Father Patsy C. Amabile, a retired priest of the Diocese of Camden, died Nov. 18 at the age of 77.
He was pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Vineland, for a decade, 1999-2009. He also served as parochial vicar at Saint Edward Parish, Pine Hill, 1991-96, and Saint Thomas More, Cherry Hill, 1996-99.
Ordained a priest of the Pallottine order on Jan. 20, 1973, he worked at Queen of the Apostles Retreat House in Sag Harbor, New York, before becoming a priest of the Diocese of Camden.
A Brooklyn native, he was the child of a Jewish mother and a Catholic father. He spent the last part of his active ministry at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in West Islip, N.Y. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at the parish church on Nov. 25. Burial was at Evergreen Cemetery, Brooklyn.
Father Amabile loved the priesthood but he hated cold weather and had been living in retirement in Palm City, Florida, since 2013.
“He put his heart and soul in whatever he did. I was happy to be associated with him,” said Father Walter A. Norris, pastor of Saint Joseph the Worker Parish, Haddon Township.
Father Norris, also a former Pallottine, had known Father Amabile since 1964, the year both of them entered the seminary in Maryland.
“He was well-rounded, affable, just a nice, nice guy,” Father Norris said.
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