Former Brooklyn Pastor Was a Priest for 60 Years

A Mass of Christian Burial for Father Thomas Mannion, 87, a retired priest of the Brooklyn Diocese, was celebrated March 2 at Holy Family Church, Hicksville, L.I. He died Feb. 26 at Ozanam Hall, Bayside.

He retired from active duty in 1990 and had been living in Oregon.

Father Mannion

Retired Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Sullivan was the main celebrant. Concelebrants included Father James Mannion, pastor of Holy Family and a nephew of the deceased; and Fathers Jeffry Dillon and Coman Brady.

Born in Butte, Montana, Father Mannion studied at St. John’s University, Brooklyn, and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington. He was ordained June 15, 1946.

He served as an assistant at Holy Rosary, Bedford-Stuyvesant, 1946-59; St. Benedict the More, Jamaica, 1959-64; and Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, Forest Hills, 1964-66.
In 1966, he was named administrator of the old St. Ann’s parish in the Navy Yard section of Brooklyn. He also served there as its pastor, from 1975 until he resigned that post in 1977 and took a sick leave from the diocese.

Returning to active duty in 1981, he served as an assistant at Christ the King, Springfield Gardens, 1981-85; and Holy Rosary, 1985-90. During that time, he also worked with Catholic Charities’ apostolate for the deaf.

Helped Future NBA Star

Father Mannion’s name was often found in press clippings about NBA all-star player and coach Lenny Wilkens, who played CYO basketball at Holy Rosary when the priest was first assigned there.

Wilkens’ father died when young Lenny was only five. It was Father Mannion who encouraged the fledgling athlete to follow his athletic talents in the parish CYO program. He later helped him attain a scholarship to Providence College.

Father James Mannion recalled, “He had a sense for the underdog. He saw Lenny in the street and heading the wrong way.”

As a CYO coach, Father Tom set up chairs in the gym and had Lenny practice dribbling around them over and over again.

“He took him under his wing,” said Father James Mannion.
The nephew-priest also said that he was “always struck by his [Father Tom’s] hands that looked so big and strong but were very gentle. They were the hands of Jesus.”

Father Tom came to dinner every week. He was always there for his 18 nephews and nieces, “always a person you could talk to.” He would take a youngster down to the West End at Jones Beach and walk on the beach and listen to their problems. “He was always a friend,” Father James Mannion said.

On the night of Father James’ ordination, his uncle said to him that he had been ordained by the Church, but he was always a priest of Jesus and that he should serve people in love.

For the funeral, Father Tom’s family was using a photo of him holding a bouquet of roses and standing in front of Christ the King Church in Springfield Gardens.

“That was the complete Tom,” Father James said.
“He was a priest and a gardener. He saw the potential in everyone and planted the seeds to let our beauty come forth. He was always the gardener of spirit.”

Father Mannion is survived by his brother James of Fredericksburg, Va.; and his sisters, Mary Schmidt of Stuart, Fla., and Eileen Plander of Camariloo, Calif.

Obituaries

Sister Marion Dorothy McCassin, SC, a member of the Sisters of Charity of Halifax for 70 years, died Feb. 12 at Elizabeth Seton Residence, Wellesley, Mass. She was 91.

Born in Brooklyn, she took first vows in 1937. Her local teaching assignments included St. Barnabas, Bellmore, L.I., 1937-51; Resurrection-Ascension, Rego Park, 1951-58; and Our Lady of the Cenacle, Richmond Hill, 1958-61. After serving outside the diocese, she returned to Resurrection-Ascension as a tutor and substitute teacher, 1983-84. She retired in 1992.

Burial was in Wellesley Hills.

Sister Lois Karalius, RSM, 98, a member of the Sisters of Mercy for 69 years, died Feb. 24, at Mercy Center, Dallas, Pa.

She entered the community in Dallas, Pa., in 1937. Her local teaching assignments included: Sacred Heart, Bayside, 1951-52, and Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, Bayside, 1963-64.

Sister Mary Eleanore O’Connell, OP, a member of the Sisters of St. Dominic, Amityville, for 68 years, died Jan. 24 at St. Rose Convent, Massapequa, L.I. She was 87.

Born in Astoria, she attended St. Joseph’s School, and Bishop McDonnell H.S., Brooklyn. She entered the order from St. Joseph’s parish and took the religious name of Sister Mary Bennet.

She taught at Our Lady of Guadalupe, Bensonhurst, 1940-68. Her ministry since then was spent at St. Rose, Massapequa, where she taught in the school until 1993, and then served as an educational assistant. She also volunteered doing child care at Kinder Towne, Amityville.

Her two great loves were reading mysteries and rooting for the Boston Red Sox. She left orders that she was to be buried with her mementoes of the Red Sox.

She is survived by her cousins, Sister Margaret Mary Laffey, CP, and Sister Karen O’Neill, CSJ.

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