Staff

Although I was born in Queens, New York, my family moved to Sayreville before I was a year old.  My mom still lives in the house we moved to when I was 5, in the Parlin section of Sayreville.  I have family in South Amboy as well.  They and my mom all belong to St. Mary’s parish in South Amboy.

I have two younger sisters – Natalie and Christine – both of whom are married with grown (or almost grown) children.  Since one lives in Hillsborough and the other in Rumson, it’s easy for us to get together frequently.  My family is very close, and big gatherings with aunts and uncles and cousins are the norm.  After God, my family is the biggest source of strength and stability in my life.

Most of my education happened in the Sayreville public school system, following a couple of years in Catholic school.  I got a degree in history from Montclair State College (before it became a university) and completed my seminary studies at Mount Saint Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Maryland.  I was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Edward Hughes on May 30th, 1987 and offered my first Holy Mass in St. Mary’s Church in South Amboy the following day.

My first priestly assignment was right down the road at St. Mary’s in Alpha, followed by terms as an assistant at Our Lady of Mt. Virgin in Middlesex and St. Matthias in Somerset.  I then served as pastor of St. Magdalen’s Church in Flemington for several years, and in St. Jude’s Church in Blairstown for a couple of months.  After serving three years as associate pastor of St. Bernard’s Church in Bridgewater, I became pastor of both Most Holy Rosary and Holy Spirit Churches in Perth Amboy.  I enjoyed four wonderful years in that assignment before coming to St. Philip and St. James in Phillipsburg, NJ.  I have been pastor of Ss. Philip and James since June 2009, and it has become my favorite assignment.

Believing that teaching the Faith is one of my most important priestly duties, I have taught school and CCD classes in all of my priestly assignments.  While studying history in Montclair State College, I took almost all of the teacher certification classes since I thought they might come in handy someday.  In Phillipsburg, I teach both 8th and 4th grade religion in our school every week, as well as 5th grade CCD.  I find great joy in this work, and am convinced of the importance of our Catholic Schools.

My hobbies include trains – in which I have been interested my whole life.  This hobby has led me to places like Altoona, PA and North Platte, NE – places with heavy freight train traffic that I love to watch and photograph.  I also enjoy working on my own model railroad, which I built several years ago.  I love going to the movies – and eating more pop – corn then I should.  The sports is the first – and sometimes the only –section of the paper I read.  Almost my whole family has a love affair with baseball, and we often get together to enjoy the games.  While a Yankee fan, I have come to enjoy minor league baseball a great deal in recent years and regularly frequent Trenton Thunder and Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs games.

The priesthood, of course, is the greatest gift God has ever given me.  There are so many parts of being a priest that I enjoy – especially celebrating the sacraments and getting to know and serve different people.  I try to say a prayerful Mass that moves along with a short, ‘to the point’ homily.

I believe that my most important job as a priest is to help my people get to Heaven – while being sure to get there myself.  I ask my parishioners to help me in this regard by praying for me every day.  Specifically, I ask each of them to kindly pray one Hail Mary for me daily.  Pray that I will be the kind of priest God wants me to be for this parish – and be assured of my daily prayers for each of you.

Fr. Tom Ganley has been a priest of the Metuchen Diocese since his ordination by the Bishop (now Cardinal) Theodore E. McCarrick at St. Francis of Assisi Cathedral in 1985. He has been active in the Charismatic Renewal for many years and leads a Charismatic Divine Mercy Apostolate. Fr. Tom has given many talks, led many Life in the Spirit Seminars, and given many retreats on Divine Mercy. You can reach him through our parish office.

Deacon Enock Berluche Sr. and his wife Ines have been parishioners at Saint Philip and St James since 1981. He was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate on June 13 of 1998 by Bishop Vincent De Paul Breen. He received a Theology certificate in Diaconal Ministry and a Master of Arts degree in Theology from the college of St Elizabeth. He attended Brooklyn College and earned a Bachelor degree of Science in Chemistry at Long Island University. He is retired from ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company as a Senior Chemist after 30 years of service doing research in chemistry.

In the parish he serves as the spiritual director for the Legion of Mary, moderator for the charismatic prayer group and coordinator of the Eucharistic adoration and whatever else his Pastor calls him to do. He served as a representative of The Missionary Childhood Association (MCA) and the Society for the Propagation of the Faith (SPOF), as well as a member of the council on Mission Education. He is co-coordinator of African-American, Black and Caribbean Apostolate. He preaches Mission Appeal for Franciscans in Action and Source de Vie organizations for Haiti Missions. He gives spiritual direction and marriage counseling.

I have been a member of St Philip & St James since 1977. My wife Carol and I exchanged wedding vows here at SPSJ in April 1978. My education includes a Business Management Degree. I was ordained a Permanent Deacon by Bishop Paul Bootkoski, June 9, 2012 after attaining a Theology Certificate in Diaconal Ministry from St Elizabeth College. After 38 years of service, I have retired from Ingersoll Rand/Flowserve Corporation as Regional Pattern Storage Manager of the east coast. My parish activities include: coordinator of Baptismal Prep class, facilitator of RCIA formation, chairperson of the usher ministry, Eucharistic Adoration Adorer, Catholic Charities volunteer and present member, past deputy grand knight and past faithful navigator of the Knights of Columbus Warren 474.

Deacon Rob has a strong background in speech, special education, language, and reading.  He holds New Jersey and Pennsylvania certificates for Teacher of the Handicapped, Elementary Education, Speech- Language Specialist, Reading Specialist, Supervisor and Principal. 

Deacon Rob has Masters Degrees in Literacy, Speech Pathology, and Theology. He has an earned doctorate in Literacy Education from Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and the Certificate of Clinical Competency (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 

During Deacon Rob’s 35 years in education, he has served as both a speech-language specialist, and a regular education Grade Four classroom teacher. He has extensive experience working with autistic and special needs populations and is certified in the Orton-Gillingham reading method. 
  In addition to teaching 4th grade at SPSJ, Deacon Rob has a private practice in Speech-Language Pathology.

He was ordained in May 2017 as a deacon in the Diocese of Metuchen, and serves at the English and Spanish Masses at St. Philip and St James Church under Fr. John Barbella. 

His interests include outdoor activities, traveling, entertaining reading, and art. Deacon Rob currently advises the Italian Club at SPSJ School.