Martin vanderWerff

Rev. Msgr. Martin van der Werff was born December 9, 1924 in the town of Hoogezand in the Netherlands. He died peacefully at West Jefferson Hospital on Wednesday, March 23, at the age of 86. He was preceded in death by his parents, Hindericus and Christina van der Werff and by his brothers, Otto, Lodewijk and Henderikus van der Werff. He is survived by his sister, Agatha van der Veen, his brother, Frederikus van der Werff, and by nieces and nephews in Europe. Father Martin began his priestly career with ordination on July 9, 1950. As a member of the St. Joseph’s Missionary Society, he served the Church in the Mill Hill Missions in Cameroon, Africa. There he and his fellow missionaries developed a self-sustaining arm of the Church which today provides its own ministries to its people. For his service in Africa, he was named a Knight of the Orange Nassau by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. After 25 years of service in Africa, he came to the New Orleans Archdiocese in October, 1975. He served faithfully as an associate pastor and later as the pastor of St. Cletus Parish in Gretna. His work for the Archdiocese extended to other ministries such as Dean of the West Bank Deanery, membership on the Priests’ Council and Chairman of the Parish Sites and Boundaries Commission. After his retirement on July 5, 1997, he continued his priestly duties assisting at Visitation of Our Lady Parish in Marrero. He was a beloved pastor to the people of the West Bank and will be sorely missed. Relatives, friends and employees of the Archdiocese of New Orleans and affiliated parishes are invited to attend the visitation at Mothe Funeral Home, 2100 Westbank Expy., Harvey, LA on Monday, March 28, 2011 from 4 PM until 8 PM. Visitation will resume at St. Cletus Church, 3600 Claire Avenue, Gretna, LA on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 from 8 AM to 10 AM. A Funeral Mass will follow. Interment will take place at Westlawn Memorial Park, 1225 Whitney Avenue in Gretna for family and close friends. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Catholic Relief Services (www.crs.org). Everyone may view and sign the online guest book by visiting: www.mothefunerals.com.