Msgr. McCann Leaves Behind A Legacy

Reverend Monsignor John J. McCann, pastor emeritus of The Church of St. Mary, less than nine months after celebrating 50 years as a priest and his retirement as pastor, a role he held for 17 years, has been called back to God. Father Robert Romeo, who was assigned as Pastor of St. Mary’s said, “This is a terribly sad time for the parish family of St. Mary’s. The sudden and unexpected loss of our beloved Msgr. McCann has affected all of us. His presence will be missed, but his spirit will remain with us. We will forever be grateful for the gifts he bestowed upon St. Mary’s. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”
McCann grew up in New Hyde Park. When he was in high school at St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset (Class of 1957), his family moved to Glen Head. McCann attended St. John’s University and the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington. When Manhasset Press asked why he decided to become a priest, Monsignor said he was inspired by “the example of good priests, and I felt this is what the Lord wanted me to do.”
Before coming to St. Mary’s, he was at St. Patrick’s Church in Glen Cove for 25 years. He was named a monsignor in 1991 while at St. Patrick’s. At that time, he was dean of the Oyster Bay Deanery. He held the position of dean of the North Hempstead Deanery until about two years ago.
Monsignor also served on the Long Island Catholic Board, the Catholic Cemetery Board, was chairperson for several years of the Diocesan Loan Account Board, which became the Mission Assistance Corp. and, at present, he was the president of the Inter-diocesan Religious Retirement and Stipend Board and the Diocesan Building Committee.
His success as pastor of The Church of St. Mary came from his ability to identify a problem, identify the solution and follow through. He played a critical role in upgrading and expanding the building facilities for the schools of St. Mary and the church. At the time, church offices were in the rectory and pre-K was in the basement of the church. There was a road immediately behind the back of the church before the parking lot.
When he first came to St. Mary’s, he worked to find out what the needs of the parish were. The response that invariably came back was “space.” Ten months later, he formed a building committee to analyze the needs of the community. The old elementary school gymnasium had structural problems so Wiest Hall was demolished and the gym went underground to a full-size basketball court.
Two levels of classrooms were added above the gymnasium. The new elementary school building was dedicated as McCann Hall in respect to the man of vision. The changes to the campus amounted to additions of approximately 2,900 square feet (1,360 square feet footprint) to the church and a 30,870 square feet (9,800 square feet footprint) to the elementary school. The lower level of the church space was redesigned to accommodate all the parish ministries and all office space was consolidated; previously, office space was scattered throughout the campus. With the renovations, he moved the offices from the rectory into new space and made the rectory a home again for the parish priests and visiting priests.
McCann had a vision for St. Mary’s, which has been in Manhasset for 160 years. He initiated the fundraising efforts with a goal of $10 million and raised $14 million. His renovations impacted every building on campus, including the renovating the playing field to turf.
“This is a sad time for St. Mary’s parishioners and all family, friends and co-workers of Monsignor McCann,” said parishioner Jen DeSena. “He served others as a priest for over 50 years and steered St. Mary’s through challenging times. We are a strong parish thanks to his care. His friends and family wish he would be here longer to enjoy his retirement, but must rejoice that he will be with God.”
Monsignor’s compassion extended beyond Manhasset as well. He had adopted Sacred Heart Parish in D’Iberville, MS that suffered devastation resulting from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. After Hurricane Sandy, he adopted Sacred Heart Church, a parish in Island Park that was destroyed during Hurricane Sandy. Sacred Heart Church had been filled with over three feet of flood water, salt water and sewage that destroyed the wood floors, carpets and most of the contents of the church. Along with Fr. Allan Sikorski, who had been a resident of Sacred Heart and the associate pastor of St. Mary’s, and Monsignor Tutone of Sacred Heart Church, they began a campaign to rebuild Sacred Heart.
Monsignor’s life touched many people. St. Mary’s Pastor Father Robert Romeo said, “I am so touched and appreciative of the outpouring of love, prayers and support from not only the people of St. Mary’s, but from the larger community. It is a real tribute to the gifts Msgr. McCann shared so freely.”