Father Emilio J. Salerno, a retired priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, died May 11 at age 89.  

Father Salerno was ordained to the priesthood on May 30, 1959. He served the Diocese of Brooklyn as pastor of the parishes of St. Francis of Assisi in Astoria and St. Frances Cabrini in Brooklyn. 

He also served as administrator of the parish of St. John the Evangelist in Brooklyn and parochial vicar for the parishes of Mary Queen of Heaven, St. Francis of Paola, and St. Blaise, all in Brooklyn. Father Salerno was a member of the Priests’ Purgatorial Society. 

“Father Salerno was only pastor of St. Francis of Assisi for six years, but he left an impression,” said Msgr. Ralph J. Maresca, who took over as pastor when Father Salerno retired in 2005. 

“He was always concerned about the needs of his parishioners and worked with them in a quiet, humble way. In the words of the Good Shepherd, he ‘came not to be served, but to serve.’ ” 

A funeral Mass for Father Salerno was celebrated on May 22 at Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, New York. 

Burial followed at Mount Saint Mary Cemetery in Flushing.