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Assistant Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD When he was only 13 years old, Reverend Anthony Corigliano knew he wanted to join the priesthood. After serving as an altar boy at Mt. Carmel Church in Springfield's South End, and hearing about an uncle who was a priest in Italy, he began to pursue a life of faith. On Sunday, May 15, he will celebrate his 50th anniversary with parishioners, family and friends at Mt. Carmel Church on Williams Street. Born to Guiseppe and Maria Corigliano in Springfield in 1929, he was the second of five children, but the first born in the U.S. He attended Classical Junior High School and Cathedral High School in Springfield before attending the Stigmatine Fathers and Brothers Seminary in Waltham in 1943. From there, Corigliano's studies in philosophy, theology and training for the priesthood continued and brought him to several different cities, including Rome, Italy in 1952. It was there, on May 8, 1955 that he was ordained. Fifty years later, he finds himself back in Springfield's South End at the church where he first began his journey of sharing the story of Jesus, as priest in residence. Corigliano recently obliged The Reminder (and this writer, his great-niece who was eager to learn more about his work and travels) with an interview to talk about some of the highlights of the past 50 years. In addition to serving as parish priest, beginning in Milford, MA in 1955 at Sacred Heart Church, he studied further at the Pastoral Counseling Courts, graduating in 1966. He was assigned as director of the House of Studies in Washington, D.C. in 1964, where he directed young students studying for the priesthood at Catholic University. Subsequent assignments included being appointed an advisor to the provincial at Minor Seminary in Wellesley in 1967; conducting retreat work for married couples, singles and young people getting ready to make their confirmation in Waltham; and serving as Provincial in White Plains, New York from 1980 to 1985. An administrative position, his job as provincial was basically personnel director "it was everything that has to do with the functioning of the entire province," he explained. This included ensuring the spiritual well-being of the province and overseeing the apostolic work there, as well. He returned to White Plains in 1985, doing mostly counseling work and was elected to the Provincial Counsel as treasurer in 1988. It was that year that he remembers one of the most important events in his time as a priest. "Every six years representatives from all different provinces [gather in Rome] to review the previous six years, plan [for the next six years], and elect a new general," he explained. It was during this trip that he was able to concelebrate Mass with the late Pope John Paul II. "There were about 30 of us and we concelebrated in the Pope's private chapel in the morning." This was a great honor a once-in-a-lifetime event. Other trips brought him all over the world from Chile, Brazil and other countries in South America, to South Africa, Germany, and Thailand. "My travel pointed out how universal the church is," he said. "It involves all people." He said he loved the Liturgy in South Africa. "Everyone takes part in the singing, and they made it a whole day affair," he said. After Mass, parishioners would gather and host meetings, dance, sing and have meals together, he added. "Now it's the fastest growing part of the Catholic Church." During a visit to Thailand, he was struck by something he heard the late Archbishop of New York Fulton J. Sheen say during a speech to students studying for the priesthood. Corigliano explained, "Bishop Sheen said 'Look to the East,' for the future of the Catholic Church, the future of mystics. Saints will come to the East." He heard Sheen speak those words in 1953, "but they didn't come to mind until 1981," Corigliano explained. Sheen's words came to mind because "I was in the East and was seeing his prophecy becoming a reality ... that mission [in Thailand] is a province that is almost as large, if not larger than we are." Corigliano stayed in White Plains with the Provincial Counsel until 2001, when he returned to Springfield and Mt. Carmel Church. While he had no specific goal when he entered the priesthood, Corigliano said he knew he wanted to "work with people and bring the word of Christ to others." He said the church is a storyteller, telling the story of Christ. "What happens is, everybody is part of the story," he continued. "All our stories are linked to him." He quoted T.S. Elliot, who said, "A people without history cannot be redeemed out of time into eternity." "It is through storytelling that we are saved," Corigliano added. And it is the storytelling that has caused the last 50 years to go by so quickly, he said. "When you're having fun, and enjoying life, it goes fast," he reflected. He acknowledged recent news reports that there is a shortage of priests in the U.S. and offered some advice to young men thinking about becoming priests. "It's a very fulfilling, very demanding life," he said. "But because it is a very demanding life ... because it is so fulfilling, it really completes a person's life." He compared the priesthood to marriage. "If lived faithfully and commitedly, it reaps its own reward," he said. |
