Bishop prays for eternal rest of Diocese’s deceased clergy

CAMDEN – Encouraging all in attendance to “prayerfully remember those who have fallen asleep in the hope of the Resurrection,” Bishop Dennis Sullivan celebrated a Mass of Remembrance for deceased clergy of the Diocese on Nov. 7 at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

More than 50 priests and deacons of the Diocese, as well as diocesan staff, religious sisters and the local community, joined the Bishop, who recited the names of the 12 deceased clergy who have died in the last year: Father Michael Bourke, Father John Bruni, Msgr. John Clarke, Deacon John Colanero, Msgr. John Daiber, Msgr. Michael Doyle, Msgr. Thomas Fitzsimmons, Deacon Michael