29th annual Blue Mass in Newark honors dedication, sacrifice of New Jersey law enforcement officials
NEWARK, N.J. -- Just a few days after two officers were shot in Newark, hundreds gathered for a Blue Mass to honor the dedication and sacrifice of all New Jersey law enforcement.
Music filled Newark's Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Thursday, along with law enforcement personnel from across New Jersey. All gathered for a mass honoring the dedication and sacrifices of those who bravely serve the state.
"We want to pray for our officers that have been injured serving the community, particularly the two officers of the Newark police force," said Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, Archbishop of Newark.
The 29th annual Blue Mass came two days after those officers were gunned down in Newark. Both are now recovering.
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"This mass today is almost a celebration because they survived that incident, but we always recognize those law enforcement officers who we lost the prior year in the line of duty," NJ Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo said.
Fifteen fallen officers were honored during the mass, including Port Authority police officer Anthony Varvaro. The 37-year-old was on his way to work a 9/11 memorial ceremony when he was killed in a car crash.
"Anthony was a model police officer, he was a pillar of the community. Most folks know, he was a Major League Baseball player, and his life passion was to become a police officer, and he left Major League Baseball, joined the Port Authority Police Department, served us well," PAPD superintendent Edward Cetnar said.
Others honored were: Senior Correctional Police Officer Daniel Sincavage, who died in an on-duty car accident; Middletown Police Detective Lieutenant Joseph Capriotti, who suffered from 9/11-related health issues, and Paterson Police Lieutenant Frank Petrelli, who also suffered from 9/11-related health issues.
The Blue Mass also honored former Newark resident Glenn Hilliard, who was working as a deputy in the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office in Maryland at the time of his death. Hilliard was fatally shot while trying to arrest a man wanted on multiple felony warrants.
Loved ones of those lost were present, along with dignitaries, like Gov. Phil Murphy.
The Blue Mass' honorary chairman says this is a time for officers to recognize they're part of something bigger than themselves.
"We're part of a profession, a blue line, a blue line that's very critically important to protect our society today," Trucillo said.
"In a day when probably differences are exaggerated and the common good is forgotten, this is an expression of people from all different walks of life, really, and all different backgrounds, and we find something in common and that's the good of the society we serve, so I hope it gives people hope," Tobin said.
Among those remembered were ten New Jersey officers who recently died of COVID: Bloomfield Detective James Peri; Clifton Sergeant Robert Miller; Lieutenant Matthew Vogel of the Hudson County Sheriff's Office; Perth Amboy Lieutenant David Formeza; Sergeant Matthew Horton of the Ocean County Sheriff's Office; Daniel Krupa of the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC); Paterson Captain John Phelan; Robert McCormack of the NJDOC; Dwayne Gibbs of the NJDOC; and Lakewood Captain Joseph Goertz.
