October 27, 2026
Provided Image/Camden County
The Rev. Vincent Guest, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Camden, speaks during the dedication of the Martin F. McKernan Jr. Supportive Housing Center in Gloucester Township on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. Guest knew McKernan for more than 25 years and worked with him at the Camden Center for Law and Social Justice before entering the priesthood.
Martin F. McKernan Jr. spent much of his life working alongside some of South Jersey's most influential people. He advised Catholic bishops, represented government agencies and developed close relationships with political and business leaders throughout the region.
But the longtime Camden attorney, affectionately known to many as Marty, was just as well known for making time for people who had little influence at all.
He mentored young lawyers, helped people facing difficult circumstances and rarely seemed too busy to offer advice.
At 29, he became Camden's youngest city attorney. He went on to spend nearly five decades representing the Diocese of Camden, advising five bishops and earning distinguished honors from Pope John Paul II.
"He was connected with almost everything that had Camden in it," recalled Jim Godino, his longtime law partner.
Now, five years after McKernan died of pancreatic cancer at age 75, his legacy is being recognized through a new facility dedicated to helping people experiencing homelessness.
On Friday, Camden County officials dedicated the $22 million Martin F. McKernan Jr. Supportive Housing Center in Gloucester Township, honoring a man whose career and personal relationships were shaped by his commitment to serving others.
The exterior of the new $22 million Martin F. McKernan Jr. Supportive Housing Center in Gloucester Township. The Camden County facility includes 50 transitional housing units and 10 emergency housing units for people experiencing homelessness, along with services to help residents move toward permanent housing.
Born Sept. 24, 1945, in Philadelphia, McKernan grew up in Camden and Haddonfield in a family with strong ties to the Catholic Church and the legal profession.
He graduated from St. Joseph's Preparatory School in 1963 and briefly attended St. Francis Seminary in Loretto, Pennsylvania, before graduating from St. Joseph's University in 1968. He earned his law degree from Georgetown University in 1971 and served in the 404th Civil Affairs Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve in Trenton.
Following in the footsteps of his father, Martin F. McKernan Sr., he pursued a career in law, quickly establishing himself in Camden's legal community.
In 1974, at age 29, he became the youngest city attorney in Camden's history. He later joined his father in private practice and became senior partner at McKernan, McKernan & Godino.
Over the following decades, he represented the Camden Parking Authority, Camden Redevelopment Agency and Camden County Board of Social Services, among other public institutions. He also held leadership positions with the Camden Free Public Library, Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority and Cooper Medical School of Rowan University.
As documented in the Inquirer's 2021 obituary, McKernan was also an original trustee of the Camden Center for Law and Social Justice, which provides legal assistance to people who might otherwise struggle to afford representation.
For Godino, who joined McKernan's firm in 1981, his longtime partner was more than an accomplished attorney. He was a mentor who made time for younger colleagues and readily shared his knowledge.
"He was a good mentor, not just to me, but to other young attorneys," Godino said. "He always had time for everybody. He was always available."
Although McKernan briefly considered the priesthood, he ultimately found another way to serve the Catholic Church.
Beginning in 1978, he served as legal counsel to the Diocese of Camden, advising five bishops over more than four decades. His work also included leadership roles with the National Diocesan Attorneys Association and the New Jersey Catholic Conference.
Earlier in his career, he served as general counsel to the National Right to Life Committee and helped establish the National Committee for a Human Life Amendment, reflecting his involvement in Catholic and anti-abortion advocacy.
His service earned him two significant papal honors, detailed by the Catholic Star Herald following his death in 2021.
In 1982, McKernan received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross, a distinction recognizing service to the church and the pope. In 2003, Pope John Paul II named him a Knight of St. Gregory the Great, one of the Catholic Church's highest honors for laypeople.
The recognition continued a family tradition. His father received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross in 1978, was named a Knight of St. Gregory in 1959 and became a Knight Commander in 1964. His mother, Monica, received the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross in 2002.
The Rev. Vincent Guest, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Camden, knew McKernan for more than 25 years, beginning when Guest was an attorney.
McKernan hired him at the Camden Center for Law and Social Justice and later helped him become its executive director.
