Rev. Maurice J. Kissane, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and pastor emeritus of Queen of Apostles Parish in Riverdale, passed away on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at the age of 88.
Kissane was born on May 9, 1939, in Oak Park. He attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein.
He was ordained to the priesthood on April 30, 1964, by Cardinal Albert Meyer and celebrated his first solemn Mass on May 3 of the same year at the former St. Mel-Holy Ghost Parish in Chicago.
After ordination, Kissane served as assistant pastor at St. Malachy Parish in Evergreen Park and Our Lady of Solace Parish on Sangamon Street in Chicago. He later served as associate pastor at St. Giles Parish in Oak Park and St. Cletus Parish in La Grange. Kissane served as pastor at St. Barbara Parish in Brookfield, St. Frances of Rome Parish in Cicero, St. Louis de Monfort Parish in Oak Lawn, and lastly at Queen of Apostles Parish, where he served from 2006 to 2008, when he was bestowed the title of pastor emeritus.
Rev. John M. Ryan, who started his first year at Quigley Preparatory Seminary with Kissane, remembered him fondly. “He was always a very prayerful person,” Ryan said. “Even in high school, he prayed and said the rosary almost every day in the chapel. He always had a great sense of humor. Later on, when he became a priest, he was totally dedicated to his people. He just loved being a priest.”
Lying in State: Thursday, August 20, 2026, 4 to 8 p.m. at St. Barbara Church of Holy Guardian Angels Parish, 4008 Prairie Avenue, Brookfield, Illinois.
Funeral Mass: Friday, August 21, 2026, 10:30 a.m. at St. Barbara Church, celebrated by Most Rev. Joseph N. Perry.
Interment: Queen of Heaven Cemetery, Hillside, Illinois.