Msgr. Edward J. Donovan

Msgr. Edward J. Donovan, a prison chaplain for 38 years, died Oct. 23 at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. He was 80.

Auxiliary Bishop Dominick J. Lagonegro, co-vicar of Orange County and pastor of Sacred Heart, Newburgh, offered the Funeral Mass Oct. 29 at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Mount Kisco. Msgr. Daniel V. Flynn, retired pastor of St. Gregory the Great in Harrison, was the homilist.

Msgr. Donovan was chaplain at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Stormville, a maximum security prison for men, from 1961 until he retired in 1999. In retirement, he assisted at St. Francis of Assisi, his boyhood parish.

At Green Haven, Msgr. Donovan was a major force in the building of a Catholic chapel, St. Paul in Chains, which was constructed with the help of inmates under the direction of professional contractors. Msgr. Donovan raised much of the money for the project in several fund-raising ventures, including collecting and redeeming trading stamps.

Special programs he undertook at the prison included Residents Encounter Christ, Christmas Midnight Mass and an annual confirmation ceremony held on Mother's Day for inmates he had prepared. "He had the ability to reach these men," Msgr. Flynn said. "They're long-term prisoners, but he was very just and very open in his dealings with them and I guess they recognized his sincerity and his character.

"That's why they flocked to him; that's why he had such a following there."

Msgr. Donovan served for 31 years as Catholic chaplain for the New York State National Guard, Rainbow Division, retiring with the rank of brigadier general. He also was state staff chaplain overseeing National Guard chaplains throughout the state, and was chaplain for the Knights of Columbus in the Fishkill area and chaplain for the Ancient Order of Hibernians in Mount Kisco.

Born in New York City, he grew up in Mount Kisco. He studied for the priesthood at Cathedral College, Manhattan, and St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie. He was ordained in 1954.

He was assigned to Our Lady of Loreto parish in Manhattan, where he served at its Holy Name Mission until 1960. He also served at St. Frances of Rome parish in the Bronx, 1960-1961.

He is survived by a sister, Sister Marguerite Edward Donovan, C.S.J.

Burial was in St. Francis of Assisi Cemetery, Mount Kisco.