Father Michael Garry – Diocese of Trenton

Assignment Record:

DatesAssignment
Approx. 1939 Ordained in the Diocese of Sacramento
1940 – 1944 Absent on Leave (no location given)
Approx. 1944 Begins serving in the Archdiocese of Newark
1945 – 1947 St. Elizabeth’s Church, Linden, NJ
1948 – 1950; Absent on Leave (still listed as a Sacramento priest)
Approx. 1950 Begins serving in the Diocese of Trenton; may have been ordained in the Diocese of Trenton at this time
1951 – 1955 St. Denis Church, Manasquan, NJ; The church had stations in Brielle, NJ, and Sea Girt, NJ; The church had an affiliated “summer chapel” at Manasquan Beach, NJ
1956 – 1957 St. James the Less Church, Jamesburg, NJ
1958 – 1959 St. Magdalene de Pazzi Church, Flemington, NJ
1960 St. Mark’s Church, Sea Girt, NJ
1961 – 1962 Ascension Church, Bradley, NJ
1963 – 1968 St. Jude’s Church, Blairstown, NJ
1969 – 1981 St. Jerome’s Church, West Long Branch, NJ
1982 – 1988 “Retired;” listed as living at Peter Cooper Village, Long Branch, NJ
Source:
  • The Official Catholic Directory, Kenedy & Sons

(The years listed above are the publication years of the Official Catholic Directory. According to the Directory, the assignments provided for a given year are effective as of January 1 of that year. This means that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year at a parish or school was likely at the same assignment for at least part of the previous year as well.)

Summary:
  • Father Garry died in 1988.
  • Father Michael Garry was accused of sexually abusing two female minor children. The sexual abuse began in approximately 1960 and 1961 when the girls were approximately twelve and nine years old, respectively. At the time when the sexual abuse began, Father Garry was assigned to St. Mark’s Church in Sea Girt, New Jersey, the girls’ home parish.
  • The sexual abuse by Father Garry included the following: One woman reported that Father Garry sexually abused her when she was approximately twelve to thirteen years old. Father Garry fondled her breasts and genitals inside her clothing, skin-on-skin, and kissed her on the lips, inserting his tongue into her mouth. The sexual abuse occurred in Father Garry’s car and at the girl’s school, St. Catherine School in Spring Lake, New Jersey.
  • The other woman reported that Father Garry sexually abused her on one occasion when she was approximately nine years old. In Father Garry’s car, Father Garry inserted his hand into the girl’s pants and underwear and fondled her genitals, skin-on-skin.
  • The claims both settled in December 2019 in the low six figures.