Rev. Joseph P. Jocco, OSFS, 1949-2022
Rev. Joseph P. Jocco, OSFS
Rev. Joseph P. Jocco, OSFS, in his 46th year of religious life as a professed member of the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, died on December 24, 2022.
Father was born in Chicago in 1949, the son of Joseph P. Jocco, Sr. and Harriett L. (Collard) Paulinski. After graduating from Oaklawn High School in Oaklawn, Illinois in 1968, he entered the United States Navy and served as a Corpsman until 1973. He then entered the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and professed first vows on August 13, 1977. He made perpetual profession on January 21, 1983 and was ordained a priest on June 9, 1984 by Bishop Louis A. DeSimone, DD at Our Lady of Ransom Church in Philadelphia. Father earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Allentown College of Saint Francis de Sales (now De Sales University) and a Master of Arts in Education from Villanova University.
Over the years, he worked in a wide variety of ministries in Secondary Education, including Father Judge High School (Philadelphia, PA), Salesianum School (Wilmington, DE), Father Lopez High School (Daytona Beach, FL) and Bishop Verot High School (Fort Myers, FL). Father Jocco was the Vocation Director for the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province and Superior of the community in Childs, MD as well as the Father Louis Brisson Community (Philadelphia, PA). His experiences in parochial ministry included being Parochial Vicar at Our Mother of Consolation (Philadelphia, PA) and St. Ann (Naples, FL) and Pastor of Saint Francis de Sales Parish (Robesonia, PA).
Rev. Joseph P. Jocco, OSFS is preceded in death by his parents as well as his sister Linda O’Rourke and her husband Thomas “Mike” O’Rourke. He is survived by brother David Paulinski and his wife JoAnne, sister Marcie Morin and her husband Richard, sister Harriet Merlin and her husband Matthew, brother Richard Paulinski and his wife Janice, sister Arlene Korbel and her husband Ronnie, and sister Virginia (Ginny) Korbel in addition to many nieces and nephews.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, January 3, 2023 beginning at 11:30AM at Our Lady of Light Chapel, 1120 Blue Ball Road, Childs, MD 21916. The Viewing will precede the Mass from 10:00AM to 11:15AM. Interment will take place at the Oblate Cemetery following the Mass. Attendees must be fully vaccinated and boosted from COVID-19. Social distancing and masks are required.
In memory of Father Jocco’s life and legacy, donations may be made to the Oblate Development Fund, P.O. Box 87, Childs, MD 21916-0087.
Father Joe Jocco, OSFS, third from the left, at a recent Mass celebrating Jubiliarians.
