'Oldest Priest' Celebrates 102nd Birthday, Still Teaching Kids At His Bergen County Parish

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — When James C. Turro was born in Jersey City, the president was Warren G. Harding — but not for long. And the pope was Benedict XV, for a few more days. He was soon succeeded by Pius XI.

Turro, now a monsignor and the oldest priest in the Archdiocese of Newark, turned 102 years old on Jan. 26.

Monsignor Turro’s home parish of Our Lady of Mercy Church in Park Ridge — the town where he also lives — marked the special occasion by singing “Happy Birthday” at the 11 a.m. Mass on Jan. 28.

Father Stanley Gomes, one of the monsignor’s former students, paid him a surprise visit at the Mass, joining a long list of friends who called or visited throughout the week.

Students from Our Lady of Mercy Academy presented the monsignor with handmade cards and cookies, as well.

“It seems unreal,” Monsignor Turro said about turning 102, though he acknowledged he never put much significance into his birthday.

Instead, he expressed thankfulness for having such a long life serving and ministering in the Church.

“Being a priest-teacher has been very gratifying," he said. "I’ve never felt let down. I’ve never wondered if there was a better career that I might have had. It never even crossed my mind. I couldn’t imagine a more satisfying experience.”

Faith was always at the center of Monsignor Turro’s life while growing up in Jersey City, he said.

He attended St. Paul of the Cross Elementary School and St. Peter’s Prep.

Partially inspired by his two aunts, who were Sisters of Charity, the monsignor entered the priesthood in 1948 and began serving at Hackensack’s Holy Trinity Church.

After two years, he enrolled in the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., so he could earn a licentiate in sacred theology, which was followed by a licentiate in sacred scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.

He was then assigned to teach at the Archdiocesan Immaculate Conception Seminary.

Monsignor Turro made his most significant impact as a teacher, shaping the vocations of thousands of priests over 60 years.

The seminary’s library at Seton Hall University now bears his name.

The monsignor never strayed far from the pulpit, beginning work as Our Lady of Mercy’s weekend assistant at roughly the same time he started teaching. In this role, he became known for his short homilies, which were no longer than a page.

Today, Turro is an institution in Park Ridge. People from all over the country visit him at the rectory, and local schoolchildren stop to hear him speak during the town’s annual historic walking tours.

He is also still active in ministry, from concelebrating Mass to hearing confessions to occasionally counseling those in need. During the spring, the monsignor is a weekly visitor to the nearby Our Lady of Mercy Academy, where he helps prepare second graders for their first reconciliation and Communion.

“I have no regrets,” said Turro, who has presided over 900 baptisms and 400 weddings. “Looking back, there’s nothing in my priesthood that I would live out differently than I did.”

Birthday cards for Monsignor Turro may be sent to Our Lady of Mercy Rectory, 2 Fremont Ave., Park Ridge, NJ 07656.