Fr. Albert Anthony Sylvia

Fr. Albert A. Sylvia, 78, formerly pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Lawrence passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 10, 2019 at the Mary Immaculate Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Lawrence. Fr. Al was born in Philadelphia, PA the son of the Albert Joseph Sylvia and Mary (Goncalo) Sylvia. He was educated in the Catholic elementary school system in Greater Boston and graduated from Immaculate Conception High school in Revere, MA. Fr. Al attended St. John's Seminary in Brighton, MA. He celebrated his first mass St. John's the Evangelist Church in Winthrop, MA in 1966. Fr. Al's first assignment was in 1966 at St. Joseph Church in Pepperell, MA, where he was the Assistant Pastor. In 1969 Fr. Al then joined the Society of St. James the Apostle where he did Missionary work in Peru. In 1975 he returned to the Greater Boston area and did ministry for the Greater Lynn Spanish Apostolate and was in Residence at St. Joseph Church in Lynn. In 1984 he became the Associate Pastor of St. Rose Church in Chelsea. He was appointed the temporary Parochial Vicar at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Jamaica Plain. In 1991 he was a participant in the Portuguese Languages Study Program in Lisbon, Portugal. Fr. Al's next parish in 1991 became his most favorite, when he was assigned to Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Lawrence where he stayed until 2003 when he became to Pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Peabody. In 2008 he was appointed the Spiritual Director of Blessed John XXIII Seminary in Weston. On June 30, 2013 Fr. Al was given the title Senior Priest and after a brief stay in Cambridge Fr. Al chose to spend his remaining years in Lawrence.  Fr. Al is survived one sister, Regina Colasacco of Franklin, MA and one nephew John Colasacco and his wife Emily Colasacco of Syracuse, NY. 

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday, January 15, 2019 at 11:00 am at St. Patrick's Church, 118 South Broadway, Lawrence. Burial will be in St. Patrick Cemetery in Fall River, MA. Friends may call Tuesday, January 15, 2019 form 9:00 am to 10:45 am at FARRAH FUNERAL HOME, 133 Lawrence St; Lawrence, MA 01841. In lieu of flowers, donations in Fr. Al's memory may be to Merrimack Valley Hospice, 360 Merrimack St; Lawrence, MA 01843.