine of Siena School:
Michelle Powrie 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, he 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 the first years of Archbishop Lori’s service in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, following the Archbishop’s appointment there in 2012.
Father Marcello has also served the Diocese of Bridgeport as Vice Chancellor, Vicar for Clergy, Director of Seminarians, secretary of the Presbyteral Council, and on the formation faculty of the diocese’s Permanent Diaconate Formation Program. He currently serves as a member of the Presbyteral Council, 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 Huntington.
Parish Deacon: Deacon Patrick Toole
Deacon Patrick Toole serves as the Chancellor and Secretary of the Curia in the Diocese of Bridgeport. His role is like that of a Chief Operating Officer in the secular business world. Deacon Toole is also the parish deacon at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Trumbull, CT.
Before taking on various diocesan ministerial roles in January 2018, Deacon Toole worked for the IBM Corporation for over thirty-three years. He served as IBM’s Global Vice President and Chief Information Officer, General Manager of System Z (mainframes), General Manager of Intellectual Property, General Manager of Technology Support Services, and General Manager of Internet of Things. Upon retiring in 2017, IBM named him a Distinguished Engineer, one of the highest technical honors in the company.
Deacon Toole holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Master of Business Administration degree from Queens University of Charlotte (formerly Queens College), and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Notre Dame. He was also named an honorary alumnus of Fairfield University in 2023.
Deacon Toole serves on several boards, including Hartford Healthcare Fairfield Region, Fairfield Bellarmine at Fairfield University, St. Joseph High School, and the advisory councils for the University of Notre Dame College of Engineering, and the Fairfield University School of Engineering. He also serves as a Deputy Deacon Chaplain in the Order of Malta.
He and his wife, Lyndy, live in Westport, CT. They have five married children and six grandchildren.
