Last mass in Sparta for Father Rivera

SPARTA — After many years of service, Father Raimundo Rivera, director of Migrant Ministry for the Paterson Diocese, held his final mass at his resident parish of St. Kateri in Sparta. Following the mass, pastor Father Tom Fallone and the parish staff held a special reception to recognize the efforts of Father Raimundo and his service to the migrant community of Sussex County.
Father Rivera was born in El Salvador and was inspired to become a priest by Blessed Oscar Romero, the former archbishop of San Salvador. Bishop Romero was an outspoken advocate for the people of El Salvador that were victims of human rights violations. He was brutally assassinated on March 24, 1980 by an alleged radical extremist group. When he was only 14, Father Rivera recalls seeing Bishop Romero celebrate a mass in El Salvador. This moment combined with his family’s strong Catholic faith, was the basis for him becoming a priest.
Father Rivera was ordained by Paterson Bishop Arthur Serratelli on May 28, 2011. He has served as the director of Migrant Ministry for the Paterson Diocese and helped launch the Migrant Ministry’s Catechetical Center in Newton last year. Father Rivera will continue to serve the Paterson Diocese as Administrator of Our Lady of Victories and Our Lady of Lourdes Parishes in Paterson, N.J. effective June 29, 2016.
Father Wilder A. Londono will succeed Fr. Raimundo Rivera as director of Migrant Ministry for the Paterson Diocese effective June 29, 2016. Fr. Londono was born in Medellin, Columbia in 1980 and was ordained in May, 2014.
For more information on the Paterson Diocese Migrant Ministry, please visit www.patersondiocese.org and for more information on Saint Kateri parish please visit www.saintkateri.org