Rev. John M. Hamrogue, C.SS.R.

Rev. John Michael Hamrogue, C.SS.R. died on January 9, 2018 at his home in the rectory at Immaculate Conception Parish, Bronx, NY 10455.

John was born in Brooklyn, NY on December 20, 1939. His parents were Martin and Agnes Mary Hamrogue. He had two sisters, Winifred and Agnes, and one brother, Richard Martin Hamrogue, who died in 1962.
 
He took his vows as a Redemptorist on August 2, 1958. He was ordained a priest on June 23, 1963.

Father John served the mission of the church in many locations. Before beginning his ministry, he studied at Catholic University in Washington, DC and then at Fordham University here in the Bronx. He from which he received a Ph.D. in 1974.
 
He served for nearly ten years in the Redemptorist seminary in Connecicut. In the 1980’s he began a full time ministry of preaching parish missions and retreats. He lived first at St. Peter’s Church in Phiadelphia and then Mount St. Alphonsus retreat house in the Catskills.  
 
In 1990 Father John moved to the Caribbean, where he served 8 years as a parish priest and missionary. He served first on the island of Dominica and then in St. Lucia. In 1998, he returned to the U.S. and spent years as a parish priest in Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Brooklyn, NY.  He learned Spanish and then ministered to Latino people in Brooklyn, Annapolis and Philadelphia.

In 2004, he returned to St. Peter's in Philadelphia for one year, and then was assigned in 2005 to S1. Mary's in Annapolis to work with the parish's Hispanic community.
 
He was assigned again to Brooklyn in 2008. In 2010 he returned to St. Peter's as an associate pastor till August of 2015.
 
Fr. John came to Immaculate Conception Parish in 2015 to serve as associate pastor.

Father Francis Skelly, his superior and friend, offered this reflection on Fr. John Hamrogue.  
 
"John was a man of prayer and loved learning new things. He accepted graciously being sent to Dominica at age 54 because he was needed; he loved the spirit of the island people and the spirit of the poor here in the Bronx. He was a great friend and confidant always worrying about the welfare of others.'
 
For 7 years he worked with Rev. Donald Miniscalco, C.SS.R. He remembers spending time with Fr. John studying and creating their vision for the Redemptorist mission from historical records and moral scholars. Their first mission together was in Germantown, Tennesee.
 
He always gave talks that were well researched and had those attending listening waiting for the next word. His talks were also very well received by teenagers. Fr. Don also remembers Fr. John as a person of prayer in his daily life and in preparation of his talks.
 
I personally met Fr.John when he became the prefect of Students at our seminary college, Saint Alphonsus in Suffield, Connecticut. He was a calmness in chaos, and a witness to prayer, listening, and caring.
 
Fr. John was a person who cared about others. He loved the Redemptorists and his priesthood and shared that love with the people the Lord brought into his life.