Honoring the Priestly Golden Jubilee of

1956           July 1        2006

Golden Jubilee Celebration at

St. Anthony Church - North Woburn, MA

March 26, 2006, at 1:00 pm

St. Anthony's is Fr. Joe's home parish, where he used to attend Mass in his childhood with his parents, the late Judge and Mrs. William Henchey, and his siblings. He celebrated there his first Solemn Mass, on July 22, 1956, his Silver Jubilee Mass on August 16, 1981, and since 2002 (after 32 years living in Rome), he has been serving there as Weekend Assistant. For these reasons, St. Anthony's is a very important and special place for Fr. Joe and his family, and so the celebration of his Priestly Golden Jubilee touched him and all the presents with much emotion.

On Sunday, March 26, the St. Anthony Church was crowded with the presence of Fr. Henchey's relatives and friends, among them his only surviving immediate family, his sisters Mrs. Alice Tierney and family, and Sister Mary Judith, RDC. The Eucharistic celebration was concelebrated by Most Rev. Timothy M. Dolan, Archbishop of Milwaukee, WI; Most Rev. Moacyr J. Vitti, CSS, Stigmatine Archbishop of Curitiba, state of Paraná, Brazil; Very Rev. Leo X. Lynch, Pastor, and Very Rev. John R. Carroll, Parochial Vicar at St. Anthony's; Very Rev. Gregory Hoppough, CSS, Superior Provincial of the Province of the Holy Spouses; Stigmatine Confreres and Brother Priests. The Master of Ceremonies was Rev. Mr. William Hegedusich.

The first and second readings were made by Dr. Edward and Dr. David Donohoe, the twin brothers who assisted Fr. Joe's first Solemn Mass at St. Anthony, on July 22, 1956 as altar-boys.

The homily was brilliantly delivered by Most Rev. Timothy Dolan, who was Rector of the North American College, in Rome, during the time Fr. Henchey was Spiritual Director there. He started his preaching reminding it was Laetare Sunday, and in Fr. Henchey's invitation there was written: "Rejoice with me!" - and so, we will. He continued saying: "We love you, Fr. Henchey; we thank God with you for a half century of priestly life, and we thank God for your splendid, faithful, generous Priesthood! Congratulations!". At this moment, Fr. Henchey was applauded lastingly by all. In the sequence, the Archbishop pointed out that a priest is especially configured to Jesus on the Cross: he helps us carry ours; and unites our sufferings to the ones of Jesus. And that that day we were saluting a priest who has been on Calvary for five decades; and we could show it mentioning some examples: first, by his daily offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; secondly, by his physical suffering; thirdly, in his teaching, as he is at his best in the classroom, giving retreats, or doing the scholarly research and writings that sustains his preaching and lectures; fourthly, in the Confessional, attending the students in the North American College since early morning; fifthly, in his five decade refrain of Hope, he has shown us Jesus on the Cross. Finishing, he said: "Fr. Henchey, we love you! We thank God with you! We thank God for you!". Then he greeted Fr. Henchey, who was applauded at length by all again.

After the Holy Communion, Most Rev. Moacyr Vitti, CSS, who journeyed from Brazil especially for Fr. Henchey's Golden Jubilee celebrations, pointed out he had the joy of having Fr. Henchey as his professor of Spirituality at the University St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelicum, in Rome. And, he stated it was an even greater grace in having had him as mentor for his doctoral dissertation in Theology: "The Vocation under the Light of the Second Vatican Council”. He concluded his talking saying: 'It applies fittingly to Fr. Henchey what has been said about Jesus: "He lives doing good for others!". After that, he took out his pectoral cross and put it on Fr. Henchey, as a gift for the Golden Jubilee. He greeted Fr. Henchey, who was applauded by all again.

After the Mass, Fr. Henchey was greeted by all those present. Following, a supper was offered for his guests, at the refectory of the Retreat House and Conference Center, in the Espousal Center, the Stigmatine property in Waltham, MA.

See here the pictures of:

The Golden Jubilee Mass	The Supper	Other pictures:

See here the announcements and reporting about Fr. Joe's Golden Jubilee:

St. Anthony's parish bulletin - March 5, 2006	Woburn newspaper Daily Times Chronicle - March 8, 2006	Woburn newspaper Daily Times Chronicle - March 15, 2006	Woburn newspaper Daily Times Chronicle - March 27, 2006 - cover page	Woburn newspaper Daily Times Chronicle - March 27, 2006 - internal page

 

And, here, see the documents (please note: Acrobat Reader is necessary; click here for a free download, if you do not have it):

Invitation	Mass Bulletin	Prayer Card	Abp. Dolan's Homily	Abp. Vitti's Address