Parish Staff

Father Ernest Rush
Pastor
Fr. Rush was Ordained to the Priesthood on May 25, 2002. He celebrated his First Mass on the feast of the Holy Trinity at Holy Trinity Parish, Hackensack, where he served as Transitional Deacon under the guidance of Bishop Charles McDonnell, Pastor of Holy Trinity. Fr. Rush's first parish assignment was as Parochial Vicar at Saint Philomena Parish, Livingston from June 2002 through June 2008. His second assignment, also as parochial vicar, was at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Bayonne, where he served until assuming the pastorate at Saint Mary's.

Fr. Rush attended Saint Peter's College and Union County College. Upon completion of his studies he began working in healthcare, intent on completing medical school. Given the rigors of his work as a mobile intensive care unit paramedic and an administrator at Clara Maass Medical Center, he chose to postpone his further studies in medicine. Also impacting this decision was God's call to the priesthood. Although Fr. Rush felt a vocation to the priesthood from the age of eighteen, he did not enter the seminary until 1997. He attended Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University, graduating in 2002 with a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Ministry and a Master of Arts in Theology with concentration in Scripture.

Fr. Rush desires to build upon the spiritual foundation of Saint Mary's Parish established by Msgr. Hubba and other predecessors. He also seeks to bring a new perspective to ministry, working collaboratively with parishioners to continue to build upon the spiritual and corporeal community already existent at Saint Mary's.

Bishop Charles J. McDonnell
In Residence

Rev. Matthew Kunnath
Prochial Vicar
Father Matthew joined St. Mary's in 1996, following 15 years as chaplain of St. James Hospital in the Ironbound section. Born in Kerala, India, where St. Thomas the Apostle once preached, Father Matt spent 20 years as a priest in India, serving as principal of a grammar school and a high school, as well as a hospital chaplain. He came to the United States in 1980. Today he continues to help many people from India and other countries immigrate to the United States.

Rev. George Sharp
Prochial Vicar
Raised on Long Island, Father George graduated from Manhattan College in 1959 with a BA in philosophy. After completing three years at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Long Island, he worked as a lay missionary among American Indians in New Mexico. From 1967 to 1972, Father George studied medicine at the University of St. Thomas in the Philippines. After an internship and residency at the New York Medical College Hospitals, he worked in the surgery departments of hospitals in New York and Philadelphia. Choosing to dedicate himself to healing the soul, Father George was ordained a priest in October, 1989. He was at St. John's parish in Bergenfield for six years and at St. Joseph's in Maplewood for one year before being assigned to St. Mary's in 1996.

Brian T. Lynch
Director of Religious Education
Received a Bachelor of Science Degree from St. John's University New York in 1987. Entered Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University in 1988. Made the decision not to pursue ordination to the priesthood, but received a Master of Divinity Degree in Pastoral Theology in 1994 from Seton Hall and has worked as a professional pastoral minister since that time in the Diocese of Paterson, the Diocese of Venice Florida and the Archdiocese of Newark. Received a Master of Arts in Education in 1997 from Seton Hall University. Holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Human Resources Training and Development also from Seton Hall. Responsibilities at St. Mary's include design and implementation of Religious Education Curriculum, Sacrament preparation for children and coordination of parent catechesis, coordination and training of volunteer teachers, director of the RCIA program for adults converting to the Catholic Faith or Catholic adults preparing for Confirmation. Brian also works on liturgies for First Communion and Confirmation and our weekly 10:30 Sunday Mass geared for young families and children (held in Msgr. Walsh Hall).