Robert Francis Garner was born on 27 April 1920 in Jersey City, NJ to parents Michael Garner and Mary O’Keefe. He attended Seton Hall University and Immaculate Conception Seminary and was ordained a priest on 15 June 1946. His first assignment was Mount Carmel in Jersey City, NJ where he learned Italian to better communicate with the community. In 1951, he was sent to Blessed Sacrament in Newark, NJ where he directed the parish’s award winning Golden Knights Drum Corps. Garner was also interested in creating stronger ties with the local Jewish community and established his own apostolate to Jewish Hospital in Newark. In 1967, he became the administrator of Christ the King Parish in Jersey City where he devoted his time to religious education, formation of new converts, and most importantly, helping the poor. He established morning breakfasts for children, strategized to provide affordable housing and local employment for those struggling in the neighborhood. Garner was ordained a bishop on 25 June 1976 and served until his retirement in 1995. During that time, he continued his efforts of tying faiths together by participating in the Interfaith Brotherhood-Sisterhood Breakfast, an annual event since 1987 where various faiths and backgrounds come together. On 25 December 2000, Garner passed away at the age of 80.

Among the duties of priests and bishops is the visiting of the sick and performing the sacraments of Anointing of the Sick, sometimes called Unction or Extreme Unction, and the Eucharist. A sick call box was used when a priest visited a private residence or hospital to perform the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick and to administer the Eucharist.