MIDDLE VILLAGE — On the sunny afternoon of Nov. 2, a half-dozen Catholic high school students left campus early — but not to cut classes. 

The group from Cathedral Preparatory School and Seminary in Elmhurst embarked on a spiritual mission to St. John’s Cemetery to pray at the gravesites of diocesan priests. 

It was the annual All Souls’ Day program at the cemetery’s Priests Shrine, where more than 150 of them are buried. 

Father James Kuroly, the school’s rector-president, organizes the annual trek to bring prayer for the priests and to share some of their stories of devotion to parishes in the Diocese of Brooklyn. 

All Souls’ Day, always on Nov. 2, is a time to pray for faithful Catholics who have gone on to their eternal rewards and those in purgatory who await being united with God in His kingdom. 

“It was great,” said Max Zygadlo, a junior at the school. “You can pray for priests and really feel like you helped them.” 

Father Chris Bethge, a theology teacher and vocation director for the diocese, helped Father Kuroly lead them in prayer beneath a brilliant blue sky and crisp autumn foliage. 

The graves are marked by flat headstones that surround the shrine’s centerpiece — a statue of St. John Vianney, which bore the inscription, “Thou Art a Priest Forever.” 

It was the first All Souls’ Day cemetery visit for Samuel Rivera, a senior. He was impressed by the statue and the story of St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. “The monument looks phenomenal,” he said. 

The students posed for a photo at the statue before returning to campus. As they left, another priest pulled up and moved slowly among the tombstones, stopping at some to read the names. 

He introduced himself as Msgr. Kevin Noone, a priest in residence at St. Mel’s Parish in Flushing. 

“I’m just visiting some of my old classmates,” he said with a smile. 

Msgr. Noone, ordained 52 years ago, has served as a parish priest, pastor, and episcopal vicar for the Diocese of Brooklyn. 

He knew many of the priests resting around the shrine; others whom he hadn’t met, he knew by reputation. He was happy to share a few of their stories. 

The mini-biographies all described men of profound humility who also made bold decisions. First was Msgr. John Brown. 

“My good friend,” Msgr. Noone said. “Just a very good fellow. Gone five years now. We lived together in two different rectories.” 

Msgr. Brown (1957-2017) served 14 years as director of the Office for Clergy Personnel. He also was dean of the Brooklyn 11 deanery and a vice chancellor who helped administer Canon Law in the diocese. 

“He understood that the law is meant to serve and protect, but he wasn’t a legalist,” Msgr. Noone said. “He could make a judgment when necessary, but he wasn’t judgmental by nature.” 

But Msgr. Brown also demonstrated unique pastoral qualities at several parishes, including roles as pastor of St. Francis DeSales (Belle Harbor), administrator of Queen of All Saints (Clinton Hill), and parochial vicar for St. Clare (Rosedale). His final assignment was pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas (Flatlands). 

As pastor of St. Francis DeSales 10 years ago, he helped Belle Harbor recover from Superstorm Sandy by turning the parish gym into a relief center. 

Eleven years earlier, he was at “the pile” at Ground Zero, ministering to recovery workers after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. 

Stepping to the right, Msgr. Noone pointed out the stone for Msgr. Vincent Keane (1932-2019) — a name, he said, no doubt known by the students who visited earlier. 

“We have a very popular priest here,” he said. “He was rector of Cathedral Prep, and he was rector of the minor seminary.” 

He was also a pastor of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament in Bayside. 

“People saw him as an icon in the ministry,” he added. “He was very prayerful, very kind, and gentle.” 

Msgr. Noone then moved to the stone of Msgr. William Rodgers (1922-2018), who was the first black priest ordained in the Diocese of Brooklyn. 

He was pastor of St. Lucy-Saint Patrick (Fort Greene) and a parochial vicar for both St. Peter Claver (Bedford-Stuyvesant) and St. Benedict the Moor (Jamaica). He also served as chaplain of the Queen of Peace Residence (Queens Village), where he later passed away at age 96. 

Msgr. Noone also paused at the tombstone of Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Sullivan (1930-2013), who died from injuries received in a three-vehicle wreck on Long Island. 

But he is most remembered for his compassion and care of the poor while working with Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens. 

Bishop Sullivan began working there as a young priest in the 1960s, first as an assistant director. He eventually became executive vice-president of the board of trustees. He also helped lead the St. Vincent’s Catholic Medical Centers. And for 10 years, he served on the board of directors for the Catholic Medical Mission Board, including two years as chairman. 

Msgr. Noone said Bishop Sullivan had a deep regard for fellow priests. 

“He was very popular among the clergy,” he said. “The fact that he’s buried here really says something. He could have been buried in Douglaston, in the marble crypt for bishops, but he wanted to be buried with the priests.” 

Msgr. Noone said he enjoys visiting these graves, and not just on All Souls’ Day. After visiting the Priests Shrine, he drove another few hundred feet to see his parents’ plot. 

“It’s not ghoulish in any way,” he said. “It’s just a reminder that this is the vestibule to Heaven.”