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Clergy & Staff
Rev. Tom Mangieri, Parish Administrator
- Grew up in the northeast Bronx, near Fordham University.
- Held various corporate jobs: Chase Manhattan, Citibank, Blue Cross.
- Became a priest in 2001.
- Studied at St Johns and Catholic University.
- Taught at Rutgers University.
- Worked as assistant at:
- Our Lady of the Lake in Sparta.
- Saint Marks in Long Valley
Barbara Buck, Director of Religious Education
Barbara has been in catechetical ministry since 1975 and the Director of Religious Education at Saint Catherine of Siena since 1990. She has a degree in Education from Georgian Court College, and a Master’s Degree in Theology from the College of Saint Elizabeth. Barbara is past president of the Catechetical Leaders Association of the Paterson Diocese, and is currently on the Executive Board as Member at Large. She resides in Boonton Township and has been married to Jeffrey Buck for thirty five years. They have three children -- Jeffrey, and his wife Michele, Christine, and her husband Carlton Green, and Michael. They are also blessed with two beautiful grandsons, Jake and Ryan Buck
Director of Music - Chris Wallace
Kay Whalen, Parish Secretary
Kay has been secretary at St. Catherine of Siena Parish since July 1997, after retiring from GPU Nuclear in Parsippany. She lives in Parsippany and is a member of St. Peter the Apostle Church. Over the years she has been active in the Youth Ministry, the Rosary Altar Society, Good Samaritans, and cooking and feeding the homeless at Fr. English Center in Paterson. She enjoys traveling, reading, spending time with friends. She has two children, Mark and Michelle and two grandchildren, Rebecca age 7 and Patrick, age 3.
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Directions
St. Catherine of Siena Church
10 North Pocono Road,
Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046
From the East:
- Take Interstate 80 West to Exit 42A/42B "Rt. 202, 46, Morris Plains/Parsippany".
- Bear right toward Parsippany, 42B
- At second light, make a left onto route 46 West.
- At the second light on Route 46 West, make a right onto the Boulevard in Mountain Lakes.
- At first light on the Boulevard, turn left onto North Pocono Road.
- The church is on the corner.
From the South:
- Take Interstate 287 North to Exit 41B (Interstate 80 West).
- Follow directions above.
From the North:
- Take Interstate 287 South to Exit 41B "80 West Delaware Water Gap".
- Follow Directions above.
From the West
- Take Interstate 80 East to Exit 38. The sign says "Route 46 East; Rt. 53 Denville".
- On Route 46 East, make a left turn at the 5th light onto the Boulevard.
- At first light on the Boulevard, turn left onto North Pocono Road.
- The church is on the corner.
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Parish Office
St. Catherine of Siena Church
10 North Pocono Road,
Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046
973-334-7131
Kay Whalen, Parish Secretary
Religious Education: 973-334-5257
Office Hours: M-F, 9-4:30
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Parish History
In 1956, a group of local Roman Catholic citizens had decided that there was a need for a parish in Mountain Lakes. Bishop Frank McNulty responded to the committee and sent Father David McCarthy (a former chaplain in the Navy) to establish an exploratory mission. Father McCarthy explained that the bishop was looking for prompt action, and to prove his point, on July 15, 1956, the first mass was celebrated at the Mountain Lakes Club. Over 425 people attended, and it was decided that a new, temporary home would need to be located, since the Club could not accommodate the huge crowds every week.
An agreement was reached with the Masonic Temple at Island Beach and the mission rented the building on Sundays and Holy Days. It was also used for catechetical instruction on Tuesday afternoons, until a church could be built. A residence was also purchased by parishioner Fred Schwarz, at 18 Vale Drive, and was rented as a daily chapel and rectory. The following year, 1957, Saint Catherine of Siena was advanced to parish status and Father McCarthy was named the pastor. Unfortunately, Father McCarthy became ill in 1958 and was replaced by Father Joseph Glynn, a family friend of the McCarthys’ who had grown up with Father David.
Father Glynn was the perfect person to continue the mission for this new parish, and on March 16, 1958, ground was broken for the new church. The first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Eve, 1958, and the dedication took place on August 22, 1959, with Bishop McNulty officiating. Father Glynn was the beloved pastor until his death in 1981 - except for a short timespan during 1965 when Father Glynn unselfishly filled the position of Spanish speaking priest at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Paterson. During this brief time, Reverend Francis P. McGowan was named pastor. On November 20, 1982, Reverend David P. Mahon was welcomed as the fourth pastor. During his time at Saint Catherine’s an extensive building project was completed, including the construction of a Parish Center dedicated to the memory of Father Glynn, which provided many opportunities to share our faith and educate our children. In 1990 the church was blessed and rededicated by Bishop Frank Rodimer after it was renovated and updated. In 1997, after Father Mahon’s sudden death, Reverend Patrick F. Rice was named our fifth pastor.
In July of 2009, after 12 very successful years, Father Pat was transferred to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Sparta. We are grateful for all he accomplished during his tenure here.
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The Peragallo Pipe Organ
in
St. Catherine of Siena Church
The pipe organ in St. Catherine’s Church was designed and built by the Peragallo Organ Company of Paterson, New Jersey.
The 37-stop organ is played from a console of two manuals, each of 61 notes and a pedal-board of 32 notes. The console is of French style, inspired by the Cavaille-Coll console at St. Antoine des Quintz Vingts, Paris. The draw knobs are positioned on terraces adjacent to the keyboards thus allowing the height of the console to be reduced. The divisional draw knobs are of walnut with white engraving as are the coupler tablets above the swell manual. The console is of oak.
