Not being that much older than some of the students in his CCD class, Father Robert Marciano had a good idea they might be partying and that could involve alcohol.

His intuition was on the money, as members of that class recounted Sunday night at a private dinner celebrating the 40th anniversary of Father Marciano’s  ordination.

“We’ve been friends through all these years,” Fr. Marciano said Monday of that CCD class. As the story goes, as a young priest at St. Joseph Church in Providence, Fr. Marciano easily picked out the cars of CCD members parked at one of their homes. He knocked on the door. They were surprised to see him, but none too happy when he spotted the booze which he poured down the drain.

Sunday night members of that class, Rick and Marjorie Charron and Tom and Amy Bergeron, surprised Fr. Marciano with a 4-year scholarship to Bishop Hendricken High School in his name, valued at $60,000, to award as he chooses.

The scholarship was one in a series of surprises Sunday that started with Mass at St. Kevin Church. It being the anniversary of his ordination, Fr. Marciano sent out invitations to a select few. But, as parishioners will confess, there’s no keeping secrets when it comes to Fr. Marciano. Word spread and soon the Police and Fire Departments, where he serves as chaplain, were sending color guards. Providence Police also got into the act, dispatching two members of their mounted command who stood at attention outside the church. The Marciano family also played a big role in the event, doing the readings for the service as well as singing. Katie, Fr. Marciano’s niece and her husband Chris Van Booven performed his favorite hymn, King of Love My Shepard Is and his great niece Roma Marciano, daughter of Matthew and Courtney Marciano and a student at St. Kevin School joined Patti Lou Davis in the closing moments of the service to tip their hats to Fr. Marciano.

Retired Fr. Kenneth Suibielski,, who served at Fr. Marciano’s ordination, delivered the homily that focused on the meaning of Advent and then pivoted to Father Bob.

“We know how you see us,” he said. “You see us through Christ’s eyes…You embraced us over these four decades with God’s tenderness and held us with the strong embrace of God’s compassion and care.”

Fr. Suibielski credited Fr. Marciano’s parents and his brother Al, saying with their help, “from the moment you were ordained, you hit the ground running and never turned back.  Yes, Christ was and is your captain.”

In comments before a reception in the church hall following the Mass, Fr. Marciano confessed his surprise at the turnout and elicited laughs when he told how he was asked if they were bring the horses in, too.

Briefly discussing the event on Monday, Fr. Marciano talked about Hendricken and mentors in his life. He named Fathers Bert Richman and Suibielski, and his older brother Al.  He related that as a student at St. Francis School he dreamed of following his brother as a Hendricken student, but the priest at St. Francis knowing the family’s financial situation thought it impossible. Fr. Marciano, who had been a top level student at St. Francis, was disheartened. His grades plummeted. His brother recognized what was happening. He talked to the school and encouraged his brother to bring up his grades so he might attend Hendricken.

Fr. Marciano not only went on to graduate from Hendricken, but in January of 2018 was named president of the school.

“Hendricken has been a pleasure,” he said. He noted that the leadership position was “supposed to be a three year appointment, but they (the Bishop) asked me to stay on.”

While he will be eligible to retire at 70, Fr. Marciano has no plans of doing so.

“I love what I do. It’s not work to me,” he said.