Posted on Sun, Nov. 1, 2009
CHATHAM, N.J. - A Roman Catholic priest who was stabbed to death in his North Jersey rectory was remembered at his burial Mass yesterday as a "quiet voice of peaceful love."
More than 1,000 people filled St. Patrick Church and its gymnasium in Chatham to honor the Rev. Edward J. Hinds, who was found dead on the kitchen floor after he failed to appear for morning Mass Oct. 23. He had been stabbed 32 times the day before, authorities said, and church custodian Jose Feliciano, 64, has been charged with first-degree murder.
"There was nothing in his life that could have provoked such a violent attack," said Msgr. Kenneth Lasch, a retired priest who met monthly with Hinds.
The coffin was draped in white during the two-hour Mass, which was followed by a private burial at a cemetery in nearby Basking Ridge.
"We pray for him, and we pray for healing and love in this community," Paterson Bishop Arthur Serratelli said after the Mass. "It's going to take some time."
Parishioner Joe DiRienzo remembered 61-year-old "Father Ed" as a gentle, quiet man who drew on a deep well of wisdom in his role as church leader. DiRienzo recalled a conversation three years ago when he approached the priest to apologize for a church service disturbed by the cries of his newborn son.
"He was very much about children and families," said DiRienzo, 41. "He said, 'By no means should you ever apologize for that. We love the chatter of the little children.' "
Feliciano, of Easton, Pa., is being held on $1 million bail. He is being treated at a psychiatric hospital in Trenton.
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