Occasional Papers 64

 In my first assignment as a priest in 1959, I lived in Manhattan in the priory of Our Lady of the Scapular.  I had the rear room, third floor east facing the church and First Avenue.  Across from me was Edmund McCaffrey, who since 1955 had been a chaplain at the Veterans Administration hospital at 24th Street and First Avenue.  Edmund and I shared a bathroom.  Because of his pre-Mass Communion calls at the hospital, he was always up before me and gone to work before I rose for our morning prayers.

Edmund remained in that work until 1962 when he was made a vocation director with residence at Saint Simon Stock.  That arrangement endured until 1967 when he was made the pastor of Saint Simon Stock upon the death of Gerard McCarthy.

Though Edmund moved to Saint Simon Stock, he drove down each day to the Marian Center, a few doors west of Our Lady of the Scapular, where his vocation department=s offices were located. Next door on the same floor was my office of The Scapular meaning that I saw him almost every day.  Once he was a vocation director, he began again to play golf as did his fellow director, Raymond Dolan.  They would pick me up at Our Lady of the Scapular along with Tom Allen, husband of the vocation department=s secretary, Diane.  We usually played at Saddle River Country Club, a public course in Paramus, NJ, where, wearing our Roman collars, we were given a fifty percent discount. 

On returning home to Manhattan, we would stop for dinner someplace.  The Jager House in Yorkville, Walsh=s at 24th Street or Luchow=s were typical of the places we went to.  In 1964, I was transferred to Saint Simon Stock and so came to live again with Skipper, a name William Bradley gave Edmund. From the Bronx, we traveled to Mohansic in Westchester and one or two golf courses in Connecticut to play.

This is a long introduction because I want you to know that I knew Edmund McCaffrey very well.  Edmund was genuinely pious.  He faithfully recited his office and each evening recited the rosary in his room after supper.  He prayed often and prepared well his daily and Sunday homilies. 

When Edmund went on vacation in the period when I lived with him at Our Lady of the Scapular, I used to take his place at the hospital.  He would take me around to orient me and then bring me to his friend, Mr. Dan, the hospital=s manager, to introduce me. While working there, all I heard was praise of their chaplain.  It was not an easy job because in those days, besides the regular hours,  there were night calls as many as two or three a night.  Each day, Edmund walked the four blocks home for lunch.

Norbert Hansen was assigned to work at the hospital with Edmund.  Norbert was a World War II army veteran who tended to exaggerate bravery in his military service. He served as a medic.  He would speak of D Day as though he was present when in actuality, he injured his ankle getting on the invasion ship and had to go to a hospital for recuperation.  When he so spoke, Edmund would correct him by saying AD Day plus five or six.@  When Norbert did join the troops in combat, he rushed paregoric under fire to front line troops. For this his commanding officer recommended him for a medal and he received the nickname Paregoric Pete.  When Edmund was preparing to bring Norbert to meet Mr. Dan, he composed a little speech about Norbie=s heroism and decorations.  Before they met Mr. Dan, Norbert had Edmund drop the speech. Truth or Edmund=s version of it won out.

Donal O=Callaghan had a number of medals from his work with the Catholic Students Mission Crusade from his student days in Washington.  One day Norbert put on all these medals for lunch.  Before meals, we had a rather long grace during which Edmund stared at the bedecked Norbert.  Then we had pious reading as the meal started.  Only when the prior gave leave to talk was Edmund able to let out a blast about Norbert being a phony hero with phony medals. 

The late David Conahan was an Irish Carmelite who supplied in the summer at Blue Point on eastern Long Island.  When he had his two days off each week, he would come to the provincial house at Maspeth to spend the time with us.  David was  very manly in appearance and activities.   Unknown to Skipper, David=s mother had been the prima ballerina of the Dublin Ballet.  One evening when we were having drinks before supper, someone asked David about his plans for that evening.  He said he was going to the ballet and at this Edmund gave him that contorted look that just about destroyed whatever impression he had formed of David.  Males and ballet were two words that did not mix in Skipper=s vocabulary. 

Thursday was one of Edmund=s days off from the hospital and in the winter, we used to go over to Times Square for  movies.  There were on 42nd Street three Brandt Theaters each one was devoted to one type of films, mystery, comedy or western. We always went to the westerns sitting in the loge in the Crosby Box.  We named it in honor of the Carmelite, Louis Crosby, who used to sit there.  Afterwards, we would walk back to the east side and go to Lino=s on Second Avenue and 29th Street for dinner. 

The Irish Carmelite and missionary, Mel Hill, was visiting us for one of his anniversaries.  Edmund, Norbert and I took him to see AThe Guns of Navarrone@ at a new theater on 34th Street. It was in surround sound and we got the last seats which were in the front row.  With the sound system, we felt we were in the middle of the scenes.  Afterwards, we went to Lino=s and when Lino learned of Mel=s anniversary, he broke out a bottle of champagne for our table.

I left Saint Simon Stock in 1967 for Saint Albert=s.  Gerard McCarthy, the Bronx pastor, passed away in December, 1968, and Edmund more or less took over th running of the parish as pastor until 1970 when he was assigned to Our Lady of the Scapular as pastor.  He served there  for three years becoming in 1973 the procurator for the missions, living in Maspeth and working part time at his former post at the Veterans hospital.  With the sale of the provincial house in 1982, Edmund moved to Our Lady of the Scapular and worked full time at the hospital.  When Our Lady of the Scapular was combined with its neighbor Saint Stephen, Edmund moved to  Saint Stephen=s Priory.  It was in 1999, that he suffered a stroke and moved to Mary Manning Walsh Home from where he entered eternal life on May 2, 2002. 

Edmund McCaffrey was born in Oswego, NY, on December 29, 1920.  After graduating from Oswego High School, he attended Syracuse University until he enlisted in the US Navy on January 23, 1942.  He was honorably discharged on March 22, 1946 and entered the Carmelite formation program that fall.