Priests Celebrating 60 Years of Service in Our Diocese

Father Charles F. Kelly has never regretted his decision to become a priest. In a recent phone interview, he declared that he has loved the priesthood in every way, including every aspect of his life and ministry.

“I’ve done a great tour,” he said. “I enjoyed working and I didn’t want to quit for anything.”
Suffering from arthritis and unable to stand for long periods, he is no longer able to celebrate Mass and has been living in a care home since last October. He said that he wishes that he could continue his ministry. He would also love to receive more visitors.

One of seven children born to William and Anna Kelly and raised in Tren-ton, he attended St. Anthony Elementary School and Trenton Catholic Boys High School, Trenton, and graduated from La-Salle College, Philadelphia, in 1957 with a degree in education and social studies.

He served in the Army in the Korean War for two years. After his safe re-turn and honorable discharge, he decided to see if entering the seminary would satisfy the interest in the priesthood that he simply couldn’t shake off.

He told his dates, dance partners, and friends at the Catholic young adult club in Trenton that he was leaving for the seminary. His faithfully Catholic parents were happy with the news. Father Kelly studied Latin and Greek at Boston College for one year, then entered Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington in 1959.

He was ordained May 23,1964 by Bishop George W. Ahr in St Mary Cathedral, Trenton, and celebrated his first Mass the next day at St. Anthony Parish, Trenton.

Following ordination, Father Kelly served in St. Mary Parish, New Monmouth and St. Paul Parish, Burlington, as associate pastor. He was appointed diocesan Vicar for Religious from 1974to 1978, and named pastor of Christ the King Parish in Manville in 1979 where he served for seven years, and of St. Ambrose Parish in Old Bridge from1986 until his retirement in 2006.

He also earned a master’s degree in pastoral psychology from Iona College in New Rochelle, NY in 1978.

On the occasion of his 50th anniversary, when he was celebrating Masses and hearing Confessions, he said, “I don’t want to rest; I want to work. It’s just like parents – when do you stop being a parent? Even if you’re 75 years old, that’s still your son; that’s still your daughter.”

Now, looking back over the years, Father Kelly reflected, “I always worked hard. That’s not bragging, just a simple fact: I’ve worked hard all my life. Every parish is different, but it was nice. I enjoyed it – I really enjoyed it.”

By Teresa Murphy






Msgr. Eugene Prus always wanted to be a parish priest and likes to describe himself as “a parish priest, through and through.” 

“It’s my whole life,” he said in a re-cent phone interview. “This is all I’ve ev
er wanted to do, and I continue to do it. ”

A relationship with the Lord is “essential and critical” to live out avocation to the priesthood with joy and commitment, he said. 

“It’s what keeps you going every single day, that relationship with the Lord. Knowing that you’re doing his work, that you’re doing his will – it’s like putting gasoline in a car,” he said. “I’m just grateful that the Lord has given me the opportunity to keep working for him.” 

Born to Stanislaus and Genevieve Prus, he was raised in South River and attended St. Mary of Ostrabrama School. Volunteering at the parish and admiring the work of his pastors inspired him to pursue his vocation to the priesthood. He attended St. John Atonement Seminary in Montour Falls, N.Y., St. Mary College, Orchard Lake, Mich., and Sts. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, also in Orchard Lake. 

Ordained in May 1964 by Bishop George W. Ahr at St. Mary Cathedral, Trenton, he served as associate pastor of All Saints Parish, Burlington; St. Stephen Parish, Perth Amboy; Our Lady of Peace Parish, Fords; and Corpus Christi Parish, Willingboro. He was pastor of St. Mary of Czestochowa Parish, Bound Brook, for eight years, and pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish, Martinsville, for six years. He credits the late Bishop EdwardT. Hughes with providing a model on which to base his own priesthood, noting that Bishop Hughes was known for his patience, kindness, and compassion. 

In 1991 he was appointed diocesan vicar for administration, a role he remained in until 1998, working closely with Bishop Hughes. 

