Deacon Bruce Olsen was ordained in 2001 as a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Paterson.  At St. Therese he serves as Director of Liturgical Ministries, Youth Minister, oversees the RCIA process, and trains new Eucharistic Ministers. An educator in Catholic schools for over thirty years, he has taught theology in various schools in the Diocese of Paterson and the Archdiocese of Newark, including Paramus Catholic and Bergen Catholic High Schools, and currently teaches religion to the Seventh and Eighth Graders in our parish school. Deacon Bruce is Pastoral Associate at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Washington Township, NJ and is responsible for the ministries of bereavement, outreach to the sick & homebound, liturgy, and adult education.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston, NY and a Master’s Degree from Seton Hall University in South Orange, NJ. He is a native of East Meadow, NY and lives in Allamuchy, NJ.