By:Andrew Coen and Esther McKenna
At St. Joachim's, where he served from 1938 to 1957, Lawlor taught religion daily for Catholic-school students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. He also founded the Cedarhurst Little League and Babe Ruth League in 1951, serving as president for seven years.
Sister Sally Ryan, director of pastoral ministry for people with disabilities for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, met Lawlor at St. Joachim's School, where she was a student from pre-K through eighth grade, and stayed in touch with him through the years. "For us, we used to say next to God, there is Father Lawlor," said Ryan, adding that Lawlor would make a point to stop by every class in the school for at least a half-hour each week.
Ryan recalled how Lawlor used to run a field day for the Catholic school at Cedarhurst Park, and each student would get a gift that he solicited from local storekeepers. "He was very involved with the youth," she said.
Ryan also said that Lawlor helped organize many interfaith events with the Five Towns Jewish community, which he continued in the Baldwin area, where he was assigned as pastor at St. Christopher's Church in 1967 and served there until his retirement in 1986. "He was very, very admired," Ryan said.
In his 19 years at St. Christopher's, he oversaw extensive renovations in the school and the rectory, started the Parish Council and Parish School Board and organized the St. Vincent de Paul Conference in the parish.
The St. Vincent De Paul Society is an outreach program designed to help the poor and needy in the Baldwin community, and Lawlor remained dedicated to it until his retirement. He also started the Catholic Youth Organization, where he strived to involve children in the church. "He used sports as a way to involve children in the school, parish and the church," said Monsignor John F. Bennett, the current pastor of St. Christopher's and dean of the Rockville Centre Deanery, who described Lawlor as a "gentle, kind and dedicated man."
Lawlor was considered the father of the St. Christopher's Feast, which continues to be one of the church's most successful annual events.
Sister Delores McLaughlin, former principal of the St. Christopher's School, worked with Lawlor for 26 years. "He was a positive influence on the children, and a very spiritual priest," said McLaughlin. "He visited with the students regularly, and attended nearly all of the school's functions. He was exuberant about being a priest, and was dedicated to fostering a love for the church in our children."
Lawlor retired as pastor of St. Christopher's in 1986. The meeting room in the school building was renamed Monsignor Lawlor Hall in his honor.
A native of Brooklyn, Joseph Francis Lawlor was born on Aug. 20, 1911, to the late Thomas and Anna Kenny Lawlor. He was baptized at Queen of All Saints Church, and graduated from the parish school. He continued his studies at Cathedral College in Brooklyn and the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington. He was ordained a priest by Bishop Thomas E. Molloy at St. James Pro-Cathedral in Brooklyn on June 15, 1935.
Lawlor's first assignment, at St. Thomas the Apostle in West Hempstead, lasted three years before he was assigned to St. Joachim's. He founded and chaired the annual Catholic Youth Day program for high school students, which was held at St. Joseph's Academy in Brentwood from 1947 to 1962.
When the Diocese of Rockville Centre was created in 1957, founding Bishop Walter P. Kellenberg realized that parish schools could not accommodate all the Catholic children on Long Island, and another way was needed to teach them their faith.
Because of his involvement with young people on the elementary and high school levels, Lawlor was chosen to be the diocese's director of Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD). He was named director of the Christian Family Movement in 1960, and the following year was appointed the director of the Family Life Bureau.
In his eight years as the director of CCD, Lawlor organized and coordinated the confraternity program to run diocese-wide on a weekly basis from September to May, and provided the basis for the training of the volunteer teaching staffs. He oversaw the emergence of lay people as coordinators of the religious-education programs on the parish level, and convened the Diocesan Congress for Religious Education in 1961.
At Kellenberg's request, Lawlor also initiated a program for non-Catholics who were interested in learning more about the religion.
As part of the Family Life Bureau, he organized the first Golden Wedding Blessing in 1963 to honor couples who had been married for 50 years or more. Golden Wedding ceremonies are still celebrated in the diocese.
In 1959, Lawlor became the chaplain at St. Christopher's Home for Infants in Sea Cliff. In 1962 he was named rector at St. Camillus Residence in East Meadow, a residence for priests on special assignment.
Lawlor was appointed pastor of St. Peter Alcantara Parish in Port Washington in March 1964.
He was instrumental in the construction of additional facilities for the parish school and the rehabilitation of the lower level of the church. Also in 1964, he was named to the newly formed Board of Directors at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn.
He was elected chairman of the board of the Hospital in 1970 and served until 1977, a period of extensive fund-raising and construction at the facility. He also served on the board of directors at Mercy Hospital from 1967 to 1977 and as a diocesan consultor from 1966 to 1977.
Lawlor was elevated to papal chamberlain by Pope John XXIII in 1962, with the title of Reverend Monsignor. In 1967, he was assigned to St. Christopher Church in Baldwin as pastor.
Monsignor John F. Bennett was the principal celebrant at the Vigil Mass for Lawlor on Jan. 4 at St. Christopher's Church. The Rev. Francis X. Eisele was the homilist. Bishop William F. Murphy celebrated the funeral Mass on Jan. 5 at St. Christopher's. Bennett also delivered a homily. Burial took place at St. John's Cemetery in Middle Village.
Lawlor is survived by two nieces, Sister of St. Joseph Loretta Scully and Ann Marie Kelly, and three nephews, Thomas, Gerard and Joseph Lawlor.
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