November 7, 2023
Newark, N.J. – U.S. Customs Supervisor Jacqueline Montanaro, a Hazlet resident who died while trying to rescue her daughter from a housefire, was one of 12 fallen police officers honored at the Archdiocese of Newark’s 30th Annual Blue Mass led by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, on Nov. 2 in Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
This year Governor Phil Murphy, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, and numerous other dignitaries joined hundreds of law enforcement officials from throughout the state to pray for Montanaro and five other police officers who recently died in the line of duty or while helping others: Bayonne Police Captain Paul Jamolawicz, Port Authority Police Officer Anthony Varvaro, Deptford Township Police Officer Robert Shisler, Timothy Sullivan of the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, and New Jersey State Police Lieutenant Gerald Barbato. Six other deceased officers were also recognized during the liturgy, which featured a solemn procession of police honor guard units, bagpipers, and drummers.
Additionally, for the first time in its three-decade history, the Blue Mass honored two local firefighters — Captain Augusto Acabou and Captain Wayne Brooks, Jr., of the Newark Fire Department, who were killed while fighting a blaze aboard a Port Newark cargo ship July 5. The two men’s tragic deaths made headlines nationwide — President Joe Biden even expressed his condolences — but particularly impacted Newark, which is why they were specially included in the liturgy.
Reflecting on the deaths of these heroes in his homily, Cardinal Tobin stressed that the ultimate sacrifices made by the 14 memorialized at the Blue Mass were not done in vain: “(They) are at peace now because they are in the hands of God.”
To learn more about the Archdiocese of Newark, visit www.rcan.org.
About the Archdiocese of Newark
The Archdiocese of Newark serves 1.3 million Catholics throughout Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union counties. The Archdiocese has 212 parishes, 73 Catholic schools, and many missions and ministries. Hundreds of Masses are celebrated in more than a dozen languages each week. Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., the sixth archbishop of Newark, leads the Archdiocese with four auxiliary bishops. Together, they serve the northern New Jersey community through faith, education, and social services. For more information, visit www.rcan.org.
Video Highlights by Archdiocese of Newark/Jaimie Julia Winters
Photo Highlights by Archdiocese of Newark/Julio Eduardo Herrera:
Police officers from throughout New Jersey process into Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart before the Archdiocese of Newark’s 30th Annual Blue Mass on November 2, 2023.
Police bagpipers and drummers process out of Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart following the Archdiocese of Newark’s 30th Annual Blue Mass on November 2, 2023.
Law enforcement personnel from throughout New Jersey honor 14 local police officers and firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Archdiocese of Newark’s 30th Annual Blue Mass on November 2, 2023.
Law enforcement personnel from throughout New Jersey honor 14 local police officers and firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Archdiocese of Newark’s 30th Annual Blue Mass on November 2, 2023.
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin greets police officers from throughout New Jersey following the Archdiocese of Newark’s 30th Annual Blue Mass on November 2, 2023.