By Angela Marshall
A funeral mass will be offered at St. Agnes Cathedral at 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 4.
Growing up on Bainbridge Street in Brooklyn in the 1920s and 30s, John McGann began to learn the lessons that would help him become the spiritual leader of one of the country's largest dioceses. For more than 24 years, McGann helped his flock navigate life's lessons as the second bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
He will long be remembered for his dedication to Catholic education and the plight of the poor. McGann got a close look at the problems facing the underprivileged during his childhood and it never left him.
During an interview before his retirement in early 2000, McGann said he was inspired by his parents, Thomas and Mary McGann. I was going to school in the Depression and it was a hard time for a lot of people financially. [My parents] always showed a good example to us and then reached out to help other people, teaching us that we had to be concerned about other people.
When his father died in 1937, McGann's mother raised their seven children alone and made sure that they received a Catholic education.
An entry in McGann's 1944 yearbook from the Cathedral College Preparatory Seminary in Brooklyn showed his growing leadership skills. The first desk in the fourth row is always a hubbub of activity from nine in the morning till well into the night. There is usually a pile of mail, checks, money and other business accouterments, and if the facilities would allow, there would probably be four or five telephones installed. Behind such a business-like desk sits John McGann, orator, actor, financier, athlete. We know that John will handle the future in the same business-like fashion.
McGann studied at the Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington from 1944 to 1950.
Beginning his priesthood at St. Anne's in Brentwood when it was still part of the Diocese of Brooklyn, Bishop McGann was a part of the Rockville Centre diocese since its inception in 1957.
The diocese's first bishop, Walter Kellenberg, first appointed McGann an assistant chancellor and then his personal secretary in 1959. McGann would serve Kellenberg in this position for the next 12 years.
McGann was ordained second auxiliary bishop for Rockville Centre in 1971. Soon after, he was appointed vicar general of the diocese and Episcopal vicar of Suffolk County.
When Kellenberg retired at the age of 75, Pope Paul VI named McGann as his successor. The second bishop was installed on June 24, 1976, at the Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
He took Psalm 100 as his motto, Serve the Lord with gladness.
And he did. I'm a Catholic because I believe and I'm willing to give my life for that, he said in 1999. And I know that I'm going to meet opposition and sacrifice and difficulties. But I also know that I'll get the opportunity to live the life that I want to live.
In addition to attending to the day-to-day management of the diocese, McGann participated in several historic events. He hosted Pope John Paul II at Madison Square Garden during the pontiff's 1979 New York visit.
McGann also greeted Mother Teresa during her visit to the Rockville Centre diocese in July 1986. And in 1993, he led 500 young people to Denver for Pope John Paul II's World Youth Day.
The bishop played a key role on several national advisory councils and committees, including the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Catholic Telecommunications Network of America and the National Advisory Council to the U.S. Bishops.
McGann said if there were one thing he would have liked to see improved more during his tenure, it would be the shortage of priests. In response to the priest shortage, McGann ordained the diocese's first class of permanent deacons in 1979.
Although the bishop led marches against abortion and prayed in front of abortion clinics, he was criticized by some for not voicing his objections loud enough.
When McGann's own retirement became imminent, he asked the Pope to assign a coadjutor bishop to spend several months learning about the diocese before taking over. Bishop James T. McHugh was chosen and McGann spent several months introducing his coadjutor to the diocese.
McGann retired on Jan. 4, 2000, following his 75th birthday. He spent the last two years living at St. Agnes Rectory, offering guidance when necessary to McHugh, and enjoying retirement. McHugh died following a battle with cancer in Dec. 2000. Rockville Centre's fourth bishop, William Murphy was installed in September.
Loss felt
Parishioners and priests from across Long Island and the nation mourned the passing of the bishop.
Bishop John McGann will be sorely missed in this diocese, which he guided with care and compassion for 24 years, Bishop Murphy said in a prepared statement. He was a priest of total dedication and a bishop who cared for his flock with deep and abiding love... The parishes, schools, religious congregations, health care services and Catholic Charities that are so much a part of the identity of this diocese are a direct result of his leadership and guidance.
Murphy said McGann shared wise and fatherly counsel with him during the new bishop's first five months. No bishop could have done more for his successor than Bishop McGann did for me.
Msgr. William Jablonski, pastor of St. Raymond's R.C. Church in East Rockaway, remembered the retired bishop as a very personable man. He lived so close by that he knew everybody here and he had a great ability to take a personal interest in our parish.
You could always call upon him in need and in difficulty and he was always there to listen and give advice and insight, Jablonski added.
McGann, he said, was fully supportive of St. Raymond's renovations, which it is currently undergoing. He wanted us to have better church facilities, he said.
St. Agnes parishioner Joseph Boyne said he was always amazed by McGann's ability to remember everyone's name. He'll be missed by everyone in the community. He was a very down to Earth man.
Pat Frank, another St. Agnes parishioner, said that even though McGann was retired he was still very involved in the community. He was a very warm sensitive person, a good shepherd. Everyone loved him.
