Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Fuhrman

Monsignor Robert J. Fuhrman was born in 1955 and raised in Dumont, New Jersey. His parents had six children, five boys and a girl. He graduated from St. Mary’s Grammar School and Dumont High School. During his high school years he felt drawn to the possibility of a priestly vocation, and was accepted into the College Seminary at Seton Hall University, graduating in 1977 with a BA, majoring in both Philosophy and Religious Studies. He attended Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, from which he would earn a Master of Divinity degree in Pastoral Ministry and later a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Theology.

Ordained to the priesthood on May 30, 1981 by Archbishop Peter L. Gerety, he was first assigned to St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Union (1981 to 1987). Father Fuhrman served as priest secretary to then-Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick (1987 to 1990), Vice-Rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary (1990 to 1993), and Rector of the College Seminary, St. Andrew’s Hall, the undergraduate seminary at Seton Hall University (1993 to 1997). Also beginning in 1993, Father Fuhrman was named Archdiocesan Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of the Archdiocese of Newark. First among these is the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. These Societies are the Pope’s chief system of support for the Missions of the Church, providing resources for 1,150 mission dioceses throughout Africa, Asia, Oceania, and parts of Latin America. Thus began a three decade long relationship with the mission Church, directing the Newark Mission Office for 30 years, and serving as Assistant National Director in New York, starting in 2010. In 1995 he was made a Chaplain of His Holiness with the title Monsignor by Saint John Paul II.

​In December 1997 Monsignor Fuhrman began a 12-1/2 year term as Pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish in Saddle River. He led that parish while also directing the Mission Office of the Archdiocese and serving many years on the Board of Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies, as well as on the Board of Directors of the Catholic Medical Mission Board, also in New York. After two terms as Pastor of St. Gabriel Parish, in 2010, Monsignor Fuhrman was appointed Assistant National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, living and working at its New York City headquarters. He was elevated to the rank of Prelate of Honor by Pope Benedict XVI in 2013. In September 2014. He was appointed Pastor of St. Philomena Parish by Archbishop John J. Myers, effective October 8, 2014.

In addition to serving as Pastor and as Archdiocesan Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, Monsignor Fuhrman was elected to the Board of Trustees of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark in July 2015, and in 2016 was elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees of that Agency, a position he still holds.