Father Nickas had been pastor of St. Rocco Church in Newark for 19 years. He believed that faith should reach out to the community and during that time began three day-care centers, an alternative high school, a number of group homes for teenagers and adults, and a homeless shelter. More recently he served as pastor at St. Peter Claver Church in Montclair from December 1996 to October 2004, when he retired for health reasons.

Father Nickas took up the challenge to really follow Christ throughout his priesthood, helping those in need and standing up for what was truly right. A member of NJ Peace Action, Father Nickas had St. Peter Claver declared a Peace Site in 2002. At the NJ Peace Action Soup Luncheon on Nov. 15, 2003, Father became the recipient of their annual "Bread & Roses Award."

In December 2002, when our nation was marketing Weapons of Mass Destruction and the "Axis of Evil," we gathered with Father to establish Parishioners for Peace & Justice, the peace ministry at St. Peter Claver Church. He has been our champion and muse, encouraging us to produce a weekly bulletin on peace and justice, host speakers, and plan community-building justice and peace events. We wonder where we would have been without him at the start of the horrible war that still rages.

For us the world seems less without him, probably because he expanded our world so much. He will be tremendously missed.