Msgr. Joseph J. Raimondo

Msgr. Joseph J. Raimondo, pastor emeritus of St. Gregory the Great parish in Harrison, died Dec. 30 at the Osborn Pavilion in Rye. He was 92. Msgr. Raimondo served as pastor at St. Gregory the Great from 1980 until his retirement in 1989. He previously was pastor of St. Clare of Assisi in the Bronx, 1969-1980, and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Poughkeepsie, 1961-1965. A Funeral Mass was to be offered Jan. 3 at St. Gregory's with Auxiliary Bishop Dominick J. Lagonegro, co-vicar of Orange County and pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Newburgh, as celebrant. Msgr. Daniel Flynn, senior priest at St. Gregory's, was to be the homilist. While Msgr. Raimondo was at St. Gregory's, the parish encouraged greater lay involvement in Church affairs. A parish council was established and Eucharistic ministers and lectors were given roles at daily Masses. Msgr. Raimondo also presided over a renovation of the church building. Born in White Plains, he studied for the priesthood at Cathedral College and St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie. He was ordained in 1940 and named a monsignor in 1965. In 1942, during World War II, he entered the U.S. Army as a chaplain. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and assigned to the 101st Infantry Regiment of the 26th Infantry, which was commanded by General George S. Patton, Jr. The unit fought in the 1944 Battle of the Bulge, the bloodiest battle experienced by U.S. forces in Europe. Msgr. Flynn said that Msgr. Raimondo "was involved in two very dangerous incidents in which he risked his life to bring our Lord to the wounded soldiers in the regiment." "For his heroic deeds, he was awarded the Silver Star and the Bronze Star for extraordinary bravery under fire to go to the seriously wounded," Msgr. Flynn said. Other parishes where Msgr. Raimondo served are St. Dominic's and St. Theresa of the Infant Jesus, both in the Bronx, and St. James in Manhattan. Burial was to be at Mount Calvary Cemetery in White Plains.Msgr. Joseph J. Raimondo