Rev. Francis Edward Grogan

Gov. John G. Rowland told thousands gathered in prayer Friday at St. Joseph's Cathedral how one special man, who was killed on United Airlines Flight 175, shaped his childhood.

"Father Frank Grogan was my friend, my mentor, my religious teacher at Holy Cross High School" Rowland said. "Father Frank taught me about grace and service to others."

Grogan, a native of Pittsfield, Mass., was headed to California to meet his sister for a vacation. He had been a standby passenger on a Delta flight, said his friend and co-worker Father Tom Tobin. But a friend, who worked at United Airlines, gave Grogan a first-class ticket on Flight 175.

"We weren't worried at first because we thought he went on Delta. We didn't know about the last-minute change, it was a shock. He was just a beautiful human being. He was a wonderful person, who enhanced the priesthood. He made the priesthood better," said Tobin, who worked with Grogan at his last assignment as the superior at the Holy Cross residence for retired priests in North Darmouth, Mass.

--The Hartford Courant

*******

Rev. Francis Grogan, 76, had been a priest for 46 years and was a well-liked superior at a retirement facility for priests in Dartmouth, Mass.

Originally on standby for a Delta flight out of Boston on Tuesday, Grogan got a first-class ticket on doomed United Airlines Flight 175 from a friend who works for the airline. He was headed to California to visit his sister.

He had worked for years as an associate pastor at Holy Cross Church in South Easton, Mass., one of nine career assignments. A longtime friend, Rev. Thomas Tobin, said Grogan was "a good man first, then a priest."

Grogan had an infectious smile, Tobin said, and was known as a gentle, caring person and an excellent teacher.

"He could tell you the truth without knocking your block off," Tobin said.

--Jeff Coen (The Chicago Tribune) September 16, 2001

(Both found at http://web.archive.org/web/20060814114751/http://cf.newsday.com/911/victimsearch.cfm?id=141)


The Associated Press 9-25-01 found at USAToday

The Rev. Francis Grogan, 76, was the associate pastor at Holy Cross Church in Easton, Mass. "People still remember him even though he left three years ago," Sacred Heart parishioner Janet Young said. "Even children still know who he was." Young, of Jermyn, kept in touch with Grogan even after he left Sacred Heart for a new position in Boston. Grogan was not originally booked on Flight 175, but overcrowding on his original flight bumped him, Young said. "He was a believer that God had a plan for him," Young said. "I think God put him on that plane to be with those people and to give them last absolutions.

World Trade Center lawsuit settlement: $657.5 million to be paid to 10,000 ground zero workers March 12th, 2010 4:28 am

The Rev. Francis Edward Grogan, 76, of Dartmouth, Mass., served as acting pastor at St. Stanislaus Church, in Fall River, and was a former associate priest at Holy Cross Church, in Easton, Mass. He was on United Flight 175, going to visit his sister in California before beginning a new assignment in Albany, N.Y.

Priestly Vocations: Cultural Challenges and Foundations of Hope

Almost five years ago, Holy Cross Father Francis Grogan, retired registrar of Stonehill College, boarded United Flight 175 in Boston for Los Angeles to visit his family. His first class ticket was a birthday gift and his seat assignment was 1-C. Directly behind him in seat 2-C was Mr. James Hayden, a 1976 alumnus of Stonehill College. Mr. Hayden was on the phone with his wife, Elizabeth. They both knew Father Grogan from their days at Stonehill. Mrs. Hayden asked her husband to extend to Father Grogan her best wishes, and Mr. Hayden assured his wife that with Father Grogan's presence it would be a safe flight. United Flight 175 left Boston the morning of September 11, 2001 bound for Los Angeles. It was the second airliner to hit the World Trade Center. Mrs. Hayden, in a letter to the provincial of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, said she soon realized that her husband Jim and Father Grogan suffered the horror of watching the events unfold right before them as they sat in first class. But she stated that she held on to the hope and consolation that in some way, during those last dreadful moments of United Flight 175, Father Grogan exercised his priestly ministry. The day after September 11, 2001, Pope John Paul II, the successor of Peter, offered his assurances to the world that, even in spite of tragic events, “evil, suffering and death will not have the last word.”

A Heartbroken Nation Remembers, Weeps Fox News
September 14, 2001

At a morning service in Connecticut, Gov. John Rowland recalled his close relationship with Rev. Francis Grogan, a priest who died on United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston, one of the two commercial jet liners which crashed into the World Trade Center.

Rowland called Grogan a friend and mentor who had encouraged the governor to deepen his faith and service his community. If Grogan were still here, he would ask us to be "persuaded by our better natures," Rowland said.

