Propagation of the Faith Director Dies After Illness

Father John Brogan, the diocesan director of the Propagation of the Faith, died April 5 at Blessed Sacrament Rectory, Cypress Hills, after a long struggle with cancer. He was 62.

Even though battling the deadly disease, he continued coming to work at his office up until the week of his death.

Born in Brooklyn, Father Brogan attended Most Holy Trinity H.S., Williamsburg; the Marianist Prep Seminary, Beacon, N.Y.; Chaminade Novitiate, Marcy, N.Y.; the University of Dayton, and Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington.

As a member of the Society of Mary, he taught in North Carolna and Chaminade H.S., Mineola.

He entered the diocesan seminary in 1970 and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Brooklyn March 15, 1975 by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero at Transfiguration Church, Williamsburg.

He did post-ordination studies at Georgetown University and Catholic University, Ponce, Puerto Rico.

He served as a parish priest at St. Teresa of Avila, South Ozone Park, 1975-78, and was part of a team ministry there from 1978 to 1985.

In 1985, he was named pastor of St. John Cantius parish, East New York.

In 1991, he became director of the diocesan Hispanic Ministry Office and, in 2000, he began his service with the Propagation of the Faith.

He was temporary administrator of St. Martin of Tours-14 Holy Martyrs, Bushwick, in 1998.

Father Brogan served as a member of the Diocesan Assignment Board and the Diocesan Liturgical Commission. He also taught in the Diocesan Spanish-speaking deacons program.

Since last year, he has resided at Blessed Sacrament Rectory, Cypress Hills. Prior to that, he was living at Our Lady of Montserrate-St. Ambrose, Bedford-Stuyvesant.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated April 11 at Blessed Sacrament Church, Cypress Hills.

Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio was the main celebrant. Special concelebrants included Bishop Antonio Camilo of La Vega, Dominican Republic, Msgr. Edward Wetterer and Fathers Francis Shannon, John Hoover, James Bradley, Bruce Powers, Raymond Roden, Lewis Maynard, Joseph Hoffman, and Robert Powers.

Msgr. Paul Sanchez, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Astoria, had known Father Brogan as a friend for about 20 years. Father Brogan had invited him to be part of his priests’ support group along with Fathers Jim Bradley and Bruce Powers.

“He was inspiring, like a mentor,” Msgr. Sanchez said. “He had good insight and was always very present to you.”

“He loved them and they loved him,” Msgr. Sanchez said of Father Brogan and the Hispanic community he served. Father Brogan often helped Father Sanchez celebrate Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel where he offered Mass and the homily in Spanish.

Msgr. Sanchez said of Father Brogan’s final illness, “It was a cross for him but he kept up a good spirit. He bore it well. He didn’t let it get in the way of his work.”

Toward the end, Father Brogan was no longer able to drive so his doctor advised him to “let people be your chauffeur. They want to be helpful.” Msgr. Sanchez said.

Before Father Brogan’s illness, he enjoyed traveling and going skiing and Msgr. Sanchez would join him. “He was witty, insightful, well-read,” Msgr. Sanchez recalls. They enjoyed talking on the phone and again Father Brogan “was always very present. He valued the need for that in friendship.”

Msgr. Sanchez said that Father Brogan taught him “what it means to be a good priest. He loved the liturgy.”

Father Brogan is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, Daniel and Mary Lou Brogan. Burial was in Holy Cross Cemetery, Flatbush.

Obituaries

Donald F. Ryan, a former member and vice president of The Tablet’s Board of Directors, died April 2 at the age of 72.

Born in Brooklyn, he grew up in Visitation parish, Red Hook, and later lived in Our Lady of Angels, Bay Ridge, and St. Thomas More, Breezy Point.

A graduate of Bishop Loughlin M.H.S., Fort Greene, and Manhattan College, he was a retired New York City school teacher and a former recreation director for the NYC Dept. of Parks.

He also was president of the St. Patrick’s Society of Brooklyn; former owner and publisher of the Rockaway Point News; former member of the Board of Directors of the Breezy Point Cooperative; and an honorary Deputy Chief of the NYC Fire Dept.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated April 7 at Our Lady of Angels Church. Burial followed in St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, L.I.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Margaret, and their children, Donald, Margaret Losurdo, Joseph, Mary Freeze, Catherine Kindschuh, and Michael; and 17 grandchildren.

Sister Clare Testa, MPF, 85, the archivist and historian of the Religious Teachers Filippini, died Feb. 22 at Morristown Memorial Hospital, N.J.

A member of the order for 64 years, she taught at St. Bernadette School, Dyker Heights, 1959-60, and was provincial superior, from 1966 to 1973.

Tamar Hennessy, the daughter of Catholic Worker cofounder Dorothy Day, died March 25 in Springfield, Vt. She was 82.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated March 29 at St. Mary’s Church, Springfield.

She and her husband, David, were married in 1944 and had nine children.

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