The Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown is mourning the passing of a senior priest.
Monsignor Samuel J. Tomaselli passed on November 2 in Somerset. He was 92.
Born in Portage on November 13, 1932, the son of the late Samuel and Agnes (Galioto) Tomaselli, Monsignor attended Saint Joseph School in Portage, Portage Area High School, Saint Francis College in Loretto, and Saint Vincent Seminary in Latrobe.
He was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown on May 23, 1959.
In his early years as a priest, he served as an Assistant Pastor of Saint Agnes Parish in Lock Haven, Saint Joseph Parish in Renovo, and Saint Patrick Parish in Johnstown.
In 1968, he was appointed Assistant Pastor of Saint Peter Parish in Somerset and then appointed Pastor of the parish in 1975, an assignment he held until his retirement in 2008.
He was named a Chaplain to His Holiness on December 16, 1986.
Monsignor Tomaselli was also a former Vicar Forane, or Dean, of the diocese’s Southern Deanery.
A viewing for Monsignor Tomaselli will be held on November 8 from 8:00-11:00 a.m. at Saint Peter Parish in Somerset, immediately followed by a funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Peter.
