Sister Margaret Cronley, Father Eugene Grohe mark 75 years in religious life
October 13, 2020 at 12:45 p.m.
Marianite Sister of Holy Cross Margaret Cronley, who marks her diamond jubilee as a Marianite of Holy Cross, was born in Manhattan and was the youngest of four siblings. She journeyed south to New Orleans, La., to enter the Marianites of Holy Cross in 1945, a decision made as the country was still feeling the impact of the conclusion of World War II.
Eventually earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fordham University, New York City, Sister Margaret lived, taught and served as principal in numerous states along the East Coast. She was a teacher in Louisiana and Connecticut, as well as a principal in schools in New York and Massachusetts. In the Diocese of Trenton, she served as provincial superior of the Marianites of Holy Cross in Our Lady of Princeton (now the Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart,) and worked many years in the diocesan Office of Vocations.
Upon her retirement from the Chancery office, she spent more than 10 years as sacramental secretary in St. Ann Parish, Lawrenceville, before moving to her current residence in St. Mary’s Assisted Living on the campus of Morris Hall and St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, Lawrenceville.
Redemptorist Father Eugene Grohe
Redemptorist Father Eugene Grohe was born in Fairview Park, Ohio, where priests at the local parish saw the love of Christ in him from a young age. He left for the minor seminary upon his eighth-grade graduation, professed his vows in 1945, and was ordained a priest at Mount St. Alphonsus, Esopus, N.Y., in 1950.
Father Grohe’s first assignment was as a missionary in the central part of Brazil, where he rode horseback to visit some outposts. In an interview for Liguori Magazine, the 95-year-old priest recalled, “I loved going out into the country. You’d do 15 or 20 baptisms, and 10 or 12 marriages on a Sunday. It was very apostolic.”
At the end of his second year in Brazil, he contracted tuberculosis and was sent back to the United States to recuperate. He had surgery to remove part of his right lung.
After about a dozen years serving a parish outside Erie, Pa., Father Grohe arrived at Sacred Heart Parish, Esopus, where he remained for 50 years. He retired to the Redemptorists’ San Alphonso Retreat House, Long Branch, in 2019.
Related Stories
Friday, December 05, 2025
E-Editions
Events
Marianite Sister of Holy Cross Margaret Cronley, who marks her diamond jubilee as a Marianite of Holy Cross, was born in Manhattan and was the youngest of four siblings. She journeyed south to New Orleans, La., to enter the Marianites of Holy Cross in 1945, a decision made as the country was still feeling the impact of the conclusion of World War II.
Eventually earning both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Fordham University, New York City, Sister Margaret lived, taught and served as principal in numerous states along the East Coast. She was a teacher in Louisiana and Connecticut, as well as a principal in schools in New York and Massachusetts. In the Diocese of Trenton, she served as provincial superior of the Marianites of Holy Cross in Our Lady of Princeton (now the Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart,) and worked many years in the diocesan Office of Vocations.
Upon her retirement from the Chancery office, she spent more than 10 years as sacramental secretary in St. Ann Parish, Lawrenceville, before moving to her current residence in St. Mary’s Assisted Living on the campus of Morris Hall and St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center, Lawrenceville.
Redemptorist Father Eugene Grohe
Redemptorist Father Eugene Grohe was born in Fairview Park, Ohio, where priests at the local parish saw the love of Christ in him from a young age. He left for the minor seminary upon his eighth-grade graduation, professed his vows in 1945, and was ordained a priest at Mount St. Alphonsus, Esopus, N.Y., in 1950.
Father Grohe’s first assignment was as a missionary in the central part of Brazil, where he rode horseback to visit some outposts. In an interview for Liguori Magazine, the 95-year-old priest recalled, “I loved going out into the country. You’d do 15 or 20 baptisms, and 10 or 12 marriages on a Sunday. It was very apostolic.”
At the end of his second year in Brazil, he contracted tuberculosis and was sent back to the United States to recuperate. He had surgery to remove part of his right lung.
After about a dozen years serving a parish outside Erie, Pa., Father Grohe arrived at Sacred Heart Parish, Esopus, where he remained for 50 years. He retired to the Redemptorists’ San Alphonso Retreat House, Long Branch, in 2019.