Announcement and Memorial Mass for Reverend George "Jerry" Hogan

With both sadness and hope in eternal life, the Plainville-Wrentham Catholic Collaborative of St. Martha and St. Mary Parishes announce that Father Jerry Hogan passed from this life to his eternal reward with the Lord on Wednesday evening, May 5, 2021.

 As a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston, Father Jerry served many parishes in his more than four decades of priesthood. However, he was most well known for his special ministry as National Chaplain for Travelling Performers, for which he got his nickname, "The Circus Priest." When he wasn't traveling the country, he would spend half the year in Sarasota (a winter home for circus performers) and the other half in the Archdiocese of Boston.

Fr. Jerry was our neighbor for many years at St. Mary in Foxborough, and he served our Plainville-Wrentham Collaborative full-time during the summer of 2016 and helped out on several occasions after that. He was a God-send while Fr. Bill Schmidt was recovering from knee surgery, and he helped Maggie Hoagland with our Summer Bible Fun program that first year with a circus theme!

We join his cousin Jerry Nolan, member of our Parish of St. Mary, his siblings and countless cousins, nieces and nephews in mourning their loss and ours. Yet we are encouraged by Father Jerry's faith in the Resurrection Jesus Christ won for us, as we continue to celebrate this priceless gift throughout the Easter Season. He shared the joys of this New Life through his ministry, his friendship, his powerful voice, and his big, broad smile that always helped to lift our spirits!

Because all Funeral arrangements took place at St. Michael Parish in North Andover, we will schedule a special Memorial Mass in our area for Father Jerry in the near future (either at one of our parishes or in Foxboro) so that we, too, can console one another and lift up Father Jerry by our prayers, giving thanks for the blessings God has given us through his life, faith, and ministry.