Pastoral and Office Staff
Fr. William Coffas
PASTOR.. Fr. William G. Coffas, the son of William and Carol Coffas, grew up in Irondequoit and was a member of St. Ambrose Parish, now Peace of Christ. He has three sisters. He graduated from Eastridge High School in 1990 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications, with a minor in Marketing, from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1994.
Fr. Justin Miller
Parochial Vicar. Fr. Justin is the son of Milan Jr. and Carol Miller and grew up in Springville, NY which is 35 minutes south of Buffalo. He has one sister who is married and lives in the Boston, MA area. He attended public school there before coming to Rochester to attend St. John Fisher University 2003-2007. He graduated with a B.A. in English and Religious Studies. He then worked for three years at Paychex in customer service and made
After June 26, 2023, Fr. Martuscello’s new office address will be:
Saints Mary and Martha Parish, 299 Clark Street, Auburn NY 13021
Joseph Placious
DEACON. Deacon Joe is a native Rochesterian who met his wife Natalie at their home parish St Andrew’s church in Rochester. They have two children, Joseph married to Jacqui, and Nicholas, along with two grandchildren, Xavier and Vincent. Deacon Joe was ordained May 21, 2005 and his first assignment was at Holy Name of Jesus.
Donna Petrella
Lay Parish Minister I live and grew up in Charlotte. I graduated from Holy Cross School and Nazareth Academy. I have an associate degree from Bryant & Stratton College. I am semi-retired from Frontier Communications.
In my spare time, I love spending time with my nieces and nephews. I love to read, garden, travel, shop, and go for walks!
After taking care of my mom for many years, I re-entered the work force.
Thomas J. Verzillo
SCHOOL PRINCIPAL. Thomas J. (T.J.) Verzillo grew up in West Irondequoit and is a product of the Catholic School system. As an elementary school student, he attended St. Thomas Apostle School and is a 1994 graduate of the Aquinas Institute. In his home parish of St. Kateri Tekawitha parish in Irondequoit, NY, he served on the Pastoral Council and acted as the liaison for the Parish Finance Council.
Amanuel Malik
FAITH FORMATION DIRECTOR. Amanuel Malik, a native of Eritrea, emigrated to the United States in 1995. The oldest of seven siblings, he has dedicated most of his adult life for Christian and human formation of young adults in higher education setting. Prior to his most recent roles as a college educator, Amanuel directed the Faith Formation and Youth Ministry programs of Most Precious Blood Church, St. Boniface Church, St. Bridget’s Church, St. Andrew’s Church, and St. Helen Church.
Donna Jacobi
TWEEN/TEEN YOUTH MINISTER. I am a lifelong member of Holy Cross Parish. Married here and raised my family here. Volunteered for many years with sacrament preparation and faith formation.
Dr Beata Golec
DIRECTOR of LITURGICAL MUSIC at HOLY CROSS and OUR MOTHER OF SORROWS Dr. Beata Golec has served as a music minister at the parishes of the Diocese of Rochester since 2003.
Beata enjoys working with adults and youth. She founded semi-annual Young Musicians’ Concerts in 2016 to provide welcoming and stressless performance opportunities for young instrumentalists and vocalists ages 5—21, to create a bridge between our Church and the surrounding neighborhood, as well as to support important community initiatives such as the BackPack Program.
Office Staff
Nicky McGrath
RECEPTIONIST/SECRETARY. Nicky is available from 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM, Monday through Thursday and can assist you with many issues or questions:
Gina Hill
OFFICE MANAGER/ BOOKKEEPING. Gina is our office manager/accountant. She works closely with the Pastor in managing the day-to-day financial issues of the parish including,
Christopher Frontale
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE. Chris is the Finance Director for the Eastern Greece, Gates, Charlotte and Chili parishes of Holy Cross, Our Mother of Sorrows, St. Charles Borromeo St. John the
Jennifer Ertel
BULLETIN EDITOR. Jenny collects information, photos, and artwork, and prepares the bulletin for print each week.
Our Parish Pastoral team assists in all phases of care and ministering to our parishioners. Office Hours are from 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Call 585-663-2244. Office e-mail is rholycross@dor.org