Late Jersey City Police Officer To Be Honored At Blue Mass

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Late Detective Joseph Seals of the Jersey City Police Department, who was killed in the line of duty, will be honored at the 28th Annual Blue Mass at in Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

The ceremony will be held on Nov. 4 at 10 a.m.

Seals is among four fallen officers who will be honored, including U.S. Capitol Police Officer and New Jersey native Brian Sicknick; Officer Michael Teel of the Port Authority Police Department; and Officer Sean Peek of the Bridgeton Police Department. The lives of four officers who died in retirement will also be recognized: Jack McGarry of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office and the East Orange Police Department; Danny Francis of the Newark Police Department; Benedetto “Benny” Christiano of the Bloomfield Police Department; and Richard T. McKnight of the Newark Police Department.

Additionally, 31 police officers who died of COVID-19 will be acknowledged, and 37 Port Authority officers who were killed during the World Trade Center terrorist attacks will be honored to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

Chief Christopher Trucillo of the NJ Transit Police Department is this year’s honorary chairman of the Blue Mass. Chief Trucillo is a lifelong parishioner of the Archdiocese of Newark who was a captain in the Port Authority Police Department on 9/11.

“We in law enforcement always pledge that when we lose somebody, we’ll never forget them,” Chief Trucillo said. “But those words are empty unless we actively do things that will allow us to never forget. And the Blue Mass is one of those significant ways to fulfill that pledge. As someone who’s been in law enforcement for quite a while, I’m proud of our profession, and I feel so honored to pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice through the Blue Mass.”