Mourning parishioners attending a Sunday service in a New Jersey church hissed when they were told to focus on forgiveness for the killer of their beloved “Father Ed,” who was brutally stabbed 32 times by the janitor.

Father Owen Moran urged congregants at St. Patrick’s to pray in “hope and consolation” for alleged killer, Jose Feliciano – but his gentle words were met with a low hiss from the packed pews.

“Father Ed would have forgiven Jose,” said Moran. “He probably had forgiven him before he died.”

Feliciano was arrested yesterday and charged with murder and possession of a weapon after confessing to cops that he’d fatally stabbed Hinds, 61, on the face, neck and back after arguing with the priest Thursday afternoon.

Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi told CNN that the two men argued “over Feliciano’s continued employment.”

The 64-year-old janitor worked at the church for 17 years and was well-known to the parishioners who attended the mournful Mass.

“We pray in a very special way for Jose,” Father Moran said. “There is so much we don’t understand. The Jose we knew was a hard working man, well loved by everyone.”

Tears flowed freely at the first Sunday service held since Hinds was viciously murdered. The priest was found early Friday morning after he failed to appear for 8 a.m. Mass.

His suspected killer, Feliciano, was among the workers who discovered Hinds battered body – and the janitor’s odd behavior immediately put cops on alert. Feliciano made a half-hearted attempt to perform CPR but gave up after just a few compressions, said Morris County Prosecutor Robert Bianchi.

Father Moran, who came to St. Patrick to fill in for his slain colleague, said the church’s forgiveness extended to Feliciano’s children as well.

“Jose’s children have a very important place in the family of St. Patrick’s and they always will,” he said. “They are innocent victims in this.”

His son graduated from the church’s Catholic school, and his daughter is currently enrolled in the eighth grade there.

Parishioners – still reeling from the loss of Father Ed – struggled to comprehend that his killer came from their close-knit community.

“I am angry for how [Father Ed] died,” said Gina Williams, 40, who lives in Chatham, an affluent suburb of Newark.

“It sounds like it was horrible and painful.”

Neal Collins said he knew Feliciano as a “very religious” man.

“He shared prayers with the kids during lunchtime. He must have had some terrible problem – a medical issue that gave him this violence.”

Cops said that Hinds’ body had bruising and other marks that indicated he was beaten before the fatal stabs. Hinds tried to fight off his attacker, cops said, and had defensive wounds across his hands.

The priest managed to call 911 from his cell phone in the midst of the violent assault. The call was cut off, and when the operator called back, Feliciano answered.

“Everything’s fine,” he said, and hung up.

Authorities didn’t respond to the call because they were unable to trace where it came from, Bianchi said.