April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
OBITUARY
Rev. Michael Hogan, 74
A native of Glens Falls, he served at St. Gabriel's, Rotterdam; Catholic Central High School in Troy; and Maria College and The College of Saint Rose, both in Albany. In 1969, he founded Hospitality House Inc., a therapeutic residential community for people addicted to drugs. He also founded Lancaster House, the first residential community for mental health patients in New York; the first halfway house for alcoholic men in the Capital Region; and Shevlin House, a group home for boys. He had also been chaplain at Bishop Maginn High School, Albany. In 1992, he became pastor of Sacred Heart/St. Columba in Schenectady and, several years later, added the city's St. Joseph's and St. John the Baptist parishes. At the time of his death, he was pastor of St. Joseph's in Schenectady and its mission, St. Margaret of Cortona Church in Rotterdam Junction.
Father Hogan was passionately devoted to the people of Schenectady, particularly in the struggling Hamilton Hill neighborhood where he served for so long. He hosted a weekly half-hour public-access cable show on faith, served on civic organizations' boards, ministered to people dealing with addictions and with HIV/AIDS, welcomed immigrants, promoted participation in the U.S. census, celebrated Masses in Spanish and advocated for local laws to protect the poor.
People who are "marginalized or looked down on" are "the people Jesus always said that He was most concerned about," he explained.
"The entire neighborhood is our responsibility - not just the Catholics," he once told The Evangelist, adding: "I celebrate the Eucharist almost as a respite from the anger and the drugs and the shootings. But it is not a respite that makes me not want to get involved; it gives me the energy, courage and determination to be involved."
Father Hogan believed that people needed "to know that the Church is deeply committed and deeply concerned about issues" affecting the poor. By working with local ecumenical organizations, he told The Evangelist, "I see my role as uniting the Hill, as well as being a voice, in conjunction with the other ministers, for the poorest of the poor."
His voice may be stilled, but his tireless work and faith have doubtless affected thousands of residents of Schenectady County and beyond. May he rest in God's hands in eternal life.
Interment will be in St. Agnes Cemetery, Menands.[[In-content Ad]]
MORE NEWS STORIES
SOCIAL MEDIA
OSV NEWS
- Pope welcomes young people to Rome for jubilee, thanks media for promoting truth
- Pope appeals to leaders with power to end wars to start peace talks
- Warsaw archbishop ‘devastated, crushed’ by priest’s arrest in brutal murder of homeless man
- Alligator Alcatraz, Carlo Acutis mosaic, scooter-riding catechist | Week in Review
- Washington Roundup: Epstein controversy boils; Trump signs order on homelessness; and more
- UPDATE: Detroit archbishop fires three theologians from Sacred Heart Seminary
- Report: FBI surveilled SSPX priest amid probe of suspected neo-Nazi’s plans for violence
- Tension emerges between Trump immigration policies and agricultural industry
- Children of Catholic OB-GYN behind Creighton fertility care model follow in his footsteps
- LA archbishop, joined by business leaders, starts fund to help families affected by ICE raids
Comments:
You must login to comment.