June 4, 2025

Ten jubilarians – priests who have reached milestone years of service – were honored at the annual Jubilee Mass, celebrated by Bishop Terry R. LaValley on May 20 at the Cambria Hotel in Lake Placid.

The Mass was part of the Presbyteral Assembly, an annual gathering of priests from around the diocese.

Honored at the Jubilee Mass were Father John L. “Jack” Downs and Father Gilbert B. Menard, both celebrating 70 years of priesthood; Father L. William Gordon, 60 years; Father Lawrence E. Marullo, 50 years; Father Guy. F. “Bill” Edwards, Father Michael I. Miller, a Missionary of the Sacred Heart, and Father Raymond J. Moreau, 40 years; and Father Theodore A. Crosby, Father Joseph W. Giroux, and father Michael H. Marzan, 25 years.

Father Downs & Father Menard celebrate 70 years

Father John L. “Jack” Downs and Father Gilbert B. Menard were ordained May 21, 1955, by Bishop Walter P. Kellenburg.

FATHER JOHN L. ‘JACK’ DOWNS
Father Downs, who retired in 2004, continues to serve as chaplain for the Diocese of Ogdensburg Vocations Society. He’s previously held similar roles with Our Lady of the Adirondacks House of Prayer and North Country Cursillo.

Father Downs, 95 (he’ll turn 96 next month) studied for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall and St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

After his ordination as a priest, Father Downs served as assistant pastor at Sacred Heart in Massena and in AuSable Forks. In 1968, he was named pastor in Redwood and a diocesan consultor.

From 1969 to 1980, Father Downs served the diocese as Director of Radio and Television.

Father Downs was assigned as pastor in Adams in 1973 and in West Chazy in 1978. He took a leave of absence from 1987 to 1990 to work in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, West Virginia, providing pastoral care and sacraments in impoverished areas of the Appalachian Region.
Upon his return to the diocese, he served as pastor of St. Joseph’s in Massena until his retirement.

He continued to celebrate Masses around the North Country after his retirement.

FATHER GILBERT B. MENARD
Father Menard, 96, spent many years during the first half of his priesthood as a professor at Wadhams Hall and Mater Dei College. Between the two colleges, he taught three languages: Greek, Latin and French.

A native of Mooers, he developed life-threatening pneumonia as a child, and he was healed through the intercession of St. Joseph and St. André Bessette.

He studied for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall and St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester before he was ordained by Bishop Kellenburg.

Known to many as “Father Gibby,” his first assignments were as assistant pastor in Lake Placid, then Potsdam, then Mooers Forks.

Father Menard was assigned to the faculty of St. Mary’s Academy in Champlain in 1959 and then professor at Wadhams Hall in 1965.
While remaining on the faculty of Wadhams Hall, teaching Latin and French, he was named pastor in Hammond and Rossie in 1971.

In 1978, he moved to Clinton County to serve as pastor in Morrisonville until 1983 when he was named pastor in Ellenburg and Churubusco until his retirement in 1999.

He continued serving God and the people of the North Country after his retirement, assisting with faith formation classes and celebrating Masses.

Father L. William Gordon: A priest for 60 years
Father L. William Gordon spent many years of his priesthood as an educator in Catholic schools beginning with his first assignment as teacher at Immaculate Heart Central School (IHC) in Watertown. He later served as a vice-principal at Holy Family School in Massena and principal of IHC from 1970 to 1977.

A native of Plattsburgh, Father Gordon, 85, studied for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall Seminary and St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore before he was ordained at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg by Bishop Thomas A. Donnellan on May 22, 1965.

Father Gordon has served as assistant pastor in Lowville, St. Patrick’s in Watertown, Brownville and Sacred Heart in Massena.

In 1977, he was named pastor in AuSable Forks until 1983, when he became pastor in Morrisonville.

Father Gordon returned to St. Patrick’s in Watertown in 1988 as pastor and later served as parochial vicar in Peru, and pastor in Port Henry, Westport, Champlain and Chazy.

He retired in 2010 and now makes his home at St. Alexander’s in Morrisonville, and he has aided parishes around the region.