Deaths in the Family: September 11
BY Notre Dame Magazine
Winter 2001/2002

Father Francis E. Grogan, CSC, ’51 of Easton, Massachusetts, was on United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston, the second plane flown into the World Trade Center, its south tower. The 76-year-old priest, who served in the Navy during World War II, was traveling to California to visit his sister. He had been holding a standby ticket on a Delta flight to California, but a friend gave him a first-class ticket on the doomed jetliner. His sister was unaware of the switch and became concerned when he didn’t call from Cleveland, where the Delta flight was diverted after the hijackings became known. The priest was about to become chaplain of a retirement home for Holy Cross brothers in Valatie, New York. He had just completed three years as religious superior of the Holy Cross Fathers Residence in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Before that he was an assistant pastor at Holy Cross Church in Easton, Massachusetts, from 1990 to 1998. Father Grogan was remembered as a strong spiritual leader and friendly man who probably got to know a few people on board the plane that day. In the final minutes he likely gave them comfort and openly prayed, people said. More than a thousand people attended his funeral Mass at Holy Cross Parish in South Easton. At the end, a Navy honor guard played taps and presented the flag to the sister who had waited for him in California.

South Coast Today
September 13, 2001
Rev. Francis E. Grogan

NEW YORK -- The Rev. Francis Edward Grogan, C.S.C., 76, a priest in the Congregation of the Holy Cross for nearly 50 years, died Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, when his flight, United Flight 175 from Boston to Los Angeles, crashed into the World Trade Center. He was en route to visit his sister in Ramona, Calif.

Born in Pittsfield, Mass., he earned degrees at the University of Notre Dame and Fordham University. After his ordination in 1955, he was director of admissions and the registrar at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., for six years, followed by four years with the Family Theatre and Family Rosary Crusades in Spain.

After more than 30 years of high school teaching and family ministry in New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Texas and Massachusetts, he became superior of the Holy Cross Residence in North Dartmouth, Mass.

In all these assignments, he was noted for his kindness and personal interest in each one he served. In the 1960 Stonehill College yearbook, dedicated to him, reference is made to his smile, his friendliness and his patience, and he is called a model and a guide.

The Rev. Grogan offered his life and his life's works in the service of the Lord as follows: 1955-61, registrar and teacher at Stonehill College; 1961-62, a member of the Family Rosary Crusade; 1962-65, helping to produce Christian movies at the Family Theatre in Madrid, Spain; 1965-76, a chaplain and teacher at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury, Conn.; 1976-88, assistant pastor of San Jose Parish in Austin, Texas; 1990-97, assistant pastor of Holy Cross Church in Easton; and 1998 to the present, superior of the Holy Cross Residence, North Dartmouth.

Survivors include a sister, Anne Browne of Ramona; and all his brothers and members of the Holy Cross community.

Funeral services are pending. Arrangements are by the Robert J. Kane Funeral Home, 605 Washington St., Easton.

The Times Union September 10, 2009

The following are Fairfield and New Haven county residents who were victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks:

The Rev. Francis E. Grogan, 76, Bridgeport.

The Passengers and the Planes - Democratic Underground

The Rev. Francis E. Grogan, 76, FRANCIS E GROGAN 13 May 1925 -- 11 Sep 2001

CNN.com

The Rev. Francis E. Grogan
Age: 76
Residence: Bridgeport, CT, United States
Occupation: priest, Holy Cross Church
Location: UA Flight 175
Related: Legacy.com tribute
Updated: June 18, 2002

The Providence Journal

The Rev. Francis Edward Grogan, 76, of Dartmouth, Mass., served as acting pastor at St. Stanislaus Church, in Fall River, and was a former associate priest at Holy Cross Church, in Easton, Mass. He was on United Flight 175, going to visit his sister in California before beginning a new assignment in Albany, N.Y.

SouthCoastToday 9-16-01

Rev. Francis E. Grogan, CSC

MANHATTAN, N.Y. -- The Rev. Francis E. Grogan, CSC, a priest of the Congregation of Holy Cross for nearly 50 years, died on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, aboard United Flight 175, which crashed into the World Trade Center, while en route to visit his sister in Ramona, Calif.
Born in Pittsfield in 1925, he earned his degrees at the University of Notre Dame and Fordham.

After his ordination in 1955, he served as director of admissions and registrar of Stonehill College in Easton for six years, followed by four years with the Family Theatre and Family Rosary Crusades in Spain.

After more than 30 years of high school teaching and family ministry in New York, Connecticut, Vermont, Texas and Massachusetts, he became Superior of the Holy Cross Residence in North Dartmouth.

In all these assignments, he was noted for his kindness and the personal interest he had in each one that he served.

In the 1960 Stonehill College yearbook, dedicated to him, references are made to his smile, friendliness and patience, and he is called a model and a guide.

