The Rev. Joseph Davis must serve a little more than one year of the sentence imposed Friday before becoming eligible for parole. He had pleaded guilty in May to a theft charge.
Morris County prosecutors say that over a 20-year period, the 65-year-old Davis stole about $300 a week from collections made at St. Therese Roman Catholic Church in Roxbury, which serves about 2,800 families. He resigned his post in July 2010 amid an investigation into the missing funds.
Davis' lawyer had sought a probation term for his client, saying a prison term would be a "serious injustice."
