Fr. Kevin A. Gugliotta

Fr. Kevin grew up in the St. Francis Xavier parish in Newark, NJ where he was taught by the Filippini sisters and participated in many church activities as a youth. His mother, Mary, lives in Bloomfield, NJ and he has two sisters and two brothers. He attended Essex Catholic High School, Newark, NJ and graduated in 1980. After studying engineering for one year at the University of Miami, Florida, Fr. Kevin transferred back to New Jersey and graduated from the New Jersey Institute of Technology with a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering and a Master’s degree in Management Engineering in 1987 and 1988 respectively. After working as an engineer for a few years, he entered the Immaculate Conception Seminary and was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark on May 25, 1996. Fr. Kevin was assigned to St. Rose of Lima Parish, Short Hills, St. Elizabeth, Wyckoff, and most recently at St. Joseph, West Orange. Besides his parish ministry, Fr. Kevin was a campus minister at Seton Hall University for one year and was active with the Archdiocesan Vocations Committee and the Catholic Committee on Scouting.

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Deacon Robert Gurske

Deacon Robert Gurske has been a member of St. Bartholomew Church for more than fifty years, and is a graduate of St. Bartholomew Interparochial School.

From early on, he felt that God was calling him to a vocation in either the priesthood or brotherhood. He attended vocation days in the archdiocese, developed a strong relationship with the Marist Brothers, and attended early-morning Masses with the Jesuits at St. Andrew´s on the Hudson.

The upheaval in the American society of the 60´s and 70´s, however, caused him to reconsider his intentions and, on June 29th, 1974, Bob married his childhood friend Joanne, a lifelong supporter of the Sisters of St. Lucy Fillipini. Together, they have participated in nearly every ministry available to parishioners: Baptismal preparation, Pre-Cana, food pantry and CCD, just to name a few.

In 1998, Fr. Michael Merlucci approached Bob with the idea of becoming a deacon. With Father´s support Bob entered the diaconate program and was ordained a Permanent Deacon in June, 2002. His initial assignment was to both St. Bartholomew Church and as a Catholic chaplain to Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center.

Today, Deacon Bob continues to live out his vocation with the full support and encouragement of Joanne. They have two grown daughters, Mary Beth and Kate, also graduates of St. Bartholomew School.

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Sr. Louise Lauretti, M.P.F.

Sister Louise Lauretti received a B.A. in Modern Languages, M.A. in Elementary Education and an M.A. in Administration & Supervision from Seton Hall University.
Sister taught grades 4 through 12 from 1952 to 1966 in the Archdioceses of Newark, Hartford and Cleveland.
Her experience as a principal spans 39 years and four schools. Sister served as the principal of Saint Bartholomew Interparochial School from 1966 to 1972; and from 1997 to the present day. Sister has also served as the principal of St. Mary, New Brunswick, NJ, St. Anthony, Bristol Ct., & St. Peter, Merchantville, NJ.

Sister´s motto: "When a work is of the Lord, He will sustain it."-Saint Lucy Filippini

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Sr. Phyllis Vella, M.P.F.

Sister Phyllis Vella, MPF was born in Newark, New Jersey and grew up in Nutley, New Jersey. While attending the Nutley public schools, her faith was nurtured through the Eucharistic celebrations at Holy Family Church in Nutley. It was during this time that she discerned her vocation to Religious Life by entering the community of the Religious Teachers Filippini and was invested on January 13 (the birthday of St. Lucy Filippini, the foundress of the community).

During the past twenty-five years, she has served in the Dioceses of Philadelphia (St. Nicholas of Tolentine); Albany (Our Lady of Mt. Carmel); Trenton (Holy Innocents and Villa Victoria Academy); and in the Archdiocese of Newark (St. Francis Xavier, Newark; Our Lady of Mt. Virgin, Garfield: St. Joseph, East Orange; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Orange; and St. Bartholomew, Scotch Plains).

Within these parishes, she has served as Teacher, Religion Coordinator, and Director of Religious Education.

