Father John C. Kesterson; Van Nuys Pastor

Father John C. Kesterson, pastor of St. Bridget of Sweden Church in Van Nuys, has died. He was 52.

Kesterson succumbed to brain cancer Wednesday at Santa Teresita Hospital in Duarte, said a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Born Nov. 4, 1944, in Berea, Ohio, Kesterson attended St. Mary’s College in Winona, Minn., and Queen of Peace Seminary in Jaffrey Center, N.H., before earning his bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s.

Kesterson spent much of his life in academia, earning a master’s in English from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1970. Two years later, he received a master’s in theology from the Washington Theological Union. In 1977, he followed with a master’s in Semitic languages from Catholic University, where he earned his doctorate in 1984.

“He was a very dedicated priest--as well as a very educated man who hadn’t lost the common touch--although he spent most of his life in the academic world,” said Father Raymond Morales, administrator of St. Bridget of Sweden Church.

According to Morales, who studied the Old Testament under Kesterson at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, Kesterson’s greatest love was pastoral ministry. He continued his graduate studies so that he could teach others to be priests, hence his relatively late entry into the priesthood. He was ordained in 1972 and was assigned to a teaching position at his alma mater, Bishop Amat High School in La Puente.

Teaching positions at two other schools he attended--Catholic University and St. John’s Seminary--followed. He was promoted to academic dean at St. John’s in 1983.

Kesterson became a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 1986. Shortly thereafter, he became an associate pastor at St. Mel’s Catholic Church in Woodland Hills and at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lancaster--where he remained until 1996, when he was appointed pastor of St. Bridget’s by Cardinal Roger Mahoney.

“He was only in this parish for one year but he made a great impact on the people. . . . He was very passionate and conscientious,” Morales said.

Kesterson is survived by his sister, Rita Gorman of Azusa, and his brother, James Kesterson of La Verne.

A vigil service will be held Sunday at 5 p.m. at St. Bridget of Sweden Church, 16711 Gault St., Van Nuys. A Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated Monday at 11 a.m. at the church, with interment to follow at Queen of Heaven Cemetery, 2161 S. Fullerton Road, Rowland Heights.