The nearly 600 pipes, each made by skilled craftsman, are mostly made from a tin lead alloy, known in the trade as ‘spotted metal’. The larger pipes are of annealed zinc. Some of the pipes are of wood construction. The pipes range in size from over 16’ in length to pipes the size of a pencil. The pipes that are visible to the left of the altar are the pipes of the Great division. Additional pipes, comprising the Swell division are located in a chamber directly behind the visible pipes. The pipes of the Pedal division are divided between the Great and Swell divisions. The dynamic level of the enclosed division is regulated by a series of louvers which open and close by use of a pedal on the organ console.
An additional feature of the pipe organ is the MIDI interface which brings the pipe organ into the 21st century. The MIDI contains over 200 voices, 28 of which are available to the organist at any given time. It is this addition to the organ that brings the authentic sounds of various orchestral instruments to the ensemble.
A Carillon was gifted to the church in 1999. Built and installed by the Schulmerich Bell Co. of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, the Carillon brings the sound of true cast bells, as well as Flemish Bells, English Bells and Harp Bells, all of which may be played automatically, or by the organist from the console. The Carillon rings the Angelus at noon each day, and rings again at 6 pm. Weekend masses are announced by a peal. The bells may be rung both inside and outside the church.
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The Story of Our Patron
St. Catherine of Siena, circa 1746 by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Catherine was the 23rd child of Jacopo and Lapa Benincasa and grew up as an intelligent, cheerful and intensely religious person. Catherine disappointed her mother by cutting off her hair as a protest against being overly encouraged to improve her appearance in order to attract a husband. Her father ordered her to be left in peace and she was given a room of her own for prayer and meditation.
She entered the Dominican Third Order at 18 and spent the next three years in seclusion, prayer and austerity. Gradually a group of followers gathered around her -- men and women, priests and religious. An active public apostolate grew out of her contemplative life. Her letters, mostly for spiritual instruction and encouragement of her followers, began to take more and more note of public affairs. Opposition and slander resulted from her mixing fearlessly with the world and speaking with the candor and authority of one completely committed to Christ. She was cleared of all charges at the Dominican General Chapter of 1374.
Her public influence reached great heights because of her evident holiness, her membership in the Dominican Third Order, and the deep impression she made on the pope. She worked tirelessly for the crusade against the Turks and for peace between Florence and the pope.
Someone has said that "God made us because he loves stories." Saints allow God’s love to flow through them. Through their witness God shows to humanity his presence and his face. Saints inspire us, guide us, encourage us and remind us of what God can do through human beings. St. Catherine of Siena said that "All the way to heaven is heaven because Christ is the way." She strongly believed that we are bonded with the risen Christ in a union so deep that we form one body. In her relationship with Jesus She lived out the words of St. Paul; "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal.2:20).
This mystical communion that was at the heart of St. Catherine’s spirituality inspired her to reach out to the poor and suffering of Siena. When the Black Death swept through her city, she had no hesitation in caring for the victims. She worked as a nurse. She dug graves for those who died of the plague and then buried them properly herself. She accompanied prisoners who were condemned to death to the place of execution waiting with them and praying for them to the end.
A major church problem in the late fourteenth century was the Avignon Papacy. In the summer of 1376, Catherine traveled to Avignon to encourage Pope Gregory XI to return to Rome. In one of her letters she wrote; "No longer resist the will of God, for the starving sheep wait for you to return to the see of St. Peter." Fortified by Catherine’s appeals, Gregory XI returned to Rome, but he died soon after.
In 1378, the Great Schism began, splitting the allegiance of Christendom between two, then three, popes and putting even saints on opposing sides. Catherine spent the last two years of her life in Rome, in prayer and pleading on behalf of the cause of Urban VI and the unity of the Church. She offered herself as a victim for the Church in its agony. Just as the Spirit gave new life to the infant Church on Pentecost, Catherine sought to bring a spirit of reconciliation to the divisions of her time. Exhausted by her efforts for unity, Catherine died in 1380 at the age of thirty-three. She died surrounded by her "children."
Catherine ranks high among the mystics and spiritual writers of the Church. In 1970 Paul VI named her and Teresa of Avila as doctors of the Church. In recent years, it has been suggested that she (among other possibilities) should be named patron of the Internet. Her spiritual testament is found in The Dialogue.
Saint Catherine of Siena dictating Dialogue
Catherine's book Dialogue contains four treatises -- her testament of faith to the spiritual world. She wrote, "No one should judge that he has greater perfection because he performs great penances and gives himself in excess to the staying of the body than he who does less, inasmuch as neither virtue nor merit consists therein; for otherwise he would be an evil case, who for some legitimate reason was unable to do actual penance. Merit consists in the virtue of love alone, flavored with the light of true discretion without which the soul is worth nothing."
St. Catherine of Siena’s passionate commitment to prayer, peace and justice and her love for the Church are important qualities that we can imitate. Her strong faith and love is clear in this letter that she wrote to Raymond of Capua in the midst of her courageous efforts to solve the crisis in the Church during the great Schism. "And at the hours of Terce I rise up from Mass, and if you looked you would see a woman walking to St. Peter’s where I work again in the little bark of the holy Church. There I stay until near Vespers, and I would love never to leave that place whether by day or night until I see this people steadied and strengthened a little with their Father.". Having a patron Saint is like having another friend. May St. Catherine’s prayers and friendship inspire and strengthen us in our faith journey.
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