Josephite

The Rev. James Faherty, Society of St. Joseph, who was pastor of eight Josephite parishes during his 52 years as a priest, died April 29 after a long illness. He was 84.Father Faherty died at St. Joseph Manor, the retirement home of the Josephite pastors and brothers in Baltimore.He had been a pastor in Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana and Alabama from 1942 to 1975 and a fill-in administrator or associate pastor in several Texas parishes from 1975 to 1986, when he came to St. Joseph Manor.He attended St. Joseph's Seminary in Washington, D.C., from 1933 to 1939, when he was ordained at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.

The Very Rev. Matthew J. O'Rourke, a Josephite priest and former superior general of his Roman Catholic religious order, died of congestive heart failure March 9 at St. Joseph Manor in North Baltimore. He was 93. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., he earned a bachelor's degree at Manhattan College and a master's degree from Loyola University in New Orleans. He was ordained a priest in 1947. In 1951, he helped found New Orleans' St. Augustine High School, a predominantly African-American institution.

A Mass of Christian burial for the Rev. Paul J. Lanigan, S.S.J., a veteran missionary priest and former seminary professor, will be offered at 11 a.m. today at St. Joseph's Manor, 910 W. Lake Ave.Father Lanigan, who was 83, died Monday at St. Joseph Hospital after a series of illnesses.A priest for 54 years, he had been a resident of St. Joseph's Manor -- the Josephite Fathers retirement home -- since 1988.Born and reared in Boston as one of four children of Irish immigrant parents, Father Lanigan entered studies for the priesthood in 1929 in the Josephite minor seminary in Newburgh, N.Y.In 1931, he advanced to the St. Joseph Seminary in Washington.

The Rev. Henry Robert Harper, a Josephite priest who was an associate pastor of St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church, died March 29 at the University of Maryland Medical Center of complications from a fall he suffered at his West Baltimore church rectory. He was 86. Born on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, he was the son of a physician and a rear admiral in the Navy's 3rd Medical District. He was educated in parochial schools in Washington, D.C., and was a 1942 graduate of the Georgetown Preparatory School.

The Rev. Daniel Hugh Cassidy, a retired Irish Roman Catholic priest well known in East Baltimore, died Tuesday of heart and kidney failure at St. Joseph Medical Center. He was 88. Father Cassidy, who divided his 50 years of active ministry almost exclusively between Maryland and Louisiana, had resided since 1993 at St. Joseph Manor, a Baltimore retirement home for Josephite priests and brothers. Father Cassidy was born in Donegal, Ireland. His parents moved with him and his seven siblings to Boston when he was 7. By 1936, he had decided to become a priest and entered Mary Immaculate Novitiate in Newburgh, N.Y. A year later, he was accepted at the St. Joseph Seminary in Washington, D.C., where for six years he studied philosophy, theology and the Josephite mission of serving African-American Catholics.

The Rev. Earle A. Newman, S.S.J., a member of the Josephite Fathers and former editor of The Josephite Harvest, the religious order's magazine, died July 27 of kidney failure at St. Joseph Manor in the Poplar Hill section of North Baltimore. He was 84. After 45 years as a priest, Father Newman retired in 1998 and moved to St. Joseph Manor, the home for retired priests of his order, the St. Joseph Society of the Sacred Heart. The World War II Navy veteran held a variety of posts, including parish priest, vocation director, manager of the Josephite Mission Office in Baltimore and rector of St. Joseph Industrial School in Wilmington, Del. For 18 years until stepping down in 1996, he edited the monthly Josephite Harvest from a Calvert Street office.

The Rev. Peter E. Hogan, a member of the Josephite Fathers who was the order's archivist and an acknowledged expert on African-American Catholicism, died Wednesday at Mercy Medical Center of heart failure. He was 83. "He was as delightful a character as he was scholarly," said the Rev. Michael Roach, pastor of St. Bartholomew Roman Catholic Church in Manchester and a longtime friend. "He knew the history of blacks and the Catholic church and was without peer." Father Hogan was born and raised in Natick, Mass.

The Rev. Martin F. Kenney, a retired Josephite priest and World War II veteran, died Friday of a heart attack at St. Joseph Manor in Baltimore. He was 79. Before his retirement in October 1997, Father Kenney lived in Donaldsonville, La., where he served on a team of priests providing substitute relief for Josephite pastors. That assignment culminated 43 years of parochial ministry. During his priesthood, Father Kenney served most of his pastoral assignments at Josephite parishes in the South, including Norfolk, Va.; Beaumont, Texas; Mobile, Ala.; New Orleans; and Washington.

The Rev. Robert Edward McCall, a Roman Catholic priest and leading member of the Josephite order, died Wednesday at St. Joseph Manor in Baltimore of diabetes and cancer. He was 79. Father McCall served as a teacher and administrator in Catholic schools and universities, and he wrote several articles on theology and philosophy. He was particularly active in the Josephites' evangelization efforts. Father McCall was born in Westfield, Mass., and attended primary and secondary schools in and near the town.

