The Crosier Fathers and Brothers mourn the loss of our confrere.
Fr. John Joseph Vincent, osc, was born July 31, 1932, in Gary, Ind., to John and Albina (Likavec) Vincent. He was one of two children.
He died peacefully at Mille Lacs Health System Long Term Care facility in Onamia, Minn., on Nov. 16. He was 92.
John attended elementary school in Gary. His first two years of high school were at Bishop Noll High School in Hammond, Ind., and he graduated in 1951 from Our Lady of the Lake Seminary, which was operated by the Crosiers in Syracuse, Ind. He continued at Our Lady of the Lake for junior college and then attended Sacred Heart Seminary in Fort Wayne, Ind., from 1953–1955. He attended the Crosier House of Studies in Fort Wayne from 1955–1959 and then went on to earn a master’s degree in classics from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., in 1964.
John entered the Crosier novitiate in 1952 and made his first profession of vows Aug. 28, 1953, in Hastings, Neb., and professed solemn vows in Fort Wayne on Aug. 28, 1956. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Leo Pursley of Fort Wayne on May 31, 1958.
Fr. John spent many years in parish ministry, including at Sacred Heart in Fort Wayne; Immaculate Conception and Most Holy Trinity, both in Yonkers, N.Y.; Immaculate Conception in Port Jervis, Neb.; St. Andrew in New York; St. Catherine in Hammond; St. Michael in Schererville, Ind.; and St. Joseph in Martinsburg, W. Va. He served on the faculty at Our Lady of the Lake Seminary; Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, N.Y.; Blessed Sacrament in Yonkers; and Frederick Academy of the Visitation in Frederick, Md. He also served as a hospital chaplain at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in Dyer, Ind., and Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago.
He enjoyed living Crosier Religious Life with his confreres in Onamia, Phoenix, Hastings, Chicago and Beallsville, Md.
Due to his health, he retired from full-time ministry in 1994. Following his retirement, he continued ministering within his Crosier community until he moved to Lake Song Assisted Living in February 2009. He lived at Lake Song until August 2024, when he moved to the Mille Lacs Health System Long Term care unit.
He is survived by his sister, Theresa Dougherty, his nieces and nephews and his Crosier confreres in Onamia and Phoenix and around the world. He was preceded in death by his parents.
The Mass of Christian Burial for Fr. John will take place at 10 a.m. on Dec. 2, at the Crosier Priory in Onamia, Minn., with a 9 a.m. vigil and visitation. A luncheon will follow. A private inurnment is planned for the priory cemetery columbarium.
Memorials are preferred to the Crosier Fathers and Brothers, Box 500, Onamia, MN 56359-0500.
