A Priest Who ‘Cared for People’
Msgr. Raymond Kutner, a retired priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, died on March 13 at age 87. Msgr. Kutner, who was born Oct. 8, 1938, and ordained to the priesthood on May 30, 1964, was pastor of Blessed Sacrament (Jackson Heights) from 1991-2010. He was also pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea (Carroll Gardens) from 1983-1991, and St. Malachy (East New York) from 1980-1983 (and its administrator from 1978-1980).
Msgr. Kutner also served the Diocese of Brooklyn as parochial vicar for St. Michael (Sunset Park) from 1964-1969.
Born in Midwood, Msgr. Kutner attended Cathedral College, St. Vincent Seminary in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
Msgr. Kutner also served as judge of the Diocesan Tribunal, defender of the bond of the Diocesan Tribunal, and associate appellate judge of the Canon Law Society. He was a member of the advisory committee at Cathedral College High School, a member of the Pastors Advisory Committee, and a member of the Parish Priest Consultors. He was named a prelate of honor by Pope John Paul II in 1997.
He loved golf and was a lifelong Yankees fan.
Msgr. William Hoppe, a retired priest of the diocese, was the homilist at Msgr. Kutner’s funeral Mass. He met Msgr. Kutner as a 12-year-old when Msgr. Kutner was assigned to St. Michael’s. He noted that Msgr. Kutner comforted him and his siblings when his mother died when he was a teenager.
Msgr. Hoppe said that Msgr. Kutner was “many things for many people: He was a pastor, a canon lawyer, an adviser to the bishop on property and real estate, and a good and competent administrator. But above all, he was a kind and compassionate priest.”
He added that “you just knew when you met him that he loved being a priest and that he cared for the people entrusted to his care. He was a good and faithful servant of the Lord.”
The funeral Mass for Msgr. Kutner was celebrated on March 26 at Blessed Sacrament. Bishop Robert Brennan was the principal celebrant. Burial followed at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.
Sister Virginia Chasas, formerly Sister Joseph Agnes, passed away on March 3. She was 100 years old.
She was the youngest of eight siblings of Peter and Amelia Chasas, immigrants from Lithuania.
Sister Virginia graduated from St. Joseph School, Babylon, New York, where the family had settled. She then attended Bishop McDonnell High School in Brooklyn until 1942, when she entered the Sisters of St. Joseph, Brentwood.
Sister Virginia’s ministry in education in the Diocese of Brooklyn included three elementary schools: Holy Cross, St. Augustine, and St. Agnes (Degraw St.), after which she was assigned to Bishop McDonnell Annex and St. Pascal Baylon H.S., both in Queens, as a science teacher. She received her B.S. in chemistry and her M.S. in science education from St. John’s University.
At Catholic University, she served in various ministries for 47 years.
Sister Virginia’s funeral Mass was celebrated by Father Sean Gann in Sacred Heart Chapel, Brentwood, on March 9.
Burial was in Calvary Cemetery, Brentwood.
Sister Margaret (Peggy) McHugh, formerly known as Sister Mary Helen, died on Feb. 11 at the age of 93.
Sister Margaret served faithfully for many years in the education ministries in both the Dioceses of Brooklyn and Rockville Centre.
Among the many schools at which she taught were the high schools of St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Agatha, St. Patrick, St. Therese, Holy Trinity, Mater Christi, and Bishop Ford.
A funeral Mass was celebrated at the Sisters of Mercy Convent in Whitestone.
Burial followed in St. Charles/Resurrection Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.