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Mrs. Patricia Krema

Associate Director of Religious Education for Confirmation

Pat Krema and her family joined St. Bartholomew´s Parish in 1995, after moving to Scotch Plains from Chicago. In Chicago, Pat taught high school biology, middle school math and science, and coached high school cross country and track and field. She also married Rich Krema and had two children, Andrew and Madeline. After several years of teaching, Pat went back to research, working for an EPA contractor monitoring Great Lakes water quality. Her work with the EPA led her to graduate studies in the Biology Department at Loyola University Chicago. She also conducted research and worked as a teaching assistant in field ecology at the University of Michigan Biological Station. After moving to New Jersey with her husband´s job transfer, Pat began working with the Confirmation program at St. Bartholomew´s Parish in 1998. She also spent time volunteering within the Scotch Plains Fanwood Schools as a PTA President at Evergreen Elementary School and served as an officer on the Scotch Plains Fanwood PTA Council. In 2005, she became the Associate Director of Religious Education for Confirmation. She currently holds a B.S. in Secondary Education from Bowling Green State University, an M.S. in Biology from Loyola University Chicago, and is currently working toward a Masters degree in Pastoral Ministry at Caldwell College. When not studying or working at St. Bartholomew´s, Pat enjoys spending time with her family and friends, walking her dog, Champ, and running. She recently completed two New York City Marathons.


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Mr. Paul Milan

Paul Milan was born in Bayonne NJ and grew up there, attending Marist High School and St. Peter´s College in Jersey City. He has been working in the field of liturgical music full time since 1994. Prior to joining the staff of St. Bartholomew the Apostle, he worked at St. Bernard of Clairvaux parish in Plainfield, St. Joseph´s parish in East Rutherford and Our Lady Star of the Sea parish in Bayonne.


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Mrs. Linda Attanasio

I graduated from John Jay college of Criminal Justice in New York City with an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice and a Bachelor´s Degree Cum Laude in Government and Law. I later attended Seton Hall University for Graduate courses in Religious Education. In 1996, I graduated from Felician College with a Certification in Religious Studies. In addition, I hold Certifications from the Archdiocese of Newark as Lead Catechist in "Catechesis with Children" and "Jesus Model of Catechesis".

For over 20 years I have lived in Westfield with my husband Victor and our three children, Anthony, Michael and Victoria. I have been working in Ministry for 15 years.

On a personal note, I love to read and cook in my spare time. My husband and I also enjoy planning and taking vacations together and with our children.


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Brian and Monica Caldwell

“Thank you for welcoming us into your parish community!”

The couple recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary,
and are excited at this opportunity to minister together as a couple. Both have grown up serving in their parishes; for Brian it all started with altar serving, with Monica it was playing keyboard for mass. Youth ministry is something each have been involved with for over 10 years – in fact, they met at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Birmingham, AL! Prior to getting married, Brian was Youth Minister at St. Ann’s Church in Garwood, and Monica was Youth Ministry Coordinator at Sts. Joseph & Michael’s Church in Union City. They look forward to lending their respective experiences to the program at St. Bartholomew this year.

In their spare time, Brian is a religion teacher at St.
Dominic Academy in Jersey City, while Monica works in the
corporate world as a chemical engineer. But their most important moments are spent with family and friends, and in
ministry.

“We look forward to sharing our faith journey with
the community of St. Bartholomew.”

Contact Brian Caldwell   Contact Monica Caldwell

Bartholomew

Bartholomew comes to the parish from the ShakeA-Paw organization in Union, NJ. Although he arrived as a puppy, Bartholomew is now almost one year old and has become thoroughly familiar with his surroundings.

He loves to hide bones both in and outside the rectory. He enjoys chewing rawhide bones, slippers, pillows, his bed and a stuffed squirrel toy. His favorite pastimes include chasing rabbits and squirrels, visiting with Mr. & Mrs. Kovalcik (his adopted grandparents) and taking Fr. Lester for a walk.

Bartholomew (he’s too cool for a last name) loves gourmet meals and Frosty Paws ice cream for dogs.

Fr. Paladino is the love of his life and Bartholomew only responds to his master’s voice.