Father Arnold Horner, C.P., St. Paul of the Cross Province (1904-2001)

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Born January 16, 1904 in Everett, Massachusetts, he was the son of Charles and Elizabeth Howe. After high school he was a grave digger for a while and then went to Boston College and at twenty-four entered the Passionists. He professed his vows on August 15, 1928 and was ordained on April 28, 1934. His first assignment was director of students in Dunkirk, New York; Brighton and West Springfield, Massachusetts; and Baltimore, Maryland for four years. During World War II he was a military chaplain receiving the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and World War II Victory Medal. He was stationed in England prior to the D-Day invasion. Upon his return to the United States he worked in Canada, North Carolina and as chaplain to the Passionist Nuns. From 1955 until 1974 he was hospital chaplain at Creedmoor State Hospital, Queens, New York. When he started there in 1955 there were about 8,000 patients and Carl Jung had not worked in group therapy. Still he ministered to their souls. The patients loved him. As he aged into his nineties he found the aging process difficult with hearing loss and limits. He remained until his death a valuable presence in the Jamaica, New York community.