Obituary Notice
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Fr. VINCENT Crean (1861-1909) aS, , of the Frovince been so grieved as at the death of this good, genial; saintly ~~ the space of three ydara, ‘The students of those days, now priests in the aitteren a weeka of his illness was extremely edifying, He never complained and when saked F¥ather Vincent. (Crean) of the Most Holy Sacrament. | ye Rot for many YEAars , perhaps in the memory of our oldest members has the heart father ~ Father Vincent of the Most Holy Sacrasient, This is surely 4 high test-|. inony to his work becansé hia time amongst ns was short, about eight yeare in alls |; but in thet short epace he certainly fulfilled a long time by bis arduous labours | as 4 missioner, his edifying example, hie amiable, unobstrusive and charitable disposition, He wes horn 30th November 1661 in Oldcastle, Cos Meath and his kecilay name tas Edward Crean. Having evinced early in life a desire for the priesthood, he was sent to St. Finiants Seminary at Navan, then the diocesan ee preparatory college in 167§ and from thence in & few years to Sti Patrick's Golteges Maynooth. Hin course here was 4 distinguished one for on hia ordination, 20th - 4 June 1866, he was appointed to the Dunboyne estabitshment « no moan distingtion ©. in which he ‘spent two years. At the end of this time, his college course being. compléted, he ms appointed to the office of Junior Deans which office he held for | parts of the ited Kingdom, hold hie memory in the highest estimation and speak af with gratitude of hin many kindly offices towarda thems He left Maynooth in gett I89I for the rural curacy of Kinnegad, from which place he was traneférred in the» following November to. the much more important parish of Drogheda. Here he spent _ eight years of hia priestly Life. The people of Drogheda have nor Forgotten his- saintly eximple and his sélf-sacrificing labours for their apiritual and temporal well-being. When in via for Dublin, the train bearing his mortal remains rested— at this station for a few minutes a touching denon#tration took place. The Pats | form was crowded with hundreds of people of all tlassea, many of whom showed | evident signs of the deep sorrow that was in their héartés The local clergy were. a sll there. Crowds of Little children bearing floral wreatha which they reverent+ - dally placed on hie coffins The next and last place he ministerod as a secular 4 priest was in Tullamore where he arrived 30th September 1689, Here too his memory | is held in benediction. But that is so evry place he went even for the short 4 space of a retreat or miesion. It could not indeed be otherwibe. Hie genial, _ kindly open face nover wore ought but a smile: Never did we hear him aay @ harsh » word or prop an unktind or uncharitable remark. It is no wonder he drew so many — hearte to him, no wonder he wes so beloved, for he surely hed a large share of — those atiractive qualities which @rew the miltitude after his Divine Model and Master. | Hie zeel for doing good and a desire for a larger sphere of usefulness consistant with h&& owm personal senctification impelled him to try thé religious - state in our Congregations He acoordingly entered our Novitiate in Broadway November. 23rd 1901, and was professed 22nd December 1902. -From-the day of hig profession he was an indefatigable worker on nivisions and” retreats, & work for which he was preeminently stited in every ways We might say , he had « passion for the work; and on hia death-bed he apked Irs Provineial t6 have: a mission for him in case of recovery so that he could bégin again the work hie> 4 illness had interrupted. He remained in the Novitiate House din. ‘Broadway from hie profession until August last, when having been appointed first Vicar of Blessed Gabriel's Retreat, The Graan, Enniskillen, he mxtered én his new dutica there. His life in-it was unfortunately a very short oné = two onthe only. Bia death ies another added to the many heavy crosses with which our loving Lord has been pleases. to bless this our latest foundations In the early days of October he contracted typhoid fever from a little nephew, but every hupe was éntertained that hia native. | strength which was gredt, would successfully battle against its It would un-= . doubtedly have done so had not pleurisy and pneumonia with consequent heart failure. supervened, Those latter complications made recovery impossible, and this he knew in the early stages of his illness, for in tne firet week he asked for and received the Last Sacraments of the Uhurchs His patient bearing during the four ai i
coy se ae re err a ata he ‘mutter pain elways enswered, “Ho's He “peosived Holy ‘Yidtieun aniiy wt dispositions that would do honour to our Holy Founder, Blessed Gabrié) or ya Aloysius, "I suet make a good preparation now", he would say, "to reoeive out Lord”. About ‘three hours before he died he made his confession An Rebecaom the which he kept up until the etberius wan aeposited on the temporary ittie “alta @ his bedside, with euch holy dispositions we may be sure he wee rorigned. Deaths he assured those around his bed the day before he died, had no terrors for hime - She thonght of 1t was not gloomy, God was very good in giving him evch a long tine’; to prepare, and for that he was, he hoped grateful, though not: grateful enough, But he charged them not to let him die in hie sleep and to be sure to get hin to _ make an act of contrition when af the point of death, He exprécsed 4 wish te be fe - the first to be burried in The Graan. Legal aifficulties, he was told sendered - that impossible at the time. He wat, however, quite resigned and pleased when — informed that Mount Argus was to be his last resting place and the scene of hie future resurrection. On Wednesday, 27th October (1909) at Ipsms, surrounded by - 4 his religious brethren and in full posseasion of his mental faculties, he rendured - ; up his soul to God. Surely precious in the. sight of the Lora te auch a death a5 his.. Hie funeral, at Mount Argus, Dublin, wad very large in its proportion end 3 representation. Over 100 priests chiefly from bis nativa Afosesd of Meath were =; present at the Office, High Mass and funeral which took place immédiately afters a Hor can one eapily forget the kind sympathy of the good psoplé of Enniskillen Protestant and Catholic in the hour of our sorrow and afflictions ‘though we are yet. almost strangers in their midst, hia funéral here was a large 6ney and all the 9 =) windows were shuttered de it passed through thé town on ite way to the stations He is gone from amongst us forever, but by his good exemple in life and in death his memory, wé are sure will remain green for many a days RslePa & oe i oo peedbaptieribend — Boe ne Sn tne ce he me i at at Soil wii ines ieee hae Sadhenstineelionatnemaivcas?
Source: Obituary Notices, Provincial Archive, St Joseph's Province. Passionist Congregation.