Guest remembered an attorney whose faith influenced how he approached his work, whether he was advising the church, helping a public institution or working with someone in need.
"He understood that a life well lived is a life lived in service to others," Guest said during the dedication.
McKernan's career connected him with some of South Jersey's most prominent figures, but many of those professional relationships became lasting friendships.
Among his closest friends was George E. Norcross III, chairman of Cooper Norcross Health, whose family came to consider McKernan one of their own.
Norcross's daughter, Lexie, was one of McKernan's goddaughters. During his battle with pancreatic cancer, McKernan lived with her at her Long Beach Island home, where she cared for him until his death on Aug. 3, 2021.
Theresa Donahue, sister of the late Martin F. McKernan Jr., and Lexie Norcross cut the ribbon at the dedication of the $22 million Martin F. McKernan Jr. Supportive Housing Center in Gloucester Township. They were joined by members of the Norcross family and local dignitaries.
At the dedication, George Norcross remembered a man whose kindness and personality left a lasting impression.
"Marty's personality was one in my next lifetime I would love to have," Norcross said. "He was a pleasant, classy fellow who never had an unkind word about anybody."
McKernan also had a memorable sense of humor. Norcross recalled two sayings his friend had passed along over the years: "Hope is not a strategy" and "Second place is for losers."
But their relationship went far beyond the professional and political circles in which they traveled.
"Marty was not just a friend," Norcross said. "He was a member of our family and we his."
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For Lexie, the dedication carried an especially personal meaning.
“Marty was my godfather, but he was so much more than that," she said. "He was family, and I loved him dearly. My brother Alex and I were fortunate to have him in our lives for so many years, whether it was Sundays with McMillan’s donuts, family functions, our graduations or vacations abroad — he was always with us making wonderful memories, (and amazing Manhattans).
"Being able to care for him during his final days was truly the best gift he could have given me, as it gave us so much time together, and for that I will always be grateful.
"For all that he accomplished, what made Marty truly special was the way he cared for people. He had such a big heart, and he never stopped looking for ways to help others. I miss him every day but knowing that his name will live on through a place dedicated to helping people rebuild their lives brings me so much comfort. I can’t imagine a more meaningful tribute to someone my family loved so much.”
The new Martin F. McKernan Jr. Supportive Housing Center is designed to help people experiencing homelessness move toward stability and permanent housing.
Located near Camden County's Lakeland complex in Gloucester Township, the 45,000-square-foot facility includes 50 transitional housing units and 10 emergency housing units.
Residents will have access to assistance with employment, mental health care, government benefits and other services intended to help them rebuild their lives.
Operated by Volunteers of America Delaware Valley, the center is part of Camden County's effort to reach "functional zero" homelessness by 2030, meaning people would be connected with housing at least as quickly as others become homeless.
Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer said the project reflects an understanding that every person experiencing homelessness has family, friends and a chance to rebuild.
U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross also spoke about the importance of offering help to people facing difficult circumstances, something he said McKernan understood throughout his life.
U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross looks at a tribute wall honoring Martin F. McKernan Jr. during the dedication of the new supportive housing center named for the longtime Camden attorney.
Seeing the facility for the first time, the congressman recalled thinking, "This is remarkable. This is what hope looks like."
Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said naming the building after McKernan was a recognition of his lifelong concern for people in need.
"We believe that this building represents everything Marty was about," Cappelli said. "It represents how Marty lived his life."
McKernan's sister Theresa Donahue of Bryn Mawr attended the dedication. He is also survived by his sister Regina Harm of Pittsburgh, along with several nieces and nephews and many great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Martin and Monica McKernan, and sister Monica Holland of Alexandria, Virginia.
Inside the housing center, a tribute wall features a quotation commonly attributed to Winston Churchill, the British statesman McKernan greatly admired: "Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts."
The words were chosen for both McKernan's admiration of Churchill and their connection to the center's mission of helping people overcome difficult circumstances and move forward.
For George Norcross, the dedication was a fitting tribute to a man who had spent much of his life helping others.
"He would be so proud of this institution and how Camden County has led our state in the future of caring for those who need a safety net and need a permanent lift to where they are in their lives."
