First in an occasional series on the personal meaning that a priest’s chalice holds for him and how he acquired it.
By Peter G. Sánchez
April 18, 2020 is a day Father John March won’t forget.
That was the day his friend and mentor, Father Alfred Hewett, passed away at the age of 95.
Father March, ordained last June and currently parochial vicar at Our Lady of Hope Parish in Blackwood, was a transitional deacon at the time. His relationship with Father Hewett played no small role in shaping the younger man’s vocation.
“He was wonderful to me,” Father March said, recalling the Masses, the faith discussions, their military backgrounds and the life talks the two would share. “I have so many wonderful memories, of being in his presence.”
Father March says that he had fallen away from the church a bit before his time with Father Hewett, whose last assignment during his years of active ministry was as a senior priest at Saint Rose of Lima Parish, Haddon Heights. He credits Father Hewett for “bringing me back into full communion with the church.”
The two were close enough that Father Hewett was set to vest Father March with his stole last year at his ordination, but the older priest died two months before the younger one’s ordination.
Due to the generosity of Father Hewett’s family, Father March now has a lasting, physical remembrance of his brother priest, connecting the two across their faith, vocation and the decades: Father Hewett’s chalice.
Ordained in Camden’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on May 26, 1956, Father Al Hewett received the sacred vessel from his family as an ordination gift, with an inscription on the bottom that includes his name, the ordination date and the words “In Memory of Dad and in Honor of Mother.”
“It was a meaningful moment” to receive the chalice, says Father March. “It’s a huge honor — Father Al’s family was very gracious.”
When using it at his first Mass at Haddon Heights’ Saint Rose of Lima Parish, and every Eucharistic celebration afterward, Father March thinks of Father Hewett and the example he set.
“He always made himself available, and he was a master at explaining the faith,” especially in humorous ways, Father March says. He adds that he finds himself “quoting him often,” including echoing the words of a 1940s radio commercial jingle Father Al had memorized: “Don’t Despair/Use Your Head/Save Your Hair/Use Fitch Shampoo.”
These first two words “Don’t Despair,” are at the root of a life trusting in the goodness of God. Something Father Hewett modeled.
“With Father Al, you always had hope,” Father March says.
Now, with Father Al’s chalice and a heart full of memories, Father March aims to bring the Gospel to others by exhibiting that same faith and joy.
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