New Jersey’s oldest St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be postponed one week as to not fall on the same day as a funeral service for slain police Det. Joseph Azcona.
The march was scheduled to take place Friday. It will instead be held on March 21 at 1 p.m. after a mass at St. Patrick’s Pro-Cathedral.
Azcona, who was shot dead Friday night, will be honored at that service, parade organizers said.
“For over 90 years, the Newark St. Patrick’s Day Parade has been proudly led by many of Newark’s finest,” organizers said in a statement announcing the postponement. “We are deeply grateful for the men and women who serve and protect our community daily.”
The funeral mass for Azcona will be held Friday at 10:30am at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark. He’ll then be buried at Glendale Cemetery in Bloomfield, NJ.
The 26-year-old officer died while investigating an automatic weapon case involving a 14-year-old boy. The teen suspect is in police custody.
Next week’s parade will be led by grand marshal Sean McGovern, who’s operated his family’s McGovern’s Tavern for nearly 25 years. McGovern’s great uncle served as the parade’s grand marshal in 1960. His grandfather had that honor in 1965.
The 264th NYC St. Patrick’s Day takes place Monday at 11 a.m. along Fifth Avenue. Its grand marshal will be Michael Benn, who chairs the Queens County St. Patrick’s Parade Committee in Rockaway.
