Msgr. John Gilchrist

Msgr. John Gilchrist born in 1929 and was the first of six children of Mary Irene and John Charles Gilchrist.  He grew up in Nutley, N.J., and then later in Belleville N.J.  Msgr. Gilchrist entered the Seminary in 1951.

Upon his ordination in 1957, Father Gilchrist spent several months in Saint Mark's Parish in Rahway, N.J., and was then was assigned to Saint Cecilia's Parish in Kearny, where he served for 21 years. While at St. Cecilia’s Father Gilchrist taught in the both the parishes High School and Grade School.   The Priests assigned to St. Cecilia’s also served the local West Hudson Hospital in Kearny.   During Father Gilchrist’s time at Saint Cecilia's, he began a Saturday morning program for young people with Down syndrome. He also began writing a column for the Catholic Advocate Archdiocesan newspaper that continued until the paper was discontinued.

It was during these years that Monsignor became involved with Local 68 of the Operating Engineers and it marked the beginnings of his associations with various other unions within the State of New Jersey.

After St. Cecilia’s Father Gilchrist spent two happy years at Saint Nicholas in Jersey City.  In 1980 he was assigned Pastor at Our Lady of Fatima in North Bergen, N.J., where he continued for 13 years.  As Pastor, he served for a time as dean of North Hudson and as the Vicar for Pastoral Life in the Archdiocese of Newark. 

In 1993 he was given the title of Reverend Monsignor, by then Pope John Paul II, and was appointed as leader of the Commission for Jewish-Christian Affairs, a post he held for a number of years, and developed relationships within the Jewish community that lasted to the end of his life.

His involvement with Social Justice Issues began to increase as he was approached by tenants who faced eviction unjustly.  He was able to work with others to develop a tenant advocacy group in Hudson County as a result, and their accomplishments were many. That also led to successful struggles for affordable housing opportunities for people afflicted with HIV/AIDS.

In 1993 Monsignor was appointed the Pastor at Holy Cross, Harrison, N.J. His work within the Archdiocese continued, as did his involvement in the social issues. The work with the labor unions became even stronger. His efforts went into maintaining and supporting the parish’s grammar school.  At the end of his term at Holy Cross, the parish shared with him the joyful celebration of his 50th anniversary of priesthood.

In 2007 Msgr. Gilchrist retired as the Pastor of Holy Cross in Harrison, and then came to live here at the St. John Paul II Youth Retreat Center - what then was called the Archdiocesan Youth Retreat Center.  Msgr. Gilchrist continued to work with the various unions here in NJ, and abroad.  He was a regular fixture at the daily 8am mass held at the Retreat Center and could be seen on Saturday nights celebrating mass in the Sacred Heart Chapel as well.

On April 17, 2018, after 61 years of ministering to so many as devoted priest, Msgr. Gilchrist returned home to our Heavenly Father.   On the announcement of the passing of Msgr. Gilchrist, one of the union leaders wrote this to all of his members: "Over the years, Msgr. Gilchrist's words and prayers have resonated from picket lines to union meetings all across the state. With soft-spoken poise and a beaming optimism, the weight of his words have empowered, guided, and united generations of working families." Through all of these years, his consistently strong affection remained with his work with the labor unions. The International Union of Operating Engineers was first, but then followed the Building and Construction Trades, the Food and Commercial Workers, the Teamsters, the AFL-CIO and others. They found a true friend and advocate in Msgr. Gilchrist, and he found a multitude of true friends in the men and women of Labor.”