50 years for Father Marullo
Father Lawrence E. Marullo, 76, was ordained by Bishop Stanislaus J. Brzana on May 13, 1975.

Born in Auburn, he studied for the priesthood at Becket Hall, the college seminary for the Diocese Rochester. He completed studies at St. Bernard’s in Rochester.

He has served as assistant pastor at St. Mary’s in Massena, St. Augustine’s in Peru, St. Joseph’s in Malone, Notre Dame in Ogdensburg, St. Patrick’s in Watertown, and St. Peter’s in Lowville. He was an administrator in Chazy and pastor in Star Lake, where he also served as chaplain at the Wanakena campus.

He was pastor in AuSable Forks and then was pastor at St. Bartholomew’s in Old Forge prior to his assignment to St. Mary’s Church in Constableville in 2002. He was given additional responsibilities over St. Mary’s Nativity Church in West Leyden in 2004, and St. Martin’s Church in Port Leyden and St. John’s Church in Lyons Falls in 2011.

He retired in July 2023 and continues to reside in Constableville.

Three priests mark 40 years

Father Guy F. “Bill Edwards, Father Michael I. Miller, a Missionary of the Sacred Heart, and Father Raymond J. Moreau were honored for reaching 40 years of priesthood at the Jubilee Mass.

FATHER GUY F. “BILL” EDWARDS
A native of Peru, New York, Father Edwards, 71, studied for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall Seminary, the North American College at Rome and Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, New York. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Stanislaus J. Brzana May 4, 1985, at his home parish of St. Augustine’s in Peru.

Father Edwards first assignment was as parochial vicar of Notre Dame in Malone. In 1988, he joined the Ogdensburg Peruvian Apostolate beginning language studies at Cochabamba, Bolivia. He was a missionary in Mollendo, Peru, from 1988 to 1993, serving as pastor of St. Martin de Porres Church for part of the time.
Upon his return to the diocese, Father Edwards served as parochial vicar of St. Bernard’s Parish in Saranac Lake.

After participating in a sabbatical program for returning missionaries at Notre Dame University, Father Edwards served as pastor of Our Lady of Victory Church, Plattsburgh.
He retired in 2023.

FATHER MICHAEL I. MILLER, MSC
Father Miller professed religious vows with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1978 and was ordained a priest in 1985.

His first assignment was as parochial vicar in Holy Family parish, Nazareth, Pennsylvania.

In 1989, he accepted an assignment as a missionary in Colombia, South America. While there, he was pastor of two parishes, worked as a formation director for Missionaries of the Sacred Heart theology students, served the community as sectional treasurer and volunteered as a chaplain at Kennedy Hospital in Bogotá. He also supervised the construction and completion of building the “new” (begun in 1986) church at St. Margaret Mary parish in Bogotá.

In 2005, he was assigned to serve as pastor of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Aurora, Illinois, a role he held for 13 years.

He was then appointed secretary general in Rome, where he ministered until he was elected provincial superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart USA Province.

He is currently living in Watertown with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart community.

FATHER RAYMOND J. MOREAU
A native of Dover, New Hampshire, Father Moreau, 70, studied for the priesthood at St. Thomas Seminary Junior College in Bloomfield, Conn., Wadhams Hall and Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora.

He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Stanislaus J. Brzana on May 4, 1985, at St. Augustine’s Church in Peru.

Father Moreau has served as a parochial vicar at St. Patrick’s in Watertown, St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg, St. Bernard’s in Saranac Lake, St. Mary’s in Canton and in Potsdam.

In 1995, he was named pastor of St. Augustine’s Church in North Bangor and St. Edward’s Church in West Bangor until 2002, when he became pastor of St. Patrick’s Church in Chateaugay and St. George’s Church in Burke.

In 2003, he became the administrator of St. Patrick’s Church in Colton, St. Paul’s Church in South Colton and St. Michael’s Church in Parishville, and he was named pastor there in 2004.

He moved to Tupper Lake in 2009 to serve as administrator of Holy Name Church and St. Alphonsus Church in Tupper Lake until he was assigned to Sacred Heart Church in Chazy, where he served from 2010 to 2015. He then served as administrator of St. Philip of Jesus Church in Willsboro and St. Joseph’s Church in Essex to serve for a brief time before being appointed pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Brushton and Church of St. Augustine in North Bangor.

