Msgr. Ciaran P. O’Mearain, who has served as pastor of St. Andrew the Apostle Parish, Gibbsboro, since 1998 will retire June 14 and move to Sacred Heart Residence, Cherry Hill.
Taking over as pastor at St. Andrew for a six-year term, effective June 14, will be Msgr. Louis A. Marucci, who currently assists at the parish.
Before his appointment to St. Andrew, Msgr. O’Mearain, 74, was pastor of two other parishes, Immaculate Conception, Bridgeton, 1991-98, and St. John Bosco, Millville, 1979-91. He served in the Diocese of Camden’s Brazilian Mission for six years, 1963-69.
Born in Sligo, Ireland, Msgr. O’Mearain completed his seminary studies in Kilkenny and was ordained there June 5, 1960. After coming to the United States, he pursued advanced studies at Villanova University.
He was a member of the faculty of Camden Catholic High School, 1962-63, and he was parochial vicar of St. Ann Parish, Wildwood, 1960-61; Our Lady Star of the Sea, Atlantic City, 1961; St. Mary, Williamstown, 1969-71; Assumption, Pomona, 1971-75; and Sacred Heart, Vineland, 1975-79.
Msgr. O’Mearain has been a member of the Committee on Pastoral Ministry, Priests Council, Common Policy Committee for Pastoral Marriage, College of Consultors, and Permanent Diaconate Admissions Board.
Msgr. Marucci, 50, was pastor of St. Vincent Pallotti Parish, Haddon Township, 2002-10, and is the co-founder and executive director of the Jubilate Deo Chorale & Orchestra.
He worked in the field of vocations for several years and became vocation director for the Diocese of Camden in 1995. He also has been director of Development for the diocese and executive director of St. Pius X Spiritual Life Center, Blackwood.
Born in Philadelphia, Msgr. Marucci attended the University of Scranton and Christ the King Seminary, East Aurora, N.Y., and holds a doctorate in biomedical ethics from the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, Minn. He was ordained May 23, 1987.
He served as parochial vicar of St. John Bosco Parish, Millville, 1987-91, and weekend parochial vicar at St. Jude, Blackwood, 1991-2002, and St. Margaret, Woodbury Heights, 2000-02.
He has been a member of the Medical Ethics Committee, the Board of Archbishop Damiano School, and the Board of Directors of the National Catholic Office of Persons with Disabilities.