Father Francis V. Rooney, S.J., died Dec. 5 at Murray-Weigel Hall, the Bronx. He was 84 years old, a Jesuit for 66 years and a priest for 53 years.

Born in Jackson Heights, he attended Regis H.S., Manhattan, and Fordham University. He entered the Jesuits in 1947.

Before the study of theology, he taught Latin and math at Brooklyn Prep, 1954-55, and Xavier H.S., Manhattan, 1955-57.

He was ordained a Jesuit priest at the Fordham University Chapel on June 18, 1960.

He did missionary work in Puerto Rico, taught high school and then moved from the classroom to the counselor’s office.

He also was a chaplain and counseled those with alcohol addiction in a variety of hospital settings in New York City and New York State.

Father Rooney is survived by two brothers who are also Jesuit priests, Father Eugene Rooney, S.J., at the Colombiere Jesuit Community in Baltimore, and Father Joseph Rooney, S.J., a member of the Murray-Weigel Jesuit Community.

Burial was at the Jesuit Cemetery in Auriesville, N.Y.

 

Father John H. McKenna, C.M., a Vincentian Father for 50 years, died Dec. 3 at Calvary Hospital, the Bronx.

He was a professor of theology at St. John’s University, Jamaica, for over 40 years.

Among the honors he received were the St. John’s University St. Vincent de Paul Teacher/Scholar Award, 1999; Service Learning Teacher of the Year Award, 2005; and President of North American Academy of Liturgy, 1983.

He is survived by his sister, Virginia Sullivan of Marine Park.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Thomas More Church at St. John’s University, Jamaica, Dec. 6.

Burial followed in Holy Cross Cemetery, Flatbush.

 

Sister Virginia Maguire, O.P., a Sister of St. Dominic of Amityville, L.I., for 53 years, died Dec. 5. She was 71.

Born in St. Joseph parish, Astoria, she attended Bishop McDonnell H.S., Crown Heights, before entering the congregation in 1960. She received the habit and her religious name, Sister Patricia Mary, in 1961.

She taught at Christ the King, Springfield Gardens, 1962-63, and St. Pancras, Glendale, 1963-73, where she was assistant principal from 1973 to 1978. She was principal at St. Kilian’s, Farmingdale, L.I., 1978-85.

She served on two executive boards. She was regional director, 1985-95. In 2001, she was elected to a six-year term as prioress of the congregation and, with her council, led the congregation through a period of change, visioning and discernment. The 150th anniversary was celebrated; renovations were made in St. Albert’s Chapel; additional skilled nursing needs of the Sisters were provided in Maria Regina Residence; and the sale of the cherished Villa Maria, Water Mill, L.I., was accomplished.

During her tenure, the congregation studied how the land and buildings in Amityville might be used to allow the Dominican charism to flourish in new and creative ways. The newly renovated Rosary Hall building and the extension of Homecoming Farm are two results of this work.

Dominican Village, a housing residence in Amityville for seniors, had the benefit of her presence from 1995 to 2001, when she served as vice president of this congregational ministry.

From 2007 to the present, she served in parish ministry as director of human services at St. Joseph’s, Garden City, L.I.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Dec. 10 in St. Albert’s Chapel. Burial was in the Sisters’ Cemetery in Amityville.

 

Brother Francis Bowers, F.S.C., Ph.D., former provost and academic vice president, and dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Manhattan College, died on Dec. 6. He was 93.

In the Brooklyn Diocese, he taught at St. Augustine D.H.S., Park Slope,1948-51.