Msgr. Francis Glimm Dies at 98

After spending more than 50 years teaching and serving the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Msgr. Francis X. Glimm, the oldest priest in the diocese, died at 98.

Born in Brooklyn in 1912, Glimm was ordained in Rome on Dec. 8, 1935, earning a Licentiate in Sacred Theology from the Gregorian University. From 1937 to 1943, he served as an associate pastor at St. John the Evangelist in Brooklyn, before being assigned to the diocese's seminary — the Seminary of the Immaculate Conception in Huntington — in 1943.

Glimm taught church history at the seminary from the time of his appointment until 1993, which is the longest that anyone has taught there, according to Msgr. James McDonald, a former rector at the seminary.

Church historian Msgr. John Tracy Ellis once said that Glimm, "enlightened the minds of generations of priests."

"He was the most brilliant person I ever met," wrote Deacon Fred Sykes of the Sacred Heart Parish in Cutchogue, in the church's parish bulletin. 

Glimm mastered French, Germany, Greek and Latin according to Sykes, and astronomy was one of his  favorite interests.

"He had an insatiable appetite for knowledge and absorbed all he came across," wrote Sykes. "He could have been a college professor in a dozen subjects from theology to history to philosophy to psychology."

After retiring, Glimm donated his entire library – thousands of books – to the seminary. But he didn't just have the extensive library for show. Sykes noted that every book contained thorough underlining.

He initially assumed that Glimm was underlining points which he thought were important, but it turned out that Glimm was highlighting mistakes, which he would later send in a letter to the publisher.

"That is the great lesson we can learn from this special person: no matter what the subject, no matter our age, we must find the truth." Sykes wrote.

Glimm died at St. Joseph's Guest House in Greenlawn, an adult home run by the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict.