Fr. Patrick Sweeney was born in Philadelphia, PA on July 29,1944, at St. Agnes Hospital to Edward and Margaret Sweeney. His father was in the Navy at that time and he lived with his grandmothers for the first three years of his life. After his father left the service, the family moved to a house in South Philadelphia in St. Gabriel’s Parish. He and his brothers and sisters, Edward, Margaret, Daniel, Joseph and Maryann, all attended St. Gabriel Catholic School and Bishop John Neumann High School.
Fr. Sweeney entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 1962, was ordained a deacon in 1971, and was assigned to Visitation BVM in Trooper for his diaconate year. On May 20, 1972, Fr. Sweeney was ordained to the priesthood by John Cardinal Krol. His first assignment as a newly ordained was at St. Thomas Aquinas in Croydon, PA.          
Subsequent assignments included St. Eleanor, St. Matthew in Conshohocken, St. Eugene in Clifton Heights, Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Anne in Philadelphia, and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Bensalem. That’s right—Father’s assignment here as pastor in 2003 marks his second time at St. Eleanor, though he lived on Main Street back in the 70’s.
Fr. Sweeney owes his vocation to his Catholic School education, his family and friends, and to many priests along the way. He enjoys traveling with his priest friends when he has a chance, and also visiting his siblings and nieces and nephews.
Fr. Sweeney says, “It has been a great life and there is a better one yet to come.

I was born and raised South Philly and was a member of St. Philip Neri Parish. I graduated from St. John Neumann High School in 1990. Since that time I moved to New Jersey and live in Washington Township and attend St. Charles Borromeo Parish.
I had originally entered in the fall of 1995 after completing my degree at Holy Family University. I spent almost four years in St. Charles Seminary before deciding to leave. It was a difficult decision but I felt that I needed to be tested by the world and gain more life experiences. So for seven years I taught in the Catholic High School System and served as the Director for Pro-Life Activities in Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Several years ago the desire to serve the Archdiocese as a Priest was again too strong to ignore. So I re-entered St. Charles Seminary in 2006 and continued where I had previously ended.
The insights and experience that I gained out in the world and especially in the high schools really displayed to me the importance of the priesthood. A good priest offers prayers and support at different times in the lives of his people, both in happy times and tragic. And he is always pointing the people toward God by his words and good example of faith in action.
Please do not hesitate to call on me at anytime; I am at your service.
In closing I beg you for prayers - prayers for myself, prayers for the Priests of the Archdiocese, and prayers for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. And, I leave you with a prayer that came from Fr. Mychal Judge who was killed while ministering to the police and firemen at the WTC on 9/11. This prayer has become important to the members of my class because it is a daily reminder to us of who calls us to serve as priests!

Lord, take me where You want me to go;

let me meet who You want me to meet;

tell me what You want me to say;

And, Lord, Keep ME out of Your way!

Deacon Al Derivan is originally from Yonkers, N.Y. In 1961 he married the former Mary Collins.  They have four daughters and seven grandchildren. Deacon Al is a medical doctor with post graduate training in pediatrics, psychiatry and ethics. He is retired, but teaches part time at Thomas Jefferson University, School of Medicine. He is also a Navy veteran having served several years in submarines. In 1988 Deacon Al was ordained a Permanent Deacon for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He was initially assigned as a deacon at St. Thomas of Villanova Parish in Villanova and then at St. Andrew’s in Newtown; he came to St. Eleanor’s in 2006. Deacon Al attended a Catholic grade school, high school and college. His calling to the Permanent Deaconate came while he was taking graduate courses in Scripture at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. Deacon Al enjoys his family and spends as much time as possible with his grandchildren. He enjoys watching football, reading and teaching.

 

Deacon Joe DeRosa is originally from the West Oak Lane section of Philadelphia, PA, where he was born and raised.

Deacon Joe attended public grade school, high school and college and holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Penn State. Immediately out of college, he was hired by Univac, now called Unisys, as an electrical/mechanical design specialist and worked there for the next 37 years.

Deacon Joe is an Army veteran who enlisted for three years, served as an administrative specialist and achieved the rank of Specialist Fifth Class before being honorably discharged in 1971. He is also a veteran of foreign wars having served a thirteen month tour of duty in Vietnam.

While he was still in the Army, in May of 1970, he married the former Rosemarie Rosselli. They lived in an apartment a few miles off the Army base and after his enlistment in 1971, they moved into a house in the northeast section of Philadelphia.

In 1977 Deacon Joe and Rosemarie, adopted a son, Joe, who is their only child. He is still single and makes his living performing as a stand-up comic in various comedy clubs throughout New York City, other states and Canada. In 1978, Deacon Joe, his wife and son, moved to Collegeville and became parishioners of St. Eleanor parish.

Deacon Joe believes his calling as a deacon came in the early Spring of 1994 while he was in prayer at a men’s faith sharing day at King of Peace Parish in Philadelphia. After a lot of prayer and careful discernment, he submitted his application and later that year was accepted to begin his theological studies in the Permanent Diaconate program at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

June 6, 1999, Corpus Christi Sunday, at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, he and fifteen of his classmates were ordained by His Eminence Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua and were the next group of men to join the ranks of clergy as Permanent Deacons for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He was immediately assigned as a deacon here at St. Eleanor Parish.

In May of 2005, Deacon Joe and his wife moved to Spring Hill, Florida, where they thought they would spend the rest of their life. He was assigned to St. Joan of Arc parish in the Diocese of St. Petersburg where he continued on with his ministry for the next three years.

In June of 2008, Deacon Joe and Rosemarie, moved back into the Collegeville area and he was re-assigned as deacon here at St. Eleanor Parish. In addition to his ministry, Deacon Joe is also employed by the parish as the Director of Parish Services.

Deacon Joe enjoys spending quiet time at home with his wife, being in the audience and watching his son Joe perform at local area comedy clubs and walks in the park and rough-housing with their family pet poodle, Nickey. He also enjoys building things and fixing up things around his house especially when it comes to carpentry, electrical and plumbing projects. Deacon Joe enjoys classical music, graphic design projects on the computer, he loves to find out what makes things work and, although he doesn’t own one, he is an antique automobile enthusiast.