Brother Francis Leary, 89, a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, died on May 15 at St. Joseph Center, Valatie, New York. He was born and raised in Fall River, Massachusetts.
He attended Msgr. Coyle High School, Taunton, Massachusetts, where he was taught by the Brothers of Holy Cross. Then, after two years of undergraduate studies, he pursued his interest in religious life and joined the Brothers of Holy Cross.
When Brother Francis retired in 2016 as a beloved teacher, principal, and counselor, he had served for over 50 years, educating minds and hearts, fulfilling this intention.
Among his assignments, Brother Francis served as principal at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury, Connecticut (1971-1980), and at Notre Dame High School in West Haven, Connecticut (1984-1989), and as a guidance counselor at Holy Cross High School, Flushing (1989-2016).
A funeral Mass was celebrated on May 23 in the chapel at St. Joseph Center in Valatie, New York. The Rite of Committal immediately followed in the Brothers’ Cemetery at the St. Joseph Center.
Brother Thomas Grady, OSF, a Franciscan Brother of Brooklyn for 62 years, died on May 21.
In September 1945, Brother Thomas was born to Edwin R. Grady, Jr. and Alice (née) McMorrow in East Weymouth, Massachusetts.
He attended St. Joseph’s High School in Pittsfield, Maryland, graduating in 1963. After high school, Brother Tom entered the St. Francis Novitiate in Oyster Bay.
He received the Franciscan habit in 1964 along with the religious name Adrian Thomas. Brother Thomas earned his B.A. in English at St. Francis College (1968).
He later completed an M.A. in social and public policy with a concentration in conflict resolution at Duquesne University (1997).
After teaching at St. Francis Prep (1968-72), Brother Thomas served at St. Francis Xavier Parish and School (1972-77). During this time, he joined a new friary at St. Joseph’s on Pacific Street.
He joined a Franciscan Studies program in Chicago (1977), from which the “Haversack” project and many enduring friendships emerged.
He served in the Office of Prison Ministries in Catholic Charities (1977-80), and was assigned to three pre-novitiate (candidacy) friaries between 1970 and 2007.
Brother Thomas served the congregation as secretary general (1979-82), director of formation (1979-85), assistant superior general and treasurer general (1982-85 and 2007-2011), and for ten years as superior general (1985-95).
He served on the boards of St. Francis College (1989-95), St. Anthony’s High School (1985-95 and 2007-11), St. Francis Prep High School (1979- 95 and 2007-11), the U.S. Franciscan Federation (1988-91), and the International Franciscan Conference in Rome (1993-97).
In collaborating with others, Brother Thomas helped bring about the Franciscan Office at the U.N., the newly revised Rule for our global Third Order Regular Institutes, and the approval of our own, now pontifical congregation’s revised constitutions.
In 1997, he accepted a position at his alma mater, St. Francis College, to create and direct an Office of Campus Ministry, which he described as “a joyous experience for 16 years” (1997 to 2013).
In his spare time, Brother Thomas spent many hours adorning the walls of the friaries in which he lived with vibrant murals depicting the life of St. Francis and symbols of our congregation’s Irish heritage.
Returning to his Brooklyn roots, Brother Thomas moved to the retirement community at Our Lady of Angels Assisted Living Friary (2019), then to DeLaSalle Hall in Lincroft, New Jersey (2025), where he died peacefully.
Brother Thomas is survived by his brothers John (Karen) and David, extended family, and his Franciscan brothers.
A Mass of Christian Burial was offered on May 27 at Our Lady of Angels Friary, Brooklyn, followed by interment at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn.