- Date Of Birth: August 1, 1921
- Date Of Death: January 15, 2016
- State: Maine
Rev. Gennaro “Jerry” Sesto, S.D.B.
August 1, 1921
January 15, 2016
Reverend Gennaro ‘Jerry’ Sesto, S.D.B., a member of the Salesian Community of Don Bosco, passed away at the age 94, on January 15, 2016, at Villa Marie Claire in Saddle River, N.J.
Jerry Sesto was born in Biddeford on August 1, 1921, to Mary and Thomas Sesto, and subsequently raised in Portland. Becoming enamored with Saint John Bosco at the time of his canonization in 1934, he entered Don Bosco Seminary in Newton, N.J. in 1935. He was impressed by a mural in the seminary chapel that quoted St. John Bosco: “I promise you bread, work, and paradise.” Completing both high school and college at the seminary, he graduated in 1943 and then taught for three years at Salesian High School in New Rochelle, N.Y.
In 1946 Brother Sesto was sent to Turin, Italy for theological studies where he earned an STL and was ordained a priest in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians on July 2, 1950. He remained in Turin after his ordination to study canon law, completing his JCL in 1952. He continued his canonical studies at the Catholic University of America, earning a JCD in 1956. Fr. Sesto was a respected professor of canon law at the PAS in Turin (1955-1957) and Rome (1957-1963). He was admitted as an advocate/procurator before the Sacred Roman Rota in 1960, entitled to practice Church law anywhere in the world.
Fr. Sesto returned to the U.S. in 1963 to serve as Director and President of Don Bosco College Seminary in Newton, N.J. In 1967, he went to the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio to teach canon law, where he also served for a time as dean of students (1968-1970) and associate academic dean (1970-1981). He was a popular and highly regarded professor. After 14 years in Ohio, Fr. Sesto was named director of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J. (1981-1987). He was beloved by students and their families for his genuine kindness and joyful optimism.
