Obituary of Rev. Joseph A. Trovato C.S.B.

Please share a memory of Rev. Joseph to include in a keepsake book for family and friends.

Irondequoit: Monday, July 20, 2020 at the age of 90, from complications of COVID19. Father Joe was born March 1st, 1930, to Christopher and Salvatrice (Papa) Trovato. After graduating from the Aquinas Institute, he entered novitiate for the Basilian Fathers and made his first profession on August 15,1948 . After earning a BA and MA from the University of Toronto and an STB from St. Michael's College, he was ordained a priest on June 29, 1956 at St. Basil's Church in Toronto. In 1959 he was appointed to St. John Fisher College where he remained for 30 years as the Campus Minister and a professor of Italian. He served on the College's Board of Trustees for 25 years and remained a Trustee Emeritus. In 1989 he became the Associate Pastor of Christ the King Church (later St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish) where he served for 30 years. He also served several terms on the General Council of the Basilian Fathers. In 2008 St. John Fisher College bestowed on him the President's Medal for his decades of dedicated service to the College. In 2019 he retired to the Sisters of St. Joseph Motherhouse. Father Joe was predeceased by his parents, his brother Frank, and his sisters, Rose and Katherine. He is survived by his nephew, Christopher Trovato of CA; niece, Lorraine (Kevin) Lantz-Udovich, of AZ; great-nephews, Conner Lantz, Dylan Lantz, Landen Trovato, great-niece Delaney Trovato; many cousins, and his Basilian confrères. Fr. Joe will lie in state Monday, July 27th from 3:00pm-7:00pm at St. Kateri at Christ the King Church, 445 Kings Hwy. All guests are required to wear face masks. Upon entering the building guests will also be asked to use hand sanitizer. A private Funeral Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Salvatore Matano, Tuesday morning at 10:30am. The Funeral Mass will be livestreamed and viewable at https://www.sjfc.edu/news-and-events/live/ or on the Paul W. Harris Funeral Home Facebook page. Interment will be held in the Priests section of Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. A public Memorial Mass will be held at a later date. Memorial donations may be directed to the Fr. Joseph A. Trovato, CSB Scholarship Fund, St. John Fisher College, 3690 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14618. Fr. Joe will be remembered as a good, kind, and gentle priest.