About our clergy:

 
 

Not only do the priests at St. Mary's offer the traditional latin Mass exclusively, but they are also validly ordained in the traditional rite, by traditional bishops. It is extremely important to the parishioners of St. Mary's that the priests who offer Mass are validly and licitly ordained. 

 

Fr. Rodriguez

Father Adan Rodriguez is from Colima, Mexico, south of Gudalajara, near the Pacific Coast. He was ordained by the late Bishop Roberto Martinez who traced his orders back to Vietnamese traditionalist Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc.  Father Rodriguez joined Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel several years ago in Monroe CT as Assistant Pastor, succeeding to the role of Pastor after the retirement of Bishop Robert McKenna.

Fr. Rodriguez is a member of a religious congregation in Argentina, The Company of Jesus and Mary, founded by Bishop Andres Morello. The aim of his congregation and its priests is to revive the spirit and ideal of the Jesuit Order (The Company of Jesus) and its founder St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Fr. Rodriguez often offers two Masses in Monroe before his 3 1/2 hour travel to offer a third Mass in Paulsboro NJ. 

Fr. Richards

Father Santiago Richards comes down from the Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel in Connecticut when he can to say evening Sunday Mass as well.

Fr. Bachtiger

Fr. Joseph Bachtiger is a graduate of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. Fr. Bachtiger was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1994 at St. Mary the Virgin Chapel by Bishop John E Hesson, D.D. who traces his orders back to  Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc. Father has served at St. Mary's ever since, exclusively offering the traditional Mass. He also serves at Sacred Heart Church in Lawrence Massachusetts whenever he is able.

Fr. Bachtiger travels from the state of Florida whenever he is able to, in order to hear confessions, offer Mass and perform baptisms. He was greatly appreciated at St. Mary's. He passed away September 17, 2021.

Bishop Hesson

Bishop John Hesson was born and raised in Philadelphia. He studied at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa staffed by the Benedictine Monks. He graduated cum laude in philosophy in 1963, then entered the Theology department on campus.
In 1966 Hesson earned a Master of Divinity degree magna cum laude in Systematic Theology. On May 20, 1967, he was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood by Archbishop Celestine J. Damiano, the Ordinary of Camden New Jersey. For fifteen years Fr. Hesson labored in the field of education at Paul VI High School, at Camden Catholic High School, and as Dean of Men and Chairman of the Theology Department at St. Mary's Preparatory Seminary in Penndel, Pennsylvania. During this time he earned a Master of Arts degree in Moral Theology from La Salle College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

By November 1982 it had become clear to Fr. Hesson that the Newchurch of the New Order was not the Catholic Church, but was instead teaching anti-Catholic doctrine and morals and simulating an invalid New Order of Mass. Fr. Hesson left the Newchurch and began to serve independent traditional Catholic chapels and missions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and throughout the United States, particularly at St. Mary's Chapel in Paulsboro New Jersey. On June 12, 1991, Bishop Hesson was consecrated a traditional Catholic bishop by the Most Rev. Bishop Oliver Oravec who was assisted by Most Rev. Bishop Robert Fidelis McKenna OP, and Most Rev. Bishop Vida Elmer as co-consecrators. Bishop John Hesson, O.S.B., died on August 26, 2017, in Florida, where he had retired after serving as a traditional Catholic priest and bishop. 

 
 

If you have any concerns, please take a look at the link below which shows the lineage of all of the traditional Catholic bishops. 

https://st2.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/376481077?profile=original