“He was a wonderful mentor to me,” Msgr. Prus said. “He was a good man, and I learned a lot.”

Msgr. Prus has also served over the years as secretary of the College of Consultors, chairman of the Diocesan Building Commission, chairman of the Priestly Life and Ministry Committee, adjunct judge of the Diocesan Tribunal, and moderator of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women and the Somerset-Hunterdon Federation of Holy Name Societies.

“I’ve served every bishop that we’ve had in Metuchen,” Msgr. Prus noted. He continues to sit on the College of Consultors and the Presbyteral Council with Bishop James F. Checchio.

In 1998, he returned as pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish, where he continued his ministry until his retirement in 2012.

During retirement, he has ministered to the sick, celebrated Mass in various parishes, and helped people in need. He recently served as administrator of Our Lady of Lourdes, Milltown, for six months. For the past several years, he has celebrated Mass both daily and on week-ends at St. Mary Parish in Watchung.

“It’s a wonderful parish with wonderful people, and it’s been great,” Msgr. Prus said. 

In June 2024, he was honored by the Township of Bridgewater with a proclamation noting that he had been influential in the creation of the Diocese of Metuchen and had promoted ecumenical dialogue among people of many faiths.

“It’s been a wonderful, wonderful life,” Msgr. Prus said. “The parish priest is really the foundation of the Church. The Church is in the pews, in the people, and the parish priest works with the people in the pews of his parish. It’s a critical, critical component of the Church. The Church is built on parishes... it’s there in the parishes that we reach people and we accompany them with their problems, their sorrows, their joys. In my opinion there’s nothing more fundamental than doing parish work.” 

By Teresa Murphy






Father Stanley Walega, a retired priest of the Metuchen Diocese, celebrated the 60th anniversary of his priest in his native country of Poland, where he was ordained.

He grew up in Wlosienica, Poland, which is just minutes away from the in-famous Auschwitz concentration camp. He was educated by the Salesians, an order founded in 1859 by St. John Bosco, and was influenced by the faith, strength, and courage of his parents, Frank and Stefania Walega.

Father Walega remembers the days of World War II and the Nazi invasion of his hometown. As a youngster, Father Walega survived not only the Nazis, but two subsequent open-heart surgeries.

He believes that his priesthood has given him an opportunity to help people follow the Church’s teachings and advises new priests not to get discouraged. Sometimes the challenges of the priesthood can cause impatience, but in the long run, it’s worth it — even to save just one soul.“

The quality of man is the import-ant thing,” Father Walega said. “I am grateful to God that I survived. I realize that God is good.

“My rector told me when I finished my studies that I am now free — free to go on the cross. So daily I say St. Faustino’s Chaplet of Divine Mercy and pray the Rosary, which is the power and the weapon in our hands. I pray to the Holy Spirit for grace and strength and wis-dom. The Holy Spirit will give you the light for a lifetime.”

To those trying to discern a possible call to a priestly vocation, he says, “If you choose a vocation, trust Jesus. God will lead you through the challenges. Just say, ‘Jesus, I trust you.’ Pray the Divine Chaplet. Ask yourself, ‘What would Jesus do?’ I would add that Our Lady is very important in my life.
“Looking back at my life from a distance, I realize we are called by God. The world is too small for us. We are created for eternity. It is the reason Jesus came for us. So, I offer the Eucharist and Confession every day before Mass, every Mass, every day because sin is destroying the world,” he said.

Now retired and living privately in Kearny, Father Walega assists every weekend and on first Fridays at St. Casimir Parish in Newark, where Father Andrew Ostaszewski, the pastor, is his friend. He has also assisted at parishes in Jersey City and Hackensack.

Father Walega holds degrees in Philosophy and Theological Homiletics. After visiting a friend in the U.S. for four months, he returned to his native Poland, but due to the increasingly threatening actions of the government that felt threatened by the Church, he decided to return to America for good.

By Robert Christie