Rev. Kenneth F. Slattery, C.M., the priest who presided over one of the
smallest Roman Catholic parishes in the United States — the backstretch at
Belmont Park — died Tuesday at the Vincentian Infirmary in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, after a lengthy illness. He was 87.
A native of Brooklyn, Father Slattery was ordained a Vincentian priest in
1948. He received his bachelors degree at St. Joseph’s College and went on to
earn a Master of Arts and a Doctorate in Philosophy from The Catholic University
of America. His ministry was dedicated to education, and he served both Niagara
University and St. John’s University with distinction.
He was a faculty member at St. John’s before being appointed as Niagara’s
19th president, serving from 1965-76. He joined the St. John’s administration in
1976 as vice president for communications, then moved to the Staten Island
campus, where he held a variety of administrative positions, including Academic
Vice President, Vice President for Campus Ministry, and Dean of Notre Dame
College. He became a full-time member of the faculty of St. John’s College in
1989 and served as Chair of the Department of Philosophy before retiring in
1991. He continued to teach as an adjunct at St. John’s and also was on the
faculty of St. John Neumann Residence and Hall in Yonkers, N.Y.
Father Slattery was the first recipient of the Dunleavy Award, created by
Niagara to recognize high personal achievement, outstanding charitable service
and consistent loyalty to Niagara University. He was a trustee emeritus of
Molloy College in Rockville Centre, New York.
Father Slattery began saying Mass in the Recreation Hall at Belmont Park in
1977 on Sundays and Holy Days, after receiving permission from his superior.
“I got approval from the New York Racing Association, and ultimately from the
Bishop,” he said in a 1998 interview.
Welcoming all to his services — “We have people dressed in everything from
suits to boots,” he was fond of saying — Father Slattery was a stickler on the
tenets of his Roman Catholic faith. In addition to his weekly Mass, he
officiated at countless weddings, funerals and other rites.
He was also a big fan of racing and betting his $2 limit on horses.
“I don’t see any incongruity in it at all,” he told the New York Times
in a 1998 interview. “It’s appropriate for a priest to be around stables. After
all, Christ was born in a stable.
“There’s nothing morally wrong with (gambling). It’s morally good, but it has
to be used well. It’s just like the liquor industry. I support the liquor
industry if I have a martini. But at the same time I’m recognizing it can be
abused terribly and can ruin lives. I recognize that gambling can do that to
people, too. But it’s the misuse, the abuse, that’s wrong. Not the activity
itself. It can be very legitimate recreation.”
A viewing will be held at St. Thomas More Church on the Queens campus of St.
John’s University, 8000 Utopia Parkway, Queens, N.Y., 11439, from 3-5 p.m. (EDT)
and from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday.
A funeral Mass will be offered on Friday at 10 a.m. at the church.
Expressions of sympathy may be sent to: The Family of Rev. Kenneth F. Slattery,
C.M., In care of Rev. John Freund, C.M., Murray House, St. John’s University.