Father Breen aims to serve as Christ’s beacon

Father Damian Breen Celebrating 25 years

A long-held desire to join the priesthood has served as a beacon for Father Damian Breen, leading him through a life in two separate orders and multiple countries around the world. Through it all, his goal was clear: “I always try to lead others to Christ.”

Father Breen, a native of Maryland, attended St. Clement Grammar School, Lansdowne. “I had a great Catholic education and was blessed to be raised in a Catholic family,” he recalled. Many of his Vincentian teachers he knew as a child inspired him: “From the age of seven years on, I knew I wanted to be a priest,” he recalled. “God’s call speaks to all of us in his own time.”

Despite considering careers such as architecture and public service professions, the desire to become a priest never left him. “The attraction to prayer and also to serve stayed with me, directed me to where I am now, and in many ways, still sustains me,” Father Breen said.

The young man began his priestly studies at age 14 in the Vincentian High School Seminary of St. Joseph Preparatory Seminary, Plainsboro, then attended

St. John’s University in Jamaica, N.Y., where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English with minors in philosophy and theology, all the while continuing his formation with the Vincentians.

Due to a decline in vocations, the Vincentians’ phasing out of pastoral work and focus on teaching led the future Father Breen to join the Benedictines to pursue parish work. He entered St. Mary Abbey, Morristown, where he was clothed as a novice in 1992 and professed simple vows in 1993. Upon professing his solemn vows as a monk in May, 1996, Father Breen took part in the Collegeville Biblical Studies program, traveling to Israel, Jordan and Egypt.

He taught English and religion at Morristown’s Delbarton School for 18 months, then continued his own education in St. Vincent Seminary, Latrobe, Pa., where he earned a Master’s degree in sacred Scripture in 1997 and a Master of Divinity degree in 1998. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 6, 1998, by Bishop Frank Rodimer in the Diocese of Paterson.

Father Breen has exercised his ministry as a parochial vicar in the parishes of St. Joseph, Mendham; St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Linden, and St. James of the Marches, Totowa, as well as the Metuchen Diocese parishes of Nativity of Our Lord, Monroe Twp., and Sacred Heart of Jesus, formation for adults.

Father Peter’s last assignment came in 2015 when he was appointed as the Catholic Chaplain to Penn Medicine Princeton Health, Plainsboro. He continues to serve there, especially the terminally ill patients. Since July 4, 2021, he resides at St. James the Less Parish, Jamesburg.

Asked what advice he would give to a man considering a vocation to the priesthood, Father Peter said, “Discerning a vocation to the priesthood takes time, prayer, reflection, patience and attentiveness to God’s action. It also takes courage to respond to the interior movements of the Holy Spirit. Fear or resistance is a very common response among young men who are searching, and it does not mean you are not called to be a priest. If Jesus has placed a desire in your heart for priesthood, ‘perfect love casts out all fear’ (1John 4:18). Don’t let fear paralyze you. Instead ask a priest you trust to help with your concern.”

Reflecting on his 25 years of service, Father Peter said, “I rejoice in the Lord for the opportunity of being His faithful servant by the constant interces-

South Plainfield. Additionally, he has served as St. Mary’s Abbey vocations di rector and participated in an international program of studies on monastic formation for Benedictine and Cistercian monks and nuns in Rome, Italy.

Father Breen was named pastor of Corpus Christi Parish, South River, in 2013, where he has started the practice of adoration every Wednesday and First Fridays. His favorite aspects of the priesthood include celebrating the Holy Eucharist, administering the other Sacra ments, providing counseling to people and “being present to people in their highs and lows,” he said.

His biggest challenges have been culturally prevalent indifference, societal disdain of the faith, and the issues caused by secularism and relativism. He strives to be “present to people in their difficulties and their triumphs,” and sees fatherlessness and the collapse of the family in the present culture as huge challenges facing the Church. “The Church needs to be pro-family,” Father Breen said.

His hope for the future is that the Church will become stronger and more effective, and that people will be faithful disciples who are able to share the faith with others. Ever a teacher and a student, his newest goal is to increase his profi- ciency in the Portuguese language, as Corpus Christi Parish is blessed with an influx of immigrants from Brazil.

His Benedictine formation has been “a great blessing,” he asserted, and the Benedictine charism, with its focus on being part of a community, has helped him in his ministry.

“Hospitality is part of the Benedictine charism,” he said, adding that he learned its value from his parents and Benedictine instructors. “It leads to fellowship, and once you have fellowship that leads to an opportunity for evangelization,” Father Breen concluded.

By Teresa Murphy, Correspondent