Beloved ‘Priest Through and Through’ – Father Sil, Dies at Age 60
Father Silvaster Sarihaddula, who served at St. Matthias, Ridgewood, and Our Lady of Sorrows, Corona, and who was serving as pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Parish, West Winfield-Richfield Springs, Albany, New York, died unexpectedly on Dec 27. He was 60.
Father Sarihaddula was born in Andhra Pradesh, India, on June 15, 1960.
Serving as a brother with Missionaries of Charity since 1980, Mother Teresa encouraged him to move to Tijuana, Mexico, and study for the priesthood.
In 2008, Father Sarihaddula was reassigned by the Missionaries of Charity to the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens.
He served at Our Lady of Sorrows for a year-and-a-half and then at St. Matthias for more than eight years.
“Father Sil was a priest through and through,” said Bishop Edward B. Scharfenberger of Albany. “He loved his people, loved making them welcome, always finding ways to attract them to the sacramental life and devotional prayer. He had a shrine to Mother Teresa, who was influential in his early priesthood and in his coming to serve in the United States,” Bishop Scharfenberger told The Evangelist, the diocesan publicaion of Albany. The bishop was a monsignor at St. Matthias when he met Father Sarihaddula.
In 2015, Father Sarihaddula was assigned to the Diocese of Albany, and since January 1, 2016, he was serving as priest-administrator of St. Joseph the Worker Parish.
A Funeral Mass was celebrated on Jan. 7 at St. Joseph the Worker.
Brother Loreto Anthony Scotto, F.S.C., a member of the congregation of the Brothers of Christian Schools of Narragansett, Rhode Island, died on Jan. 2. He was 86.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York, on December 7, 1934, the son of the late Dominic and Anna (Mennella) Scotto.
After finishing the Novitiate in Barrytown, New York, he went to the Scholasticate at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. from 1953–57. He then began his teaching career in science/biology at La Salle Academy in Providence.
Brother Loreto entered the Brothers of the Christian Schools in 1959, where he was devoted to his ministries and his love of teaching.
He held a Master’s in Biology from Brown University.
Brother Loreto is survived by his sisters Leticia (Lee) Scotto and Marie Scotto and his nieces Judy Kozlow and Annmarie Dinan. He was predeceased by his sisters Nancy Scotto and Gloria Weis.
Sister Mary de Porres McAllen, R.S.M., a member for 81 years of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Mid-Atlantic Community, died on Dec 8. She was 99.
She entered the congregation on Feb. 2, 1939, in Brooklyn.
Her motto was, “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
Sister Mary de Porres led a long and dedicated life of service as a teacher and principal, in community administration, as director of the Mother Vincent Haire Residence, and as assistant treasurer at the Convent of Mercy, both in Brooklyn.
She will be remembered for her great love of family and community, her wonderful sense of humor, and her joy in serving those with special needs. She was a skilled educator and a wise counselor.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at the Holy Trinity Church, Whitestone, NY, on Dec. 10, followed by burial at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn.
