Creative Minority Reader: Funeral for Army Surgeon Fills Cathedral

Born in New York and a resident of Moorestown, N.J., his (Dr. John P. Pryor) funeral was held in the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia because of the great number of extended family, friends, uniformed members of the military and medical colleagues who wished to attend.

Father Damian McElroy, pastor of Pryor’s home parish, Our Lady of Good Counsel in Moorestown, and principal celebrant of the funeral Mass, spoke eloquently of Pryor’s spirit of sacrifice. He told how, after the tragedy of 9/11, he dropped everything and rushed to New York and Ground Zero where he worked through the night assisting the injured. He told how four years ago Pryor joined the Army Reserves because he knew the surgical skills honed by treating victims of violence in Philadelphia were needed there.