The Rev. James Farrell Didas, S.S.J., a member of the Josephite Fathers for 67 years and former editor of the religious order's magazine, died Monday of respiratory failure at St. Joseph's Manor in North Baltimore. He was 91. For 18 years, he edited the Josephite Harvest from an office at Calvert and Biddle streets. The monthly magazine contains articles and pictures on Roman Catholic schools and parishes for African-Americans staffed by the religious order. "He read 50 newspapers a week and was a legendary proofreader," said the Rev. Peter E. Hogan, S.S.J.

Brother Ricardo Gerard Gourrier, a counselor and member of the Josephite Society, died of congestive heart failure July 24 at Gilchrist Hospice Care. He was 61. Born in New Orleans, he entered the Roman Catholic religious community in 1974 and served in Washington, D.C., Louisiana, Alabama and Delaware. He had lived in Baltimore for the past decade. "Brother Ric was a big man with the bigger heart," said Father Edward Chiffriller, a fellow Josephite, who recalled him as "a man of the streets, the neighborhoods and the people.

The Rev. Robert Michael "Rocky" Kearns, an activist Josephite priest who had headed two West Baltimore parishes and been an early supporter of Baltimore United in Leadership Development, died Saturday of cancer at a hospital in Mobile, Ala. He was 72. Father Kearns was born and raised in South Boston, the seventh of eight children. After graduating from Nazareth High School in 1950, he entered the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, the Josephites, a Roman Catholic order whose work is largely with the African-American community.

The Rev. Robert Joseph O'Connell, a Josephite priest who served two West Baltimore parishes, died Nov. 24 of complications from old age at St. Joseph Manor in North Baltimore. He was 101. Born in Buffalo, N.Y., he entered the Josephite Order at its Epiphany Apostolic College in Newburgh, N.Y., in 1929. He was ordained a priest in 1941 and later returned to Epiphany as its novice master. Father O'Connell served as pastor and associate pastor at parishes in Maryland, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida and New York.

A retired Baltimore priest who dedicated his life to serving African-Americans might be earning a new nickname this week: Father Time. On Tuesday, the Rev. Robert Joseph O'Connell, a Josephite priest, will be the first member of his community to reach 100. To honor him, Cardinal William H. Keeler will celebrate a Mass on Tuesday for O'Connell, who worked as a pastor and chaplain in eight states and three Baltimore parishes. According to the group's records, O'Connell will be the first centenarian in the history of the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart.

The Rev. Joseph C. Verrett, a Josephite priest who formerly headed a West Baltimore drug treatment center, died of complications from cancer March 12 at his order's retirement home in the Poplar Hill section of Roland Park. He was 75. Born in New Orleans, he was ordained in 1955 as a Josephite, a Roman Catholic religious order. He had degrees from Loyola and Xavier universities in New Orleans, the Angelicum in Rome and the Catholic University of America. While earning his doctorate in clinical psychology from Arizona State University, he became interested in the treatment of alcoholism and other drug-related dependencies.

The Rev. Peter E. Hogan, a member of the Josephite Fathers who was the order's archivist and an acknowledged expert on African-American Catholicism, died Wednesday at Mercy Medical Center of heart failure. He was 83. "He was as delightful a character as he was scholarly," said the Rev. Michael Roach, pastor of St. Bartholomew Roman Catholic Church in Manchester and a longtime friend. "He knew the history of blacks and the Catholic church and was without peer." Father Hogan was born and raised in Natick, Mass.

Brother Peter McLaughlin, who joined the Josephite order after combat in World War II and the Korean War, died Monday of cancer at St. Joseph's Manor in North Baltimore. He was 75. Brother McLaughlin was an indispensable presence to the Josephite institutions he served during his nearly 40-year career. A quiet and thoughtful man who directed maintenance duties at the order's schools, churches and seminaries, Brother McLaughlin also visited the sick and worked in youth ministry. His assignments included stints at St. Joseph Seminary in Washington, St. Joseph Industrial School in Clayton, Del., Epiphany Apostolic College in Newburgh, N.Y., and St. Pius V Roman Catholic Church in Baltimore.

The Rev. Robert Michael "Rocky" Kearns, an activist Josephite priest who had headed two West Baltimore parishes and been an early supporter of Baltimore United in Leadership Development, died Saturday of cancer at a hospital in Mobile, Ala. He was 72. Father Kearns was born and raised in South Boston, the seventh of eight children. After graduating from Nazareth High School in 1950, he entered the Society of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, the Josephites, a Roman Catholic order whose work is largely with the African-American community.

A Baltimore Josephite priest who resigned from his post last year amid charges he molested a 14-year-old parishioner was indicted yesterday by a city grand jury in the alleged assault of the boy, court documents show. The Rev. Alfred Dean, 43, voluntarily stepped down as pastor of St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in East Baltimore in September after the allegations surfaced. The Archdiocese of Baltimore had suspended his priestly duties in July. According to documents, Dean is accused of hugging and kissing the boy in April last year while they were in the rectory of the church in the 1500 block of E. Oliver St. The boy had gone to the rectory to visit a friend, documents show.