Monsignor Joseph Ferraro

1942 - 2020

Monsignor Joseph Ferraro
March 19, 1941 - December 17, 2020
Palmetto, Florida -
Monsignor Joseph Ferraro passed away Thursday, December 17, 2020 after a 9 day battle with Covid-19. Although the Monsignor's life was cut short by this deadly virus, he lived a life in which most people could only dream of. His lifelong dedication to God and his country created a vast amount of opportunities all over the world, which also lead to a laundry list of accomplishments and accolades.
Born and raised on Lafayette Street in Bristol Borough, Pennsylvania Joseph Ferraro received a calling to God at a very young age. After graduating from St. Ann Elementary School in 1954, Joseph Ferraro entered St. John DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. It was here that he would go on to graduate Valedictorian in his class and immediately enter the Order of the Most Holy Trinity Seminary University in Baltimore. His ordination to the priesthood took place at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore on May 20, 1967. A major influence to Joseph's vocational call were the countless visits by the Trinitarian priests and nuns at his family home on Lafayette Street.
For most men a calling to the priesthood and God would have been enough to fulfill life's journey, but that wasn't the case for Joseph Ferraro. Just over two years into being a priest, the United States would have their peak involvement in the Vietnam War and with the permission of the Trinitarian's superior, Joseph was commissioned as an officer in the US Navy and began what would be a 30-year career as a Naval Chaplain. Immediately following Chaplains School in Newport, Rhode Island, he would serve our country in Vietnam and then Okinawa Japan. After returning stateside in 1971, Joseph Ferraro would spend a few years in California serving as the chaplain to the US Coast Guard Training Center before returning to Japan where he would spend the next three years as a chaplain to the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakuni. The remainder of this decade would bring him back to California where he served as a chaplain to the Construction Battalion Center before beginning postgraduate studies at the University of California Berkley.
One of Joseph Ferraro's career highlights occurred in 1979 when he was credited with peacefully disarming a Philippine women who held three of her own family members hostage and barricaded inside their home. "It was with God's help" according to the Monsignor that this woman and her family were saved.
The 1980s would end with a promotion to Captain in the Navy, but began with an assignment in Naples Italy for two years. In 1982 Joseph returned from Italy as the chaplain of the Oakland Naval Hospital, before quickly being assigned to the USS Carl Vinson a year later. The second half of the 80s (1986 to 1990) would be served as the command chaplain of the US Pacific Submarine Force in Pearl Harbor Hawaii and his official promotion to Captain came in 1989. Captain Ferraro would often share stories about switching submarines in the darkest of night out in the middle of the ocean with hardly any idea of location or whereabouts. It was uncountable moments like this where Joseph Ferraro's calling to God and commitment to his country became one.
The 1990s would start out with Joseph serving as the chaplain for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego and then Air Station in El Toro, before heading off to his last assignment in Rota Spain where he would act as the chaplain for the US Naval Forces. 1999 would mark one of Captain Joseph Ferraro's lifelong accomplishments as he was granted the title of Monsignor by St. Pope John Paul II. Monsignor Ferraro would retire from the US Navy in 1999 after 30 years of dedicated service to his country where he received numerous medals, badges and commendations. The remaining 20 years of his life would be spent in retirement at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Palmetto, Florida where he was loved and adored by the parishioners. He would regularly be requested for weddings, baptisms and funerals. On a personal level the Monsignor would speak highly of the individuals who he would brunch with on Sundays after Mass at the world renown Don Cesar in St. Pete Beach, FL. Even with his incredible circle of friends in Florida, Monsignor Ferraro returned to his roots at St. Ann Church in Bristol Borough on May 21, 2017 to celebrate his 50th Anniversary of becoming a priest. This was a true testament to how much he valued the people of Bristol Borough, and how despite his numerous travels all over the world, he still viewed himself as a Bristolian. Those who had the pleasure of growing up with Monsignor Ferraro or visiting Lafayette Street over the years, can attest to the fact that the Ferraro (and then Lorenzo) household was always a place for friends to gather. This was especially true when Joseph was coming home to Bristol Borough. For days, if not weeks, his mother, Mary Ferraro and sister, Maryann would prepare for Joseph's arrival cooking and baking a vast amount of food for Joseph and everyone who would be coming to visit. Despite living the majority of his life all over the world, Monsignor Ferraro was a Bristolian, and whenever he returned the stories would go on for hours on end, and the laughs around the kitchen table were endless.
Joseph was preceded in death by his loving parents, (Mary and Nick) and his beloved sister, Maryann (Lorenzo). Maryann and Joseph shared an unbreakable bond that most siblings would begrudge. The sun would rise and set on her brother. This was never more evident than in her own passing when she waited for him to be by her bedside before moving on to God. Joseph is survived by his only nephew, Gary Lorenzo Jr., his brother-in-law, Gary Lorenzo Sr., along with numerous cousins and dear friends from his days on Lafayette Street. "The Unc" as his nephew typically referenced, was the most influential figure outside of his parents. Always emphasizing that Gary Jr., knew right from wrong, and that he had a more positive outlook on life by trying to instill in him Joseph's soothing nature.
Monsignor Ferraro would always begin his masses by letting the congregation know that before the mass ended, "God will touch you in some way!" Monsignor Joseph Ferraro…. Captain Joseph Ferraro….or as his closest friends and family knew him, simply Joseph….You were the one who touched many lives in ways no one ever imagined when you left Lafayette street as a 13 year old boy and for that the country and Catholic church will forever be grateful!
Friends and family are invited to call Friday, January 8th, 2021 at St. Ann Church, 357 Dorrance Street in Bristol, PA from 7PM to 9PM and again Saturday, January 9th, 2021 from 10AM to 11AM. A Funeral Mass will immediately be celebrated after the calling hours on Saturday with the interment at Resurrection Cemetery.