Father Edward J. Scanlan, longtime pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Niagara Falls, died May 11, 2020.

A priest for 67 years, Father Scanlan was born May 13, 1928, in Batavia. He attended St. Peter School in LeRoy and LeRoy High School before entering the Diocesan Preparatory Seminary in Buffalo, and later Niagara University.  He was ordained May 30, 1953. 

His pastoral assignments took him to Puerto Rico for one year, an experience that served him well when he named assistant director of the Spanish Apostolate in 1956. In 1954, he was named a professor at Notre Dame High School in Batavia. in 1956, he became an assistant at St. Lucy Parish in Buffalo. He also served as assistant at St. Mary's, Batavia; Holy Name Parish, Buffalo, and St. John the Baptist Parish, Kenmore. 

In 1966, Father Scanlan joined the Latin America Bureau in Washington, D.C. During this time he served as assistant at St. Joseph's, Buffalo.

in 1971, he was named pastor of St. Bartholomew, Buffalo. He received his final assignment in October 1975, when he was named pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, where he stayed until his retirement in 1997. 

Msgr Scanlan requested a Mass at the Stella Niagara Chapel as his interment will be in the Stella Niagara Cemetery. A public memorial will take place after the Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted.