Father Anthony Dell’Anno, a senior priest residing at St. Edmund’s rectory, Sheepshead Bay, died May 15, four days before what would have been his 77th birthday. He died at NYU Lutheran Medical Center in Sunset Park.
A Mass of Christian Burial was to be celebrated Saturday, May 21, at 10 a.m. at SS. Simon and Jude Church, Gravesend.
Born in Brooklyn, he attended St. Francis College; School of St. Philip Neri, Boston; and Our Lady of Angels Seminary, Albany.
He was ordained May 31, 1969 by Bishop Francis J. Mugavero at St. James Pro-Cathedral, Downtown Brooklyn.
He served as an assistant at SS. Simon and Jude, Gravesend, 1969-78; Immaculate Heart of Mary, Windsor Terrace, 1978-92; Our Lady of Angels, Bay Ridge, 1992-95; St. Aloysius, Ridgewood, 1995-2002; St. Bernadette, Dyker Heights, 2002-06; and St. Edmund’s, 2006-11. He retired in 2011.
He also served as chaplain to the Catholic War Veterans.
Auxiliary Bishop Paul Sanchez was the main celebrant of the funeral Mass. Among the special concelebrants was Father Richard J. Hoare.
“He was always interested in helping the veterans and in the Knights of Columbus,” said Father Edward Brophy, pastor emeritus at St. Edmund’s.
“He spent a good time of his priesthood ministering to them.
“He would go to their meetings and functions.
“He was always very faithful and that is something that we look for in our priests.”
Burial will be in St. John’s Cemetery, Middle Village.
I remember him fondly from IHM. I was just a kid, and he had a great sense of humor. His Mom used to come to Church on Sunday when he was saying Mass and he always acknowledged her.
I remember Father Dell’Anno from SS. Simon & Jude parish in the early ’70s, his first parish assignment after ordination. He was a dedicated priest and a sweet person. As teenagers, we gave him some grief, but he was always good-natured about it. So sorry to hear about his passing.