It’s not unusual for a parish to be upset when a pastor is reassigned.

But it is unusual for a lot of powerful high-profile local politicians to get involved, as they’ve done in one New Jersey parish.

Take a look:

Political powerbrokers and parishioners are pressing the leader of northern New Jersey’s Roman Catholics to let an elderly priest stay in the church he’s led the past 54 years.

More than 150 people gathered Wednesday to pray for Newark Archbishop John Myers to reverse his decision removing Pastor Joseph Granato from St. Lucy’s Church after his July 1 retirement. The 80-year-old priest wants to remain involved with the church and to continue to live in its rectory in the Italian-American neighborhood where he was raised.

“It’s a terrible mistake,” said Steve Adubato, a parishioner who organized Wednesday’s event. “We know that the archbishop is wrong.”

The 76-year-old Adubato is also the founder of the politically influential North Ward Center, a nonprofit that operates a charter school, five preschools, youth athletic leagues and an adult day care center in Newark.

Archdiocese spokesman James Goodness said priests have not been allowed to serve more than two consecutive six-year terms in the same parish for decades now and must retire at 75. Myers gave Granato a retirement waiver five years ago.

“Change is always difficult,” Goodness said, noting that Myers will not comment on the dispute.

Numerous politicians have asked the archbishop to make an exception for Granato, including Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo and Newark municipal council members Anibal Ramos Jr. and Luis Quintana. Goodness said Granato is expected to live in a home he owns in the neighborhood until an apartment becomes available at a rectory in Caldwell, 12 miles away.

More than 600 people attended a June 12 march in support of the pastor and a larger turnout is expected Sunday.

Officially, the dispute between Myers and influential members of northern New Jersey’s Italian-American community is about Granato, who held the congregation together though the riots that convulsed New Jersey’s largest city in the 1960s and the rampant crime that followed. But DiVincenzo says the real issue is loyalty.

The archdiocese has never been shy about asking prominent congregation members for help, DiVincenzo said, whether it’s assistance with closing Catholic hospitals or funding a new statue. They expect their loyalty to be returned, he said.

“This guy is from Illinois , he wasn’t born and raised here and he doesn’t understand this community,” DiVincenzo said of Myers. “He’s alienating parishioners that have been supporting the archdiocese for decades.”

You can read more at the link.

And, for more intrigue, check out this report, which includes allegations of death threats.