Deacon Harold Noviello

While Harold Noviello felt like he was always called to be a priest, he wasn’t always ready to answer that call. He was living with a genetic disorder, polycystic kidney disease, which killed his father, grandmother and aunt.

“I was so petrified of the disease because I knew what it did to my family. I was wondering what kind of life I was going to have. For me to answer the call to the priesthood, the problem with the kidneys had to be reconciled,” he said. “In a strange way, God reconciled that by having my kidneys fail.”

In March, 2000, he was forced to face what he had so long feared — dialysis.
“My body had a hard time dealing with it (dialysis) at first. But after that first two or three month period, which was difficult, I actually found great peace on dialysis. And that gave me the confidence to answer the calling.”

Born in Queens and raised in St. Patrick’s parish in Smithtown, Deacon Noviello attended the parish elementary school and St. Anthony’s High School, then in Smithtown. He later received his bachelor’s degree in accounting and master’s in taxation from C.W. Post and was a Certified Public Accountant.

“I had lots of money, stocks, a job where they allowed me to work three days a week, (after he started dialysis) with full benefits. I had my Infiniti, and a lot of material possessions that weren’t making me happy, but I was tied to them. God used the kidney failure, the whole idea of dialysis, to break me from that tie.”
Deacon Noviello’s mother, Louise, recalls that Harold “was a great little kid, and very involved in sports.” She didn’t really think of his becoming a priest and was worried at first that his physical condition would affect his seminary studies. “Now we are all happy and excited,” about his ordination. “He really has a calling, and that’s the best reason to do this.”

According to Deacon Noviello, sometimes his calling was literal. “I would be fast asleep and I’d hear my name called. I’d go to the door, and everybody else was fast asleep.”

Another time, he was walking out of a Hallmark store in the Smith Haven Mall and noticed one card sticking out of its holder. “The curious man that I am, I went to fix it, but before I fixed it I looked at it. It said: ‘Congratulations on your ordination to the priesthood.’”

He believes that God worked through Mary to call him to the priesthood. “Our Lady of Fatima is very important to my calling,” he said. “A lot of Mary’s messages call for conversion of heart. I want in some way to call people back to confession.”

He sees many connections between significant events in his life and the dates of Mary’s appearances at Fatima, particularly May 13, the date of her first visit.
That was the date of both of his graduations from C.W. Post and, on May 13, 2000, he went to dialysis, as had become his routine. “I was on the machine for about an hour when, all of a sudden the machine cut off,” he recalled. The fistula in his arm, an enlarged vein and artery connection created for dialysis access, had collapsed. “They had never seen that happen before where one went bad while someone was already on the machine.”

As he waited for test results he switched on the TV and saw Cardinal Ratzinger in front of 100,000 people in Fatima. It was the day they announced the third secret that was revealed to the children of Fatima. After placing a catheter in Deacon Noviello’s neck so he could resume dialysis, the surgeon checked his arm and was surprised to see the fistula was working normally again.

Once he had accepted his call, a fear of being in front of a large group of people kept him from approaching a priest about pursuing his vocation.
“At one point, I said to God I really can’t do this. You’re going to have to help me.” Three days later, he was contacted by Bishop Walsh, then Msgr. Walsh at St. Patrick’s parish, on a different matter and Deacon Noviello was able to broach the subject.

“During my time at the seminary I realized how good and reliable God is. When I first entered the seminary I had grave doubts about whether I could finish it while being on dialysis,” he said, but his experience two summers ago erased his doubts. He became very sick near the end of the semester. He didn’t tell anyone until after he finished his classes, then he ended up in hospital for major surgery as they removed both kidneys. He experienced complications, but was able to start his pastoral year at St. Patrick’s, Huntington, on schedule. “I was sick the whole summer, but I didn’t lose any time on either end.”

As a deacon assisting at St. Thomas the Apostle, West Hempstead, he said he learned a lot while preparing homilies. “We always see Jesus healing physically, but He cures people physically because he knows that that physical healing is going to lead to spiritual growth,” he said.

Deacon Noviello said that when he was considering priesthood, he was inspired by Father Douglas Arcoleo, who was an associate pastor at St. Patrick’s. “He is just a genuine priest. He made it look so easy,” he said. “And he used to call people to confession. He would make a point of saying that he wouldn’t be shaking hands after Mass because he’d be in the confessional if anyone wanted to come.”

The seminary rector, Msgr. James McDonald, became another source of inspiration. “I think he’s outstanding. He is a good combination of being strict when it comes to the teachings of the Church, but he’s very pastoral and forgiving in implementing that.”

Deacon Noviello would like to get people to see that “this life is important, but it’s not the ultimate importance.” Dealing with illness on a daily basis gives him insight into how fleeting this life can be. “I’m relying on God for everything. I’m trying to get out of His way so that His will be done.”