The Rev. Joseph P. Lynch, pastor emeritus of St. Albert the Great Parish in Burbank, died Friday at age 88.
Rev. Lynch was pastor of St. Albert from 1978 to 1984 and previously served as assistant pastor there. He also served two other parishes in the Southland — as assistant pastor at Most Holy Redeemer in Evergreen Park and as associate pastor at St. Christina in Chicago’s Mount Greenwood community.
Rev. Lynch was born in Chicago in 1926 and attended Catholic grammar schools and Leo High School before entering the University of St. Mary at the Lake in Mundelein where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in religion.
He was ordained into the priesthood on May 1, 1953. His first assignment was at St. Gabriel Parish in Chicago, where he was assistant pastor for six years.
More Top Picks Best Reading Glasses For Low Vision
Rev. Lynch’s cousin, the Rev. John “Jack” Sullivan, pastor of Mater Christi Parish in North Riverside, said Rev. Lynch was a “mentor to many priests and was very dedicated to the people he served at his many parish assignments. He was extremely dedicated to bringing people to know Christ and his Church in the many years of ministry given to him,” according to a news release from the Chicago Archdiocese.
Rev. Lynch is survived by his brother, John R. Lynch, as well as his nieces and nephews.
His funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 15050 Wolf Road, Orland Park. Burial will be at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip.
Wendy Normandy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.