John J. Kilgallon, longtime Catholic priest, pastor, and religion teacher, has died at 81
“It’s as if God saw something special here,” he told The Inquirer about West Philadelphia in 1990. “The major asset is the people. ... The people just care and work.”
John J. Kilgallon, 81, of Plymouth Meeting, longtime Catholic priest, parochial vicar, former pastor at St. Francis de Sales Church in West Philadelphia, and retired religion teacher at West Philadelphia Catholic Girls’ and Cardinal O’Hara High Schools, died Thursday, Dec. 26, of complications from pneumonia at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby.
Recognized by parishioners for his empathy, compassion, and humor, Father Kilgallon was a parochial vicar for years at St. Patrick Parish in Malvern, Our Mother of Sorrows in Philadelphia, St. John of the Cross in Roslyn, and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Southampton.
He served often as the officiant at weddings for family and friends, and baptized his great-nieces and great-nephews. He consoled at funerals, counseled at summer camps, and guided new church members through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
He was a champion of inclusion, and his St. Francis de Sales parish featured hundreds of families from 24 countries in the 1990s. “It’s as if God saw something special here,” he told The Inquirer in 1990. “The major asset is the people. … The people just care and work.”
He was pastor at St. Francis de Sales from 1989 to 1994 and helped organize its school of 539 students into what he told the Daily News in 1990 was a “geographical image” of the international church. The school was the centerpiece of the church’s community outreach, and Father Kilgallon supported students' rights and welcomed children of Buddhist and Muslim families, and others.
“He was exactly the kind of priest that the kids needed,” a longtime friend said in an online tribute. “Loving, supportive, and he would talk to them at their level.”
Under Father Kilgallon, the school acknowledged differences “through celebration,” a teacher told the Daily News. Father Kilgallon said the community’s commitment to one another was “a mystery of God’s love incarnated in people who are united in the belief of Jesus Christ.”
He helped raise $250,000 for building repairs at St. Francis de Sales and welcomed Archbishop Anthony J. Bevilacqua to the church’s 100th-anniversary Mass in 1990. The parish also managed a large choir that specialized in Baroque music, classes for the visually impaired, a senior citizens center, and a visitation program to AIDS hospices.
He told the Daily News the church’s outreach flourished because of the congregation’s “unconscious expertise” in helping one another. “People have great loyalty,” he said.
Father Kilgallon dropped out of St. Matthew’s High School before his senior year to enroll at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Ambler. He was ordained in 1969 and went on to earn two master’s degrees in theology from the Catholic University of America in Washington.
He organized food drives, taught religion classes at West Catholic and Cardinal O’Hara, and retired in 2018. Friends called him “down to earth” and noted his “sensitive advice and guidance” in tributes. One friend said: “He never avoided a question and always had great understandable answers.”
Another friend said: “John was a very special person, and his memory will be cherished by many.”
John Joseph Kilgallon was born May 6, 1943, in Philadelphia. His family moved to Conshohocken when he was young, and he attended St. Matthew Roman Catholic Church and played guard on the St. Matthew’s High football team.
He liked to read and play golf. He toured the country several times with friends and celebrated his Irish heritage wherever he went.
His four nieces and eight nephews called him Uncle John, and they said his humor and kindness made holiday parties fun. “Whether you were privileged to know him as Father John or Uncle John, he loved you all as a brother or sister in Christ,” his family said in a tribute.
A friend said on Facebook that he was a “great human being and a wonderful priest.” Another said: “He loved being a parish priest.”
His brother, Dan, said: “He was a very caring person, always ready to help someone.” His sister, Maureen Hanna, said: “He was very giving.”
In addition to his brother and sister, Father Kilgallon is survived by other relatives. Two brothers died earlier.
Services were held in January.
Donations in his name may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105.