Msgr. Andrew J. McGowan

M onsignor Andrew J. McGowan, the retired Diocesan Director of Catholic Health Care Facilities and the Bishop’s Representative to Catholic Institutions of Higher Learning, died on Wednesday, July 19, 2006, at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore after a brief illness.
Monsignor McGowan, a son of the late Andrew Joseph McGowan and Catherine Mary Evans McGowan, was born in Ashley on March 18, 1926. He attended St. Leo’s High School in Ashley and graduated from Hanover Memorial High School, Hanover Township. He attended the University of Scranton and was a graduate of Mount St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Md., having received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1945. His studies for the priesthood were completed at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, Emmitsburg, Md. Monsignor McGowan was ordained to the priesthood on June 4, 1949, in Scranton by the Most Reverend William J. Hafey, D.D., late Bishop of Scranton.
Following a summer assignment as assistant pastor at St. Therese’s Parish, Shavertown, he was appointed assistant pastor of St. Peter’s Parish, Wellsboro, where he was stationed for two years. On Sept. 20, 1951, he became assistant pastor of Holy Saviour Parish, Wilkes-Barre, and three years later, on Sept. 18, 1954, he was appointed assistant pastor of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish, Wilkes-Barre, where he taught religion in St. Mary’s High School and served as moderator of baseball, basketball and other extracurricular activities. On Oct. 14, 1960, Monsignor McGowan was appointed assistant pastor of Christ the King Parish in Dunmore. From September 1963 to March of 1964, he served as administrator of St. Agnes Parish, Forest City.
Monsignor McGowan was named a Papal Chamberlain by Pope Paul VI on May 19, 1965, and in 1972, Monsignor was elevated to the rank of Prelate of Honor by Pope Paul VI.
During his many years of service to the Diocese, Monsignor McGowan served in a number of special assignments. On Jan. 14, 1961, he was appointed Director of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Men; the Diocesan Director of the Holy Name Society; Diocesan Director of Boy Scouts; and Director of Camp St. Andrew. He was appointed director of the Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, on Sept. 22, 1965, and he continued in that post until Sept. 10, 1968, when Monsignor was appointed rector of St. Pius X Seminary, Dalton, a post he held for sixteen years. And a year later, he was named Diocesan Director of Vocations.
Also in 1968, when the Diocese of Scranton undertook its most ambitious fund-raising campaign, Project: Expansion, Monsignor McGowan was named Diocesan Coordinator by Bishop J. Carroll McCormick. That same year, Monsignor began his long association with Mercy Hospital. He was appointed to the board of directors, a position he was to hold for nearly 25 years, which included service as chairman and director of community relations.
On Aug. 4, 1983, Bishop John J. O’Connor appointed Monsignor to a newly created position in the Diocese, the Bishop’s representative for community affairs. This role was greatly expanded on July 16, 1984, when Bishop James C. Timlin appointed Monsignor McGowan as the Bishop’s representative to Catholic Institutions of Higher Learning, and as the Diocesan Director of Catholic Health Care Facilities. Monsignor continued in these multifaceted assignments until his retirement on Feb. 2, 2004.
Monsignor McGowan’s appointments to boards, agencies and commissions were numerous. These include service as chairman of the board of the University of Scranton, College Misericordia, and Mount St. Mary’s College; he also served as a member of the board at Marywood University and King’s College.
In addition to his many contributions to educational institutions, Monsignor devoted himself to a wide range of health care, social service, and cultural agencies and organizations. He was vice chairman of Allied Services Hospital Foundation; chairman, John Heinz Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine; chairman, Hospital Association of Pennsylvania Foundation; chairman, Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, and chair, Second Harvest Warehouse, Luzerne County. Monsignor was a board member of the Scranton Public Library, the Northeast Philharmonic, the Luzerne County Arena Board, and the Scranton Cultural Center.
Monsignor McGowan was the recipient of numerous awards and honors. He was awarded honorary degrees from College Misericordia, Wilkes University, Mount St. Mary’s College, The University of Scranton, King’s College, and Marywood University. In 1982, the Amos Lodge of B’nai B’rith of Scranton awarded him the Americanism Award. Ten years later, the Seligman J. Strauss Lodge of B’nai B’rith of Wilkes-Barre bestowed on Monsignor its Community Service Award. In 1999, the University of Scranton named a student residence in recognition of the fiftieth anniversary of Monsignor’s ordination to the priesthood.
Monsignor McGowan is survived by a sister Lee Rosica, Clarence, New York; and 15 nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by three brothers, William, Thomas and Leo McGowan.
Viewing will take place in the rotunda at Marywood University, Scranton, on Sunday, July 23, 2006, from 1 to 6 p.m. A prayer service will be celebrated in the rotunda at 6 p.m. with the Monsignor Peter P. Madus, V.F., presiding.
A Pontifical Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by the Most Rev. Joseph F. Martino, Bishop of the Diocese of Scranton, on Monday, July 24, 2006, at 11 a.m. in St. Peter’s Cathedral. Viewing will also take place Monday morning, prior to the 11 a.m. funeral Mass. Interment will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Hanover Township.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to McGowan Institute for Community Health Initiatives, 746 Jefferson Ave., Scranton, Pa., 18510-1624, or McGowan Fund of The Luzerne Foundation, 613 Baltimore Drive, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., 18702-7902.