In 2023, he was appointed pastor of Brasher Falls, the Parish of the Visitation and St. Raymond in Norfolk and St. Andrew’s Church in Norwood.

Fathers Crosby, Giroux, Marzan mark 25 years
Three priests, Father Theodore A. Crosby, Father Joseph w. Giroux, and Father Michael H. Marzan were honored at the Jubilee Mass for 25 years of priesthood.

FATHER THEODORE A. CROSBY
A native of Phelps, New York, Father Crosby, 55, first earned a bachelor’s degree at St. John Fisher in Rochester before he began studies for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall Seminary in Ogdensburg. He then studied at Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, Diocese of Buffalo.

He was ordained to the priesthood Aug. 12, 2000, by Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito.

Early in his priesthood, Father Crosby served as parochial vicar at Holy Family in Watertown, at St. Peter’s Church in Lowville, St. Mary’s Church in Glenfield and St. Hedwig’s Church in Houseville, and for the Malone Catholic Parishes, now St. André Bessette Parish, before named administrator of St. Bernard’s Church Lyon Mountain in January 2007 and pastor in June of that year. His assignment grew to include St. Edmund’s Church in Ellenburg in 2009.

Father Crosby was named pastor of St. Joseph’s Church in West Chazy and Sacred Heart Church in Chazy in 2016.

FATHER JOSEPH W. GIROUX
A native of Plattsburgh, Father Giroux, 50, studied for the priesthood at Wadhams Hall and the Pontifical North American College in Rome Italy before his ordination on Aug. 12, 2000, by Bishop Gerald M. Barbarito.

After his ordination, Father Giroux continued studies in Rome, earning a Licentiate in Sacramental Theology from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm.

From 2000 to 2005 Father Giroux served as Parochial Vicar at Notre Dame Church, Malone (Aug, 2000); St. Bernard's, Saranac Lake (Sept. 2000); St. Peter’s, Lowville (June 2001); Sacred Heart, Massena (June 2004); and St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg (June 2005). While in Ogdensburg, he also served as part-time chaplain at the Ogdensburg Correctional Facility.  Beginning in 2008 he served as the first director of the diocesan Program for the Ongoing Formation of Newly Ordained Priests. From 2006 to 2010, Father Giroux served first as administrator and then as pastor at St. Bartholomew’s in Old Forge and St. Anthony of Padua Parish of Inlet and Raquette Lake.  From 2010 to 2019 Father Giroux served as pastor of the four Malone Catholic Parishes which merged in 2014 to become St. André Bessette Parish. 

In 2019, Father Giroux began studies at St. Paul’s University, Ottawa, obtaining a Licentiate in Canon Law in 2021. At the conclusion of his studies, he was named Adjutant Judicial Vicar for the diocese, a position he still holds. From 2021-2025, Fr. Giroux served as pastor of St. Mary’s Church in Potsdam and St. Patrick’s Church in Colton.

In 2025, he was named pastor of the Catholic Community of Moriah in Port Henry and Mineville, St. Elizabeth’s Church in Elizabethtown, and St. Philip Neri Church in Westport.

FATHER MICHAEL H. MARZAN
Father Marzan, a priest of the Archdiocese of Caceres in the Philippines, attended Holy Rosary Major Seminary in Naga City, Philippines, where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in philosophy and sacred theology.

He was ordained March 13, 2000.
His first assignment was at Saint Bernard Abbot Parish, a community of three churches, in Camarines Sur as parochial vicar.

He later started a parish, St. Francis Xavier, in Halawig-Gogon, Goa, Camarines Sur, overseeing the building of the church structure and the parish community.

Prior to arriving in the United States in June of 2022, he was assigned as a parish priest of Our Lady of Miraculous Medal Parish, Santiago, Irga City, a parish in the Archdiocese of Caceres.

After arriving in the United States in 2022, Father Marzan was assigned to Holy Cross Parish in Plattsburgh.

He currently serves as parochial vicar at St. Mary’s Cathedral Parish in Ogdensburg.