Services set for Msgr. Andrew McGrath, Lompoc pastor emeritus
Funeral Mass will be held Oct. 9, 11 a.m., at La Purísima Concepción Church in Lompoc for Msgr. Andrew McGrath, 94, pastor emeritus, who died Sept. 27. A native of Ireland, he ministered for 48 years in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Visitation will take place at the church Oct. 8 from 4-6:30 p.m. with vigil services beginning at 7 p.m.

Msgr. McGrath served for 31 years as pastor of La Purísima Concepción Church in Lompoc before retiring in 1986. One of the oldest priests of the archdiocese, he had been in residence at Nazareth House in Los Angeles for some time.

Born in Crenaughtane, Cappoquin, County Waterford, Ireland, he studied at St. John's College, Waterford, and was ordained there June 16, 1938. He volunteered for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and served as an associate at St. John the Evangelist and St. Columbkille, Los Angeles; St. Joseph, Hawthorne; Holy Family, Orange; St. Mary's, Santa Maria; and St. Martin of Tours, Brentwood.

In 1955, Cardinal James Francis McIntyre appointed him pastor of La Purísima Concepción, the parish named for the former California mission (now a state park). During his pastorate, Msgr. McGrath built a rectory, a 920-seat church and completed the building of a school and convent.

As population increased due to the development of nearby Vandenberg Air Force Base, Msgr. McGrath built a church and school in the Mission Hills area north of Lompoc. In 1972, this became Queen of Angels parish.

Sr. Gerald Hartney, CSC
Funeral Mass was held Sept. 15 at Church of Our Lady of Loretto, Saint Mary's, Notre Dame, Indiana, for Holy Cross Sister Gerald (Maura Josephine) Hartney, who died Sept. 10.

Born in Limerick, Ireland, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1929 and taught at St. Theodore in Chicago. Skilled in accounting, she was a co-founder of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

In 2002, the American College of Health Care Executives Congress inducted Sister Hartney into the Health Care Hall of Fame for her accounting abilities and stewardship. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of the Holy Cross Ministry with the Poor Fund, Saint Mary's, Notre Dame, IN 46556.