Project 9

Fr. Joe Trovato Home for Boys

Our Boys Home supports 40 boys, ages 6 to 18 in a rural region of Jamaica. The orphanage includes a residence hall, kitchen, restrooms, assembly hall, and playfields. The project is fully funded and nearing completion!

The orphanage is named in honor of Fr. Trovato who was a beloved member of the St. John Fisher College community for 30 years. He was the College’s first director of Campus Ministry, and served in that role from 1959-1989.

A native of Rochester, Fr. Trovato was a graduate of the Aquinas Institute. He was ordained a Basilian priest in 1956. Three years later, Fr. Trovato joined Fisher as a professor of Italian and as the college’s first chaplain. He spent 30 years living and working at Fisher, building strong bonds with students that far outlasted their four years on campus. He married countless alumni, and baptized many of their children.

In 1989, he joined Christ the King Parish (now Saint Kateri) in Irondequoit as the senior priest-in-residence, a position he held, remarkably, for another 30 years.
In February 2020, hundreds of Fisher alumni, students, faculty, and staff celebrated Fr. Trovato’s 90th Birthday Celebration and Mass. It was a joyous occasion for all who attended to celebrate the legacy of this wonderful, humble servant of God.

“It’s been a beautiful life, and I am most grateful to God for bringing me to this life. It’s been a real gift. I wish everybody could be as happy as I’ve been in my vocation,” he told the Catholic Courier a few years ago.