In a return to the priest-president format that has been a hallmark of the school for most of its 168-year history, Seton Hall University on Monday celebrated the investiture of Monsignor Joseph Reilly as the school’s twenty-second president.
Hank D’Alessandro, chair of the Board of Regents and a graduate of the class of 1985, presided over the investiture ceremony.
“To say Monsignor Reilly understands our mission is an understatement,” he said. “It is inseparable from who he is.
“He continues the tradition of the priest-president, a role he will use to instill hope and advance success for our entire community.”
Seton Hall has had a priest president for 146 years of its 168-year history.
Monsignor Reilly spoke of his affinity for the school.
“Half of my life has been spent here,” he said. “[Seton Hall] is a place of encounter, of education, of enrichment, of empathy, edification and equity. It was here, in this place, where I discovered the passion and purpose for my life as a priest. But it is not simply a place of three campuses. Seton Hall is a community of people, with fundamental beliefs about God, the human person, the world and the values that underly all of those things that are founded in faith. This is what sustains each one of us in our lives here at Seton Hall.
“My deep desire as I begin my service as a priest-president here at Seton Hall is that I would like to be able to, like Jesus Christ, to make a gift of myself in service to the community.”
Reilly, who began his tenure as president on July 1, brings a deep understanding of Seton Hall’s identity as a leading Catholic university and a robust vision to elevate its standing among the leading institutions in American higher education.
A Mountainside native, he attended Seton Hall Prep and graduated from the university in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark in 1991 and then served as a parochial vicar at St. Paul in Ramsey and St. Andrew in Bayonne.
In 1995, he joined the staff of Seton Hall Prep, where he served as a faculty member and chaplain. Seven years later, he returned to the University as rector of the College Seminary at St. Andrew’s Hall.
In 2012, he was named rector/dean of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, where he served until 2022. During this period, he helped strengthen the University’s Catholic
foundation as a member of the Board of Trustees. After a year’s sabbatical, he undertook his most recent post as vice provost of academics and Catholic identity. In this role, he worked to integrate the University’s Catholic mission into academics — particularly local and international initiatives, and academic programs that make Seton Hall an icon of Catholic higher education.
Cardinal Joseph Tobin, chair of Seton Hall’s Board of Trustees, president of the Board of Regents and Archbishop of Newark, served as Celebrant and Homilist at the investiture mass and addressed the investiture ceremony. He spoke fondly of Reilly.
“Monsignor Reilly’s selection as Seton Hall’s leader follows decades of devoted service to the University and its students, and through them, to the world. I am confident his presidency will produce even more remarkable achievements,” he said.
The ceremony culminated a week-long celebration of investiture-related events, including an academic symposium, “The Story of Catholic Education: Renewing Our Universities,” a Student Leaders Luncheon and a gathering with alumni and families during Homecoming and Family Weekend.
