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OBITUARY
Monsignor John J. Wiest
Pastor Emeritus, St. Mary’s Church, Manhasset
Former Rector, St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary |
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Monsignor John J. Wiest, who marked his 65th anniversary
as a priest earlier this month, died after a long
illness on June 13, 2006. He was 88 years old.
Born in Brooklyn on November 9, 1917 to the late
Augustus and Margaret Heffernan Wiest, John Wiest
attended Public School 97 and St. John’s Prep in
Brooklyn. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1937 from Holy
Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, a Master of
Arts from New York University’s School of Education in
1944, and studied for the priesthood at the Seminary of
the Immaculate Conception in Huntington.
He was ordained a priest by Bishop Thomas Molloy at St.
James Pro Cathedral in Brooklyn on June 7, 1941.
After a year as an associate pastor at Our Lady of
Loretto Parish in Hempstead, Father Wiest was asked to
teach speech, english and religion at Cathedral College
in Brooklyn. Eight years later in 1950, he returned to
parish work as an associate pastor assigned to Our Lady
Help of Christians Parish in Brooklyn. In 1953, he was
transferred to serve as an associate pastor at St.
Anthony of Padua Church in East Northport.
Shortly after the creation of the Diocese of Rockville
Centre in 1957, founding Bishop Walter P. Kellenberg
established a “minor” or “preparatory” seminary. The
six-year curriculum at St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary
included four years of high school classes and two years
of college coursework. Father Wiest was selected to be
the prefect of studies and taught English at the new
school which opened in temporary headquarters in a
former Greek Orthodox church in Hempstead in 1958. He
was also the founder of the school newspaper. In 1963,
Father Wiest was named the second rector of St. Pius X
Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale following the
appointment of the first rector, Monsignor James Coffey,
to rector of the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception
in Huntington. As rector, Father Wiest prayed the
invocation at the graduation ceremony for the first
graduating class in 1964.
Father Wiest returned to parish work as pastor of Our
Lady of Lourdes Parish in West Islip in 1967. Two years
later, he was named pastor of the St. Mary’s Parish in
Manhasset where he would serve until his retirement in
1987.
Father Wiest served on the Board of Directors of St.
Francis Hospital in Roslyn from 1974 to 1987, two of
those years as Director. He also served as a trustee of
the Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception in
Douglaston, on the Board of Catholic Charities, as a
delegate to the Priests’ Advisory Council, a member of
the Priests Senate and as a member of the Priests’
Retirement Board.
In 1980, Father Wiest was named an Honorary Prelate to
his Holiness by Pope John Paul II with the title of
Monsignor.
A wake for Monsignor Wiest will be held on Friday, June
16, 2006 from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Marian Room
of the Parish Ministry Center of the Church of Saint
Mary in Manhasset.
A Mass of Transferral will be celebrated that evening at
7:30 p.m. by Monsignor John McCann in the Church of
Saint Mary. Father Kevin Smith will be the homilist.
Bishop William Murphy will be the principal celebrant at
the funeral Mass on Saturday, June 17, at 11:00 a.m. in
the Church of Saint Mary. The homilist will be Father
Peter LeJacq, MM.
Burial will be at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn.
# # #
About The Diocese of Rockville Centre
The Diocese of Rockville Centre was formed in 1957 and
covers 1,222 square miles in Nassau and Suffolk
Counties. The diocese serves approximately 1.4 million
Catholics (total population in both counties is
approximately 3.3 million). There are 134 parishes in
115 towns. Last year over 20,000 baptisms, 18,000
confirmations, 20,000 first communions and 5,000
marriages took place in the diocese. There are 2,137
students in Catholic kindergarten, 23,825 in primary or
elementary school, 12,628 in secondary school and 3,300
in higher institutions. There are 76 Catholic elementary
and high schools and one Catholic college in the
diocese. Catholic Health Services of Long Island
consists of five hospitals, three nursing homes, two
home-care agencies, two senior housing complexes, a
community-based home for those with special needs and a
hospice. Last year, Catholic Charities assisted more
than 68,000 individuals who are poor, vulnerable and
disadvantaged on Long Island. For more information,
visit www.drvc.org.
For more information:
Sean P. Dolan
sdolan@drvc.org
516-678-5800, ext. 625
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