When he retired from active priestly ministry in June 2019, Father Thomas P. Donohoe, then pastor of St. Irene Parish, Carlisle, was the oldest active pastor in the U.S. The Lowell native died at Regina Cleri, Boston, on July 18, 2024. Born on April 9, 1927, he was the son of the late Patrick and Mary (Duffey) Donohoe. He had two sisters, Virginia Oulette of Hingham and the late Lillian Beakey.
Read moreFather James F. Rafferty was ordained on Feb. 2, 1963, it was at Holy Name church, West Roxbury. Four others were ordained at that same Ordination Mass by Auxiliary Bishop Eric F. MacKenzie. The five were all native sons of Holy Name. The rest of his classmates were ordained in four other Ordination Masses.
Read moreMedford native, Father John E. Schatzel died at Regina Cleri, Boston, on June 27, 2024. The only child of the late John and Mary (McHale) Schatzel, born Nov. 20, 1934, he was raised in Quincy, attending St. Mary School there before enrolling at Boston College High School. Graduated from BC High in 1952, he went to the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, and graduated in 1956.
Read moreThe Boston Fire Department will escort the body of its beloved former chaplain, the late Father Daniel J. Mahoney, from the Carr Funeral Home on Bunker Hill Street, Charlestown, up to St. Francis de Sales Church, Charlestown, where Father Mahoney was the pastor from 1978 to 2022. He always liked to remind folks that the gold cross atop his parish's church was the tallest cross in the city of Boston. And perhaps the most visible, easily viewed from Route One and Interstate 93 and from neighboring cities and towns.
Read moreBishop Daniel Patrick Reilly (he relished including the middle name), who served as the third bishop of Norwich, Connecticut, and as the fourth bishop of Worcester, died in Shrewsbury on June 18, 2024. On June 17, 1975, he was named the third bishop of Norwich.
Read moreA proud son of St. Ann Parish, Dorchester, Bishop Maurus Muldoon, OFM, died at St. Patrick Manor in Framingham on June 14, 2024. A son of the late Thomas and Gertrude (McNamara) Muldoon, he had three siblings: his surviving brother, Donald, and his late sisters, Ruth Busa and Mary Gryzbinski. He attended St. Ann School for grammar school and trekked to the North End of Boston for secondary school at Christopher Columbus High School, where he met the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate Conception Province.
Read moreLess than a year after being granted senior priest/retirement status with residence at Regina Cleri, Boston, Father James T. Kelly died on May 16, 2024, at Regina Cleri. Born in Brighton Dec. 21, 1947, he was one of the 10 children, seven sons and three daughters, of the late Robert and Alice (McKenna) Kelly. His family were members of Blessed Sacrament Parish, Cambridge, where he attended elementary school before traversing Cambridge to complete high school at North Cambridge Catholic High School.
Read moreA Wellesley native born Sept. 30, 1937, as the youngest of the three children of the late Francis and Priscilla (Dickson) Daley, he was raised in Wellesley and was son of St. Paul Parish there. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his two older sisters.
Read moreA priest of the archdiocese since his ordination by Bernard Cardinal Law on June 20, 1987, Father Ronald A. Gomes died at Lahey Clinic, Burlington, on May 8, 2024. He was born in Boston on Nov. 26, 1939, and was the son of the late Louis and Hilda (Correia) Gomes. He was a son of St. Anthony of Padua, or Lisbon, (Portuguese) Parish in Cambridge. He graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School in 1957 and was granted a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in 1961. He also had a master's degree in public health from Yale Medical School, New Haven, Connecticut.
Read moreFather John R. Mulvehill, a priest of the archdiocese with a wide variety of priestly assignments, from parish to college president, to archdiocesan religious education directory and back to the parish, died in Falmouth on May 4, 2024.
Read moreA Jamaica Plain native and an alumnus of Cathedral High School, Boston, Father Charles E. Salamone died following a lingering illness on April 24, 2024. He was the son of the late Charles and Livia (Imbrogna); he had three sisters, Sheila and Patricia, both of Newton, and the late Janet Rush.
Read moreWith more priests than he needed, Archbishop Richard Cushing started to share the wealth. During the period between the mid-40s and the mid-60s, the archbishop was experiencing what turned out to be a temporary glut of priests ordained for the archdiocese.
Read moreEleanor (Owens) Belanger (July 12) in Lowell. Funeral Mass celebrated July 20 at Immaculate Conception Church, Lowell, for the mother of Andrea Stanislaw, Gilford, N.H.; Philip, Chelmsford; Brother Brian Belanger, OFM, Loudonville, N. Y.; and Joanne, Westford; and sister of the late Brother Conal (John) Owens, CFX. Mrs. Belanger was buried in Saint Mary Cemetery, Tewksbury.
Loretta (Hill) King (July 17) in Winchester. Funeral Mass celebrated July 22 at Saint Thomas of Villanova Church, Wilmington, for the wife of Deacon Clifford D. King, Billerica; and mother of Kimberly Henderson, Mount Holly, N. Car.; Clifford, Wakefield; and sister of Kenneth and Robert, both of Augusta, Maine; Mark, Townsend; Donald, Boston, and Linda Ash, Nashville, Tenn. Mrs. Hill was buried in Fox Hill Cemetery, Billerica.
Father Albert R. DiIanni, SM (July 12) in Waltham. Funeral Mass celebrated July 17 at Saint Anthony of Padua, Woburn, for the son of the late Modesto and Marcia (Grossi) DiIanni, and brother of William and Robert, both of Woburn. During 64 years of priestly ministry, Father DiIanni served in assignments of the Marist Priests and Brothers in Belgium; Italy; Worcester; and, locally, Marist Provincial, Boston; Vocation Director, Boston; and Our Lady of Victories (French) Boston. Father DiIanni was buried in Calvary Cemetery, Winchester.
Sister Jeannette (Mary Peter Chanel) Bernier, SMSM (July 3) in Framingham. Funeral Mass celebrated July 10 at Marist Sisters Convent Chapel, Waltham, for the daughter of the late Calixte and Celenda (Michaud) Bernier; and sister of Sister Rolande Bernier, PSSF, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada; and the late Father Roland Bernier, SM. During 70 years of religious life, Sister Jeannette served in congregational assignments in Senegal; Hawaii; and, locally, at Marist Convent, Waltham. Sister Jeannette was buried in Saint Patrick Cemetery, Watertown.
Sister Elaine (Mary Elaine) Nolan, SC (July 6) in Wellesley. Funeral Mass celebrated July 11 at Mount Saint Vincent Chapel, Wellesley, for the daughter of the late Neil and Martina (Monaghan) Nolan, and sister of James and Martin, both of Boston. During 69 years of religious life, Sister Elaine served in congregational assignments in Nova Scotia; British Columbia; Washington; and, locally, at Saint Kevin, Msgr. Ryan Memorial, and Elizabeth Seton Academy, all in Dorchester; and Marillac Residence, Wellesley. Sister Elaine was buried in Saint Mary Cemetery, Needham.
Kenneth L. Reavy (May 23) in Framingham. Funeral Mass celebrated July 10 at Holy Family Chapel, Brighton, for the brother of Sister Margaret (Mary Patricia) Reavy, CSJ. Mr. Reavy was buried in Glenwood Cemetery, Everett.
Deacon Philip M. Caruso '83 (June 8) in Wells, Maine. Funeral Mass celebrated June 18 at Saint Mary Church, Holliston, for the husband of Diane (Mahony) Caruso; and father of Philip, Davenport, Fla.; Mary Louise, Wells, Maine; Joseph, Basking Ridge, N.J.; Stephen, Saint Augustine, Fla.; and brother of Ann Guiffre, Ocala, Fla. Deacon Caruso served his active diaconal ministry at Saint Mary, Holliston. Deacon Caruso was buried in Saint Mary Cemetery, Holliston.