This year brought the deaths of a number of notable Catholics with ties to the Arlington diocese, including three diocesan priests and one deacon. They are presented again here for an additional remembrance. Consider praying for the repose of their souls and consolation of their surviving relatives and friends.
Fr. Jerome Daly, pastor and Army vet
Father Jerome R. Daly, a decorated U.S. Army veteran and former pastor of St. John the Beloved Church in McLean and St. Michael Church in Annandale, died Jan. 14 at his home. He was 91.
After retirement from active priesthood in 2004, Father Daly lived at the Fairfax at Belvoir Woods, a retirement community for retired military and their spouses near Fort Belvoir, where he offered informal pastoral counseling and celebrated Masses for nearly 20 years.
Prior to the priesthood, he served three tours of duty as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, receiving the Silver Star and Bronze Star medals, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, two Purple Hearts, and the Distinguished Service Cross for rescuing three downed helicopter crews who were threatened by two Viet Cong battalions on Easter Sunday 1967.
After retiring from the Army in 1982, he entered Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, and was ordained a priest in 1987 by Bishop John R. Keating.
Fr. Lee Gross, former seminary professor
Father Lee W. Gross, 78, longtime professor at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., died Oct. 27, one day shy of his 79th birthday. Born Oct. 28, 1944, in Rapid City, S.D., he spent most of his childhood in Pennsylvania, subsequently enrolling at Gettysburg College.
After joining the Episcopal Church and a later ordination, he served as an Episcopal priest in Illinois churches from 1976 to 1985 before entering into full communion with the Catholic Church in 1985. He was ordained to the priesthood at Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Winchester by Bishop John R. Keating April 3, 1987.
When a priest friend asked Father Gross if he would be interested in teaching in the seminary, he was very interested, but felt it was unlikely considering he only had degrees from Protestant seminaries and never attended a Catholic seminary.
“God has a divine sense of humor, so he got me for 26 years in a Catholic seminary,” Father Gross told the Catholic Herald in a 2021 interview.
Fr. Philip Majka
Father Philip S. Majka, longtime pastor, chaplain and community leader, died June 25 aged 85.
Father Majka was ordained May 1, 1965, at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Richmond by Bishop John J. Russell. He was founding pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Lake Ridge in October 1976. He also served as pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church in Warrenton and St. Patrick Church in Fredericksburg.
Father Majka was very active in the Polish American community and was known as “Dusz Pasterz Polski”— the Polish Shepherd of Souls. He also served as chaplain at Dulles International Airport and to multiple Knights of Columbus Councils throughout Northern Virginia.
Pray for their repose
Fr. Albert Audette Jr., military veteran and widower prior to his ordination, died April 1 aged 90.
Fr. John W. Crossin, Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and an expert in the field of Christian ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, died May 12 aged 75.
Sr. Raphael (Cecilia) Baker, of the Order of St. Benedict, died July 25 aged 89.
Sr. Marie Victoria Bartkowski, Felician sister for 61 years including at Nativity Catholic Church in Burke, died Feb. 22.
Sr. Susan Louise Eder, longtime principal of Holy Cross Academy in Fredericksburg and Oblate Sister of St. Francis for 48 years, died Oct. 13 aged 69.
Sister Mary Eileen McCarthy, Daughter of Wisdom and former teacher at Montfort Academy in Fredericksburg and at St. Bernadette School in Springfield, died Sept. 29 aged 96.
Deacon Richard K. Prien, longtime director of religious education at St. Bernadette Church in Springfield, died May 9 aged 88.
Dr. Francis D. “Bud” Andres, psychiatrist and patron of diocesan Catholic Charities and other causes, died Nov. 17 aged 88.
Elizabeth Alice Elliott, former Catholic Herald staff writer, died April 27 aged 47.
Mandy Hain, artist and Christendom College alumna, died Feb. 7 aged 41.
John Horejsi, founder of Social Action Linking Together (SALT), died of cancer Aug. 4. at age 83.
Dolores Conklin Leckey, longtime advocate for the laity in the Catholic Church and author, died Jan. 17 aged 89.
John McLaughlin III, patron of diocesan Catholic Charities, died Sept. 25 aged 81.
Mark Russell, political satirist, died April 12 aged 90.
Joanne Marie Seale, founding board member of New Eve Maternity Home in Winchester, died Aug. 5 aged 79.
