Cardinal Timothy Dolan traveled to the Parish of the Immaculate Conception in the southwest corner of the archdiocese on Sunday, August 10, to celebrate Mass and visit a priest he ordained eight years ago.

In his homily, Cardinal Dolan first commended the pastor of St. Mary’s Church, Father Anthony Giacona, on numerous parish initiatives and thanked him for his invitation. “Actually,” Cardinal Dolan said, “he didn’t invite me. I invited myself!”

He then spoke at length about faith, its meaning, and its value. “Faith is placing absolute trust in the invisible. You and I have placed rock-like trust in things we cannot see, touch, smell, taste, or possess.”

Cardinal Dolan gave an example of faith in describing a couple that he married, the husband of which was on active military deployment at one point. It was during that period when the wife said she felt closest to her absent spouse. “‘I felt our marriage was strongest when my husband was in Afghanistan for 11 months. For 11 months, I just had to trust that he still loved me, that he was faithful to me, that he loved and missed the kids. As tough as that was, I don’t think our love has ever been stronger,'” he recalled.

It is faith that will endure, the intangible outlasting the tangible, he said. “”Everything that we can now see and touch and smell and taste and spend and own and possess is going to fade away. The only thing that will ultimately remain is the invisible, only the things of God.”The Mass was concelebrated by Father Giacona, Father Joel Duwai, who is visiting from Nigeria, and others.

In closing remarks, Father Giacona thanked Cardinal Dolan for going to Port Jervis to celebrate Mass, and invited him to return on December 8, 2026, when the parish will mark its 175th anniversary. “I accept!” said Cardinal Dolan, to the applause of parishioners. 

Dominic M. Cicalese, mayor of Port Jervis, attended the Mass and greeted Cardinal Dolan afterward. Cardinal Dolan stayed after Mass to greet the many parishioners who wished to meet him and take photos with him.

Father Giacona, whom Cardinal Dolan ordained to the priesthood in 2017, told The Good Newsroom in an interview that the day was a special occasion. “It’s always good to see a father in a very real way. [Cardinal Dolan] is a father for all of us, but especially for all the priests that he’s ordained. And it’s just great to have him here. We’re on the periphery, and you think, ‘Who knows about Port Jervis?’ But it’s great that he’s here, and we all feel remembered and loved and welcomed by him. It’s a wonderful thing.” 

Port Jervis is in the southwest corner of the Archdiocese of New York, in part of the state that borders both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 

Also attending and serving at the Mass was Zach Domczyk, who will begin his studies for the priesthood at St. Andrew’s Hall in Newark, New Jersey, later in August. He thanked his parish for its support during the discernment process.“This parish has truly allowed me to learn what it means to be a shepherd, learn what it means to minister to the people, learn what it means to truly know how Christ loved the church, which has been a great blessing to be a servant here,” he told The Good Newsroom.