Rev. Grogan offered his life and his life's works in the service of the Lord as registrar and teacher at Stonehill College from 1955-1961; a member of the Family Rosary Crusade from 1961-1962; he helped produce Christian movies at the Family Theatre in Madrid from 1962-1965; he served as Chaplain and teacher at Holy Cross High School, Waterbury, Conn., from 1965-1976; he served as assistant pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Bennington, Vt., from 1976-1988; he served as assistant pastor of San Jose Parish, Austin, Texas, from 1988-1990; he served as assistant pastor of the Holy Cross Church in Easton from 1990-1997; and he served as the Superior of the Holy Cross Residence in North Dartmouth from 1998-2001.
Survivors include a sister, Mrs. James (Anne) Browne of Ramona; two nephews, Matthew and Michael Browne of Ramona, Calif.; and all his brothers and members of the Holy Cross Community.

A private evening prayer service will be held Tuesday at the Chapel of Mary Mother of the Church, Stonehill College, Easton, for the Holy Cross Community and Family.
A Mass of the Resurrection will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Holy Cross Church, 225 Purchase St., Easton.

Arrangements are by the Robert J. Kane Funeral Home, 605 Washington St., Easton.

Legacy.com

September 12, 2009
I also have not seen Fr. Frank since my graduation from HC High School in 1975. I always remembered his fond memories of his service in the United States Navy. His quiet influence factored into my decision to seek a commision in the Navy. I still feel connected to Fr. Frank through my own years of Naval Service. I am confident that he, like so many before him, gave that last full measure of service comforting those around him on September 11th, 2001.
George Leidig,
Virginia Beach, Virginia

9/11 Heroes

Father Grogan was a positive influence on so many of us who were students at Holy Cross High School, especially at a time when social and racial issues were at an extreme height. I never got a chance to thank him personally for all his help and support during my high school years. We will miss him, but he will never be forgotten. Thank you, Father G.
Tony H.
Class of 1973

A great friend, teacher, and mentor. He was my teacher while I was a student at Holy Cross High School in Waterbury, CT. Class of 1974.
Posted by Dan Coleman on 2009-07-03

www.wcsh6.com

"I was working at home and had my 6 month old daughter playing on the floor beside me. My husband called me from B.I.W. and said they just went into lockdown - rumors about a plane hitting a building in NYC. I immediately turned on the TV and saw footage of the first WTC tower that was hit. As I was watching the TV and talking to my husband the second plane hit the second tower. As the events unfolded throughout the morning I sat glued to the TV stunned holding my baby girl tight. I later learned that the brother-in-law (Father Francis Grogan) of a cousin of mine was on Flight 175 - the plane I saw hit the second tower. We had met Father Francis at Thanksgiving the year before and it was hard to believe that he was now gone. He wasn't even supposed to be on Flight 175. He was supposed to take a later flight but there was room on flight 175 so he was offered a seat. I pray that father francis was able to offer a bit of peace to the other passengers on flight 175." -Jen

New York Times Portraits in Grief Published: December 27, 2001

Francis E. Grogan: Taking the Charitable View

He served as a sonar expert on a Navy destroyer during World War II. But the Rev. Francis E. Grogan spent the rest of his days sowing peace as a chaplain, a teacher and a parish priest.

He was not the kind of priest who lived to unravel theological contradictions or who sought power on a higher plane. He disliked confrontation and tried to take the charitable view, said the Rev. J. Robert Rioux, who met him when both were studying for the priesthood in North Easton, Mass., and remained his friend for the next 50 years. "His approach to life was, 'Don't sweat the small stuff,' " he said. "You could witness this tendency in his clothes." More than once, he showed up for chapel in his bedroom slippers.

Father Grogan, 76, was most recently the head of the Holy Cross Residence in North Dartmouth, Mass. On Sept. 11, he was aboard United Airlines Flight 175, planning to visit his sister in California, when the hijacked plane smashed into the World Trade Center.

Father Rioux envisioned his friend ministering to others until the last moment. In the cockpit of the jet, "evil was personified," Father Rioux said, "but personified goodness entered the scene, a person who loved people, a person of great faith."

letsrollforums.com

Flight 175 Passenger List vs. SSDI,
Rev. Francis E. Grogan, 76, Easton, MA. YES. (SSDI suggests last residence as Bridgeport, CT).

Jet Crash Victims' Stories Start To Emerge, Loved Ones Describe Lives, Last Contacts / Washington Post September 12, 2001

A Hatred Rooted In Failings/ washingtonpost.com September 16, 2001

Connecticut's Sept. 11 Victims - Courant.com

Americans hold prayer services after Bush proclaims national day of remembrance / The Associated Press, September 13, 2001

Religious fervor that flowed after terrorist attacks quickly faded, By Vicki-Ann Downing The Patriot Ledger/ Enterprise, September 11, 2006

9/11 ceremony recalls many lost. / The Rutland (Vermont) Herald September 12, 2009