Rev. Mauro Primavera, Pastor
Our Pastor, Father Mauro Primavera was born near Milan, Italy in 1971. In October 1998, at 27 years old, he was invited to the United States to evangelize through a missionary. He then entered the seminary of Newark at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Kearny. He attended Seton Hall University and received a Bachelor of Theology in 2003 and a M.A. in Moral Theology in 2009.
Fr. Mauro was ordained as priest on May 22, 2009 by the Most Reverend John J. Myers, J.C.D., D.D. in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Newark, New Jersey. His first assignment was at Holy Family Church located in Nutley, where he first served as deacon for one year during 2008 in the CCD program. He then served as Parochial Vicar for 10 years, which included serving in the Italian Apostolate ministry. During his last year in Holy Family, he was assigned as administrator on August 15, 2019.
Fr. Mauro was appointed Administrator of St. John the Apostle Parish on September 1, 2020. He was officially appointed as Pastor of St. John the Apostle one year later on September 8, 2021 by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R. of the Archdiocese of Newark.
Fr. Mauro enjoys all things related to sports including soccer and tennis.
Rev. Gabriel Camacho
Fr. Gabriel “Gabe” Camacho was born in Tamuning, Guam in 1990. He attended seminary in 2009 in Guam when he was 19 years old. In December 2017, he was invited along with 12 other seminarians to New Jersey by Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R. of the Archdiocese of Newark, and entered the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Kearny. He was ordained as deacon on June 27, 2020 on the feast day of Our Mother of Perpetual Help at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, and served at St. Mary’s in Plainfield for one year. He graduated from Lateran University with a Bachelor of Sacred Theology & Seton Hall University, M.A. in Systematic Theology in May 2021.
Fr. Gabe was ordained a priest on May 29, 2021 by Cardinal Tobin in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. St. John the Apostle Church is Fr. Gabe’s first assignment as Parochial Vicar.
Fr. Gabe is the Spiritual Director for St. John the Apostle School, and he oversees the music ministry for St. John the Apostle Church. He is also the Master of Ceremonies for Bishop Elias Lorenzo, O.S.B., Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark. He enjoys various sports including basketball, volleyball, soccer, ultimate frisbee and spearfishing.
Rev. Peter Jacob Volz
Deacon Michael York, Religious Education Coordinator
Deacon Michael D. York serves as a permanent deacon at St. John the Apostle Church, Linden, NJ, his home parish and is a lifelong parishioner.
Deacon Mike grew up in Clark, New Jersey, where he currently resides. He graduated from Union Catholic Boys High School as Class Valedictorian. He attended Stevens Institute of Technology, earning both a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) and a Master of Engineering (M.E.). He is a licensed Professional Engineer, who worked for IBM Corp for over 29 years.
Deacon Mike was ordained as permanent deacon on June 11, 2005 by Archbishop John J. Myers to serve at St. John the Apostle. In addition to his responsibilities as a permanent deacon, he serves the parish full time as the Director of Religious Education, which includes the CCD, Vacation Bible School, and RCIA programs, and catechist formation certification classes. He is also a trained Bereavement Group facilitator. He is the Local Safe Environment Coordinator for the parish and a trained facilitator for Protecting God’s Children and Keeping the Promise Alive Sessions.
Deacon Mike serves the diaconate community in the Archdiocese of Newark on the Deacon Council as a representative for Union County and President of the Council.
Deacon Mike served over 12 years in prison ministry at several county and state correctional facilities. He also directed both Men’s and Women’s Cornerstone retreats at the parish.
Deacon Mike enjoys cycling, swimming and his dogs.
Rev. William Halbing
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved brother priest, Fr. Bill Halbing, who entered into eternal rest on Monday, February 21, 2022. We give gratitude to God for Fr. Bill’s untiring service to our parish and the people of God, and especially for opening the Sacred Scriptures for us in his homilies and through Bible studies. His dynamic presence and impromptu blessings will be deeply missed. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
Fr. Bill, pray for us.