Obituary of Rev. Fr. Michael Jerome Feketie

Michael Jerome Feketie 1931-2023

 Reverend Michael J. Feketie, 92, died Sunday, October 15, 2023 at Overlook Hospital, Summit, N.J.

Visiting hours will be at 5:00pm, followed by a Vigil Mass at 7:00pm, on Sunday, October 22, 2023 at St. Mary’s RC Church, 516 W. 6th Street, Plainfield, N.J. A Concelebrated Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mary’s on Monday, October 23, 2023 at 10:00am. Fr. Feketie will be interred at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Keyport, N.J.

Born on September 20, 1931, in Newark, N.J., Fr. Feketie was pre-deceased by his parents Michael J. and Mary C. (Sheridan) Feketie; his brother Jack (Mary Garneau); and his sisters Mary (Roy Watson) and Nancy (Jerome Tuite). He is survived by his many beloved nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and greatgrandnieces and great-grandnephews.

Raised in Newark’s Vailsburg neighborhood, he was a graduate of Sacred Heart School, Seton Hall Prep, and Seton Hall University. He was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1957, after attending Seton Hall’s Immaculate Conception Seminary at Darlington in Mahwah, N.J. Following his ordination, Fr. Feketie served as Parochial Vicar at St. Francis Assisi Parish in Ridgefield Park. Shortly thereafter, he would spend a year and a half with the Holy Ghost Fathers at Our Lady of Monserrat in the inland mountain town of Jayuga, Puerto Rico. It was there that he studied the people, their environment, became fluent in Spanish (the language he would teach at Immaculate Conception Seminary years later), and where the seeds of his legacy of devotion and love for the Hispanic communities of the Archdiocese of Newark were planted. Upon returning to New Jersey, Fr. Feketie served as Parochial Vicar at St. Augustine Parish, Union City; Parochial Vicar at Holy Spirit/Our Lady Help of Christians Parish, East Orange; Pastor at St. Joseph of the Palisades Parish, West New York; Pastor at St. Mary’s Church, Rahway; and upon his retirement in 2005, in residence at St. Mary’s Church, Plainfield.

His love of family, and the people of the parishes in which he served throughout his 66 years of priesthood, was equally matched by his love of Ireland. Often traveling as Michael Sheridan in honor of his cherished maternal roots, incognito is how he liked to take to the road on his countless trips to the Emerald Isle. He was fond of saying he didn’t know whether he’d be taking a left or right turn upon leaving the airport after his arrival, as he preferred to just allow the spirit to dictate his route and be his guide. To share the sentiment of a dear cousin of his who lives on the Ring of Kerry, “Ar dheis Dé do raibh a anam dílis.” (May his sweet soul be at the right hand of God.)

As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be made to St. Mary’s RC Church, 516 W. 6th Street, Plainfield, N.J. 07060 or to Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, Seton Hall University, 400 South Orange Ave., South Orange, N.J. 07079.

Arrangements are under the direction of Bongiovi Funeral Home, 416 Bell Avenue, Raritan, NJ 08869. (908) 725-1887. 

                                                                                 "Forever in our Hearts"