Father Christopher T. Cashman, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn ministering as the pastor of Saint Mary Star of the Sea, Crown Heights, died Friday, Dec. 9.
Father Cashman was born on March 15, 1958, and was ordained to the priesthood on June 3, 1989.
He served the Diocese of Brooklyn as pastor of Saint Mary Star of the Sea (Brooklyn) and Saint Aloysius (Ridgewood).
He also served as parochial vicar for Saint Bernadette (Brooklyn), Saint Sebastian (Woodside), Good Shepherd (Brooklyn), and Our Lady of Sorrows (Corona).
Father Cashman was also a member of the Priests’ Purgatorial Society.
“We were classmates at Immaculate Conception Seminary. We were ordained together on June 3, 1989,” said Father Edward Kachurka, pastor of St. Gregory the Great Church in Bellerose.
“Father Cashman was a faithful pastor, truly devoted to his parishioners at St. Mary Star of the Sea. He took care of their parish physically and took care of their spiritual needs as well. He will be missed.”
A funeral Mass for Father Cashman was held Wednesday, Dec. 14, at Saint Mary Star of the Sea Church. Bishop Robert Brennan was the celebrant and the homilist. Burial followed at St. John Cemetery, Middle Village.
Sister Margaret John Kelly (Rose Marie), DC, born June 13, 1934, in Strafford, Pennsylvania, died at Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg, Maryland, on Nov. 24 at age 88.
Sister Margaret John was a member of St. Katharine of Siena Parish in Wayne, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Villa Maria Academy in Green Tree, Pennsylvania, in 1952. Following high school graduation, she attended St. Joseph College in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in English in 1956. In April 1957, she entered the Daughters of Charity in Emmitsburg.
Following initial formation, Sister Margaret John taught at St. Christine School in Youngstown, Ohio (1958- 1961). She then taught at Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, Maryland (1961-1964). From 1964-1967, Sister Margaret John lived at DePaul House of Studies and studied at St. John’s University in Jamaica, where she earned a Master of Arts Degree in English in 1964 and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in English in 1967. Following this, she served as a professor at St. Joseph College, Emmitsburg (1967-1973) and as president at Catherine Labouré Junior College in Boston, Mass. (1973-1980). She then served as vice president of Mission Services at the Catholic Health Association Office in St. Louis (1980- 1984). She served the Sisters of the Northeast Province in Albany, New York, as Councillor (1984-1987) and as Visitatrix (1987-1993).
After completing her term in Provincial leadership, Sister Margaret John was missioned to Bayside and assigned to ministry at St. John’s University. There, she was the founder and executive director of the Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John’s for many years (1993-2015). She helped to establish the Ladies of Charity at St. John’s University in 2009. She was the bridge between the University’s Administration and the Diocese of Brooklyn to create the formation of the Ladies of Charity at St. John’s University. In 2015, she was missioned to Villa St. Michael in Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she assisted in the Vincentian Translation Project and entered into the Ministry of Prayer, a ministry she retained until her death.
A Mass of Christian Burial took place on Dec. 3, at the Basilica of the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, with burial in St. Joseph Cemetery on the grounds.
