This year, the following priests of the Archdiocese of Washington are celebrating the golden jubilee of their priesthood.
Father Robert A. Finamore, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, this year marks the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination.
Born in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 30, 1939, he was baptized at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Washington and made his First Holy Communion at Holy Comforter Parish, also in Washington.
Before entering studies to become a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington, he spent several years as a seminarian with the Order of the Most Holy Trinity in Pikesville, Maryland. He attended St. Mary’s College in St. Mary, Kentucky, and Christ the King Seminary in Bonaventure, New York, prior to his ordination on May 16, 1970 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew.
Father Finamore served as a parochial vicar at St. Ann Church in Washington from 1970 to 1976, and as a parochial vicar at St. Catherine Labouré Parish in Wheaton, Maryland, from 1977 until 1982.
In 1982, he earned a master’s degree in social work with a certification in gerontology from The Catholic University of America.
He then took a leave of absence from the priesthood, and in 1992 returned to serve for several months as associate pastor at Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Parish in Washington. In 1993, he was appointed as a parochial vicar at Holy Redeemer Parish in College Park, Maryland. In 2000, he was named pastor of St. Ignatius Parish in Fort Washington, Maryland, where he served until his retirement in 2009.
Outside of his parish duties, Father Finamore served from 1997 to 2003 as a member of the archdiocesan Priest Retirement Board; and in 2008 he was the chaplain to the Washington Navy Yard and Arlington National Cemetery.
Father Robert T. Guillen, a native of Brooklyn, New York, is celebrating this year the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
Prior to entering Christ the King Seminary in St. Bonaventure, New York, as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Washington, he attended Newark State Teachers College in Union, New Jersey, and St. Jerome’s College in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
He was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1970 at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.
During his five decades of ministry, Father Guillen has served as a parochial vicar at the following Washington, D.C. parishes: St. Francis Xavier Parish from 1970 to 1973; St. Martin of Tours Parish from 1973 to 1987; the Church of the Assumption from 1987 to 1991; St. Francis de Sales Parish from 1992 to 1998; and Holy Name Parish from 1998 until his retirement in 2014.
He said that he was inspired to become a priest “by the example of other priests” who served at his parish when he was growing up. He added that “the best part of being a priest is hearing Confession and (providing to the faithful) Holy Communion.”
From 1976 to 1986, Father Guillen served as director of St. Martin Parish’s day camp; and from 1991 to 1992, he served as Catholic chaplain to Greater Southeast Hospital.
In his retirement, Father Guillen spends his days in prayer. The priesthood, he said, “sure is a good life. I would do it again.”
Father James Holloway, a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.
He was born in Washington, D.C. and is a graduate of Holy Name School and Gonzaga College High School, both in Washington. He attended St. Charles College in Catonsville, Maryland, St. Mary’s College in St. Mary, Kentucky, and St. Vincent’s Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, prior to his May 16, 1970 ordination at the Cathedral of St. Matthew.
He served as parochial vicar from 1970 to 1973 at Holy Name Parish in Washington, D.C.; from 1973 to 1978 at St. Gabriel Parish in Washington, D.C.; from 1978 to 1981 at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Washington, D.C.; from 1981 to 1982 at St. Joseph Parish in Frederiksted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; from 1982 to 1985 at St. Peter Parish in Waldorf, Maryland; from 1985 to 1991 at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Takoma Park, Maryland; from 1991 to 1992; at St. Ambrose Parish in Cheverly, Maryland; from 1992 to 1998 at St. John Baptist de la Salle Parish in Chillum, Maryland; and from 1998 to 2004 at St. Bernard Parish in Riverdale, Maryland.
“I have had a very happy life,” Father Holloway said. “I have memories of the thousands of people I met and worked with and ministered to – I don’t remember all their names but I remember all their faces.”
After his retirement in 2004, he served for one year as chaplain to the Gulf Correctional Institution Annex in Wewahitchka, Florida, and then moved to St. Simon’s Island in Georgia.
Since 2006, he has served as a chaplain to St. Simon’s by the Sea Psychiatric Hospital, ministering to those coping with drug and alcohol addiction. He also assists at five parishes in the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia, where he said, “I help out the guys (priests) and fill in for them when they are sick or away.”
“I am not sure if I got all the people (he ministered to) to heaven, but I sure hope that I never stood in their way of getting there,” he said.
Celebrating his anniversary in a time of the coronavirus pandemic and widespread protests for racial justice across the United States, Father Holloway said, “We’re living in very important times for us, we can either run away from the problems or face them. I say face up to them and stay loyal to the Church.”
Msgr. Joseph Sadusky, who retired in 2016 as judicial vicar in the archdiocesan Tribunal, was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington on May 16, 1970, and this year marks his golden jubilee as a priest.
A native of Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, he attended Our Lady of Angels Seminary in Albany, New York, in preparation for his ordination.
Prior to his 1978 assignment to the Archdiocese of Washington Tribunal, he served as parochial vicar at Mount Calvary Parish in Forestville, Maryland; St. John Baptist de la Salle Parish in Chillum, Maryland; Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Takoma Park, Maryland; and St. Joseph Parish in Beltsville, Maryland.
Msgr. Sadusky holds a master’s of divinity degree from Niagara University in New York; a master’s degree in Church administration and a licentiate in canon law from The Catholic University of America; and a doctorate in canon law from St. Thomas Aquinas Pontifical University in Rome.
In 1974, he was certified as a chaplain after completing a course at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. From 1968 to 1989, he served in the U.S. Army. He left the service with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
In the Tribunal, he held several posts, including adjutant judicial vicar, administrator and judicial vicar. Pope (now Saint) John Paul II named him a prelate of honor with the title monsignor in 1990.
“As I reflect on my life there are two significant points,” Msgr. Sadusky said. “Throughout my life I have always experienced the presence of God, and I am grateful for all the people I have encountered in the course of my life.”
Two other priests of the Archdiocese of Washington are also marking 50th anniversaries in 2020: Father James Meyers and Father Thomas Ulshafer, S.S., and they are featured in separate stories.
