Reverend J Roger Mcguinness

Reverend J. Roger McGuinness, age 82, peacefully commended his spirit to almighty God accompanied by the prayers of family and friends on Wednesday, January 12, 2022.
Reverend L. William Gordon will preside over the reception of the body on Monday, January 17 at 3 p.m. at St. Joseph’s Church in West Chazy. Calling hours will follow until Evening Prayer at 6 p.m. led by Reverend Kris C. Lauzon. Calling hours will continue from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. on January 18 in the church.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at noon on January 18 at St. Joseph’s Church. Most Reverend Terry R. LaValley, bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg, will be the principal celebrant. Homilist is Father Kris C. Lauzon. The priests of the Diocese of Ogdensburg will concelebrate.
Father McGuinness’ body will be laid to rest in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in the spring.
Father McGuinness was born July 11, 1939. He is the son of James and Mary McGuinness. A native of New York City, he attended St. Elizabeth’s Grade School in Washington Heights and Bishop Dubois High School in Manhattan.
Father McGuinness came to the North Country in 1957 to study for the Roman Catholic priesthood at Wadhams Hall Seminary in Ogdensburg. He completed his studies and the program of priestly formation at Christ the King Seminary in Olean, New York. Father McGuinness was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Thomas Donnellan at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg on May 22, 1965. Father McGuinness’ early years of priestly service were spent as a parochial vicar in parishes in Potsdam, Lake Placid, Plattsburgh and Watertown. He served the people of Raymondville and Keeseville as their pastor. In 1973, he returned to Wadhams Hall Seminary-College. Over the next 16 years, he served as academic dean, director of Spiritual Formation and instructor in psychology and religious studies. He assisted seminarians from various dioceses to discern their vocation to priestly service. In 1989, he resumed parish ministry as pastor of Our Lady of Victory Church, St. John the XXIII College Community Church and The Roman Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist in Plattsburgh. At the time of his retirement in 2016, Father McGuinness was serving the people of St. Joseph’s Church, West Chazy and Sacred Heart Church, Chazy.
Father McGuinness served the Diocese of Ogdensburg for many years as Vocation director, director of Seminarians, and chairman of the Continuing Education and Formation of Clergy Committee. Father McGuinness valued ongoing education, earning master’s degrees in Counseling-Psychology, Pastoral Ministry and Christian Spirituality. He helped prepare lay people for ministry in the Church as chaplain at Camp Guggenheim, instructor in the Formation for Ministry Program and the Permanent Diaconate Program. While living in the Plattsburgh area, Father McGuinness recorded several TV programs for the Diocese of Burlington. Father McGuinness frequently gave retreats, conferences and workshops in several dioceses in the United States and Canada, and he served on the Board of Regina Maria Retreat House in Plattsburgh.
Father McGuinness served the community as president of the Interfaith Council of Clinton County and Plattsburgh, adjunct professor in the Honors Program and the Upward Bound Program, and guest lecturer for the EOP program of SUNY Plattsburgh.
Following his retirement from parish administration, Father McGuinness continued serving the Church as a spiritual director to many people and facilitator to a Spirituality Book Club and Bible study. During the COVID pandemic, he recorded a series of podcasts on prayer and St. Joseph.
Father McGuinness is survived by his brother, James, of Marietta, Ohio; three nieces, Stephanie McGuinness Brooker and her husband, Kevin, Jennifer McGuinness, and Allie McGuinness Herren and her husband, Damon; and several great nieces and nephews, Gavin, Wade, Calum, Lana and Kyla. He was predeceased by his parents and sisters-in-law, Janet and Patricia McGuinness.
Memorial donations may be made to the St. Joseph Memorial Fund, West Chazy, New York or you may request that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass be offered for the repose of his immortal soul.
Arrangements are entrusted to the Brown Funeral Home in Plattsburgh. Online condolences may be offered at www.brownfuneralhomeinc.com