Rev. George G. St. John
Deceased: 2020-12-02
Diocese: ALBANY
ICTE Fall: 1976
Reverend George Guinan St. John, a priest of the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese, passed peacefully from this life into eternal life on Wednesday, December 2, 2020 in the Rectory of Blessed Sacrament Church in Albany. He was 93 years of age.
Father St. John was born in Troy, NY on June 22, 1927 to his parents, George D. and Mae E. Guinan St. John. Raised and educated in Troy, he was a graduate of St. Peter’s School and Catholic Central High School, where he was the president of his graduating class, and later attended St. Andrew’s Seminary in Rochester, NY and St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, NY. Father St. John, in 1960, earned a Masters Degree in Education from Siena College in Loudonville.
Father St. John was ordained a priest on June 7, 1952 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany by the Most Reverend Edmund F. Gibbons, sixth Bishop of Albany. His first assignment was at Blessed Sacrament Church in Albany and from there he was assigned to St. Margaret of Cortona Church in Rotterdam Junction. Father St. John later served as Chaplain for the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Albany while simultaneously serving as Chaplain at the Albany Medical Center Hospital. Father St. John had served as Principal of St. Patrick’s Central Catholic High School in Catskill, NY and as pastor of St. Patrick’s Church in Catskill, St. Mary’s Church in Glens Falls, NY and most recently at Holy Spirit Church in East Greenbush, NY. He served in the diocesan posts of Director of Religious Education, Director of Radio and Television Broadcasting, and Director of Priest Personnel. Following his retirement, Father St. John resided at Blessed Sacrament Rectory in Albany and continued to serve at Blessed Sacrament Church and throughout the Albany Diocese.
Father St. John is survived by his dear sister, Joan Couture of East Greenbush; his loving nieces and nephews, Linda Strocky, MaryAnne, Jeanne and Laurie Couture; Raymond and Stephen Couture. He was preceded in death by his brother, T. Donald St. John.
Father St. John will be received into Blessed Sacrament Church, 607 Central Avenue, Albany, NY on Sunday, December 13, 2020 at 3 pm and public visitation will continue until 6 pm. Those attending are asked to please only enter the church from the Hunter Avenue parking lot doorway. In accordance with safety guidelines relating to the current Covid-19 pandemic, family, friends and guests are requested to wear facial coverings and observe social distancing requirements at all services and venues.
His funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, December 14, 2020 at 10 am in Blessed Sacrament Church, Albany with the Most Reverend Edward B. Scharfenberger, D.D., Bishop of Albany, presiding.
Following the Mass, the Rite of Committal and interment will take place in the St. John family plot in St. Peter’s Cemetery, Troy, NY.
For those who wish to express their sympathy and remember Father St. John in a special way, donations, in his memory, may be made to: the Priests’ Retirement Fund, 40 North Main Avenue, Albany, NY 12203 or to Blessed Sacrament Church, 607 Central Avenue, Albany, NY 12206 or to Holy Spirit Church, 667 Columbia Turnpike, East Greenbush, NY 12061.
