Fall River Diocese announces death of Monsignor who served across southern Massachusetts

The Fall River Diocese has announced the death of Reverend Monsignor John A. Perry, P.A., 87, of Fall River. Msgr. Perry died on October 22, 2024.

Born on May 10, 1937, in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, he was the son of the late Albert S. and Gertrude E. (King) Perry.

Msgr. Perry attended Attleboro public schools, graduated from Msgr. Coyle High School in Taunton in 1955, and studied for the priesthood at the former Cardinal O’Connell Minor Seminary in Jamaica Plain and at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton.

He was ordained to the priesthood on February 2, 1963, by the Most Reverend James L. Connolly at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River. After ordination, he was assigned as parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Parish in Oak Bluffs; and subsequently to St. Peter the Apostle Parish in Provincetown, St. Mary in New Bedford, and St. Julie Billiart in North Dartmouth.

In 1980, he was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Victory Parish in Centerville, serving there until becoming pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in East Freetown in 1995. He then began his pastorate at St. Patrick in Falmouth in June of 2000 until his retirement in June of 2013.

In 1999, Msgr. Perry was named a Chaplain to His Holiness by Pope John Paul II, a papal honor with the title of Reverend Monsignor.

In 2003 the Most Reverend George W. Coleman appointed him to serve as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia. As such, he assisted the bishop as his deputy in the administration of the Diocese. In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI named him a Protonotary Apostolic, the highest honorary title awarded to a priest. In addition to his pastoral assignments, through the years Msgr. Perry had been a chaplain at UMass-Dartmouth and Bishop Stang High School in North Dartmouth, a member of the diocesan College of Consultors and Presbyteral Council, diocesan secretary for Ministerial Personnel, and dean of the Cape Cod and the Islands Deanery.

Msgr. Perry is survived by his siblings, Gerald Perry and his wife Connie of East Providence, and David Perry of Attleboro. He was the brother of the late Albert S. Perry, Jr., Ralph Perry of Hudson, MA, and Carol Perry of Portsmouth, RI.

Visiting hours will be on Friday, October 25, 2024, from 4:00–7:00 pm in Our Lady of Victory Church, 230 South Main Street, Centerville, MA. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday at 11:00 am in Our Lady of Victory Church. Burial will be private.