Rev. Msgr. James J. Finnerty

Lucky to have had telephone conversations with him.

To you all, I only recently found out about our cousins in the USA from my father's cousin, Tony Finnerty in Co.Donegal, Ireland. It is with sadness that I have discovered that Fr James is no longer with you. I am deeply sorry for your loss. You are in our thoughts and prayers in London, England.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of such a wonderful man. I have many fond memories of Father Jim from his years at St. Leo's Parish in Irvington in the 60's. But I really got to know him, when as a student at Archbishop Walsh HS, I started working part time after school at the Rectory. Fr. Jim would be in and out of the Rectory office and it was always fun when he was around - he made our work hours so enjoyable. He always had a smile on his face, a joke to tell,...

“May the Lord bless you
and keep you
May the Lord let His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
May the Lord look upon you kindly
And give you Peace.” 6:24-26

I will always be grateful for your friendship and love to me and my family.
Prayers and love,
Bette Kuczek

PS May the Lord pave the road to Heaven with M & M’s for you!

In 2000 for my mom's 70th birthday, a high school classmate of hers gifted a meal at St. John's Soup Kitchen in mom's honor. Through that act of kindness , Father Jim and I exchanged several letters over the years.

At the time, I was a "non-traditional" (please don't say :) "adult") student at Monmouth U and he was very supportive of me and my studies. Almost 17 years and 3 cars later, I still have those letters in my car's visor.

Thank you for being a friend and...

We will miss Mnsgr. Jim so much. He was our pastor at Immaculate conception, Montclair and we have been in touch with him since he left. We started a Prayer group with him and it's still going on. We will always remember his sense of humor and for the first time will miss his April birthday. We joked with him that tax time always reminded us of him, We only heard about his death today during mass. Oue deepest condolences to the family, Charlie and Lee Rooney

I knew Fr. Jim from St. John's soup kitchen and from Sunday mass at St. John's Church. There was never a kinder or more decent man than Fr. Jim. His stories and his laugh were memorable. When he retired it was heart-wrenching to the "regulars" at 10:30 Mass. I have no doubt that heaven's gates will be opened wide for this wonderful man. God bless him.

Thank you for your the comfort you gave my mom and our family while she was a resident at St. Ann’s. We were fortunate to have you there during our time of separation from our family member.

Dear Father Jim,
I'm grateful that you became a friend...... way back in '88 at Immaculate Conception. Your wonderful sense of humor kept me and all of your friends in such good moods. Your compassion and empathy made you an exceptional priest. I hope you are already playing stickball up there with all the other saints and your boyhood buddies. ~~ You'll be in my heart forever.
xoxo, Patti Mary