James Robert Bocchino, a native Rhode Islander who grew up in Warren, was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church on June 23, 1984.

Father Jim is a 1964 graduate of Warren High School where he was a member of the varsity football, wrestling and track teams, band and drama club. He is a 1968 graduate of Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y.

He has worked at St. Mary’s of Portsmouth, All Saints Memorial in Providence, St. John’s in Barrington, Christ Church in Westerly and comes to St. Barnabas after nearly nine years as the Transitional Priest in Charge at St. Per’s Church in Rockland, Maine.

Father Jim had varied work experiences before his ordination, serving as a police officer, accountant and managing his family’s business in Warren. He was a member of the Rhode Island Army National Guard and U.S. Naval Reserves. He is married to Barbara “Barbe” Fox, a math teacher in North Providence, where the couple make their home.

He has three stepchildren: Tom, Bob and Jean Ann Douglass and three grandchildren, Jacen, Sam and June Douglass.

Father Jim enjoys science fiction, fantasy and historical novels and also refinishes furniture as a hobby. He loves to sing. He and Barbe enjoy bicycling, kayaking and hiking and spend most of their vacation time in the Adirondack Mountains where they have a home and plan to retire.

One of the questions he is often asked at a new parish is, “What shall we call you?”

He prefers that adults call him Jim and for children and those adults who are not comfortable with calling the priest by name, he would prefer “Father Jim.”

“This celebration of the 30th anniversary of my ordination was an incredible experience,” Father Jim said. “That’s because the heart of a priest’s ministry is the relationship he forms with his or her people, as one ministers to them and with them. To see people in the congregation from the parishes in which I served brought back many wonderful memories.”

Father Jim said he was pleased and honored that Bishop Knisely could find time to be the celebrant at the Eucharist.

As he was swarmed by well wishes during the post-service reception, Father Jim, his voice cracking with emotion, said, “I can’t think of a better place to be than St. Barnabas, as my active ministry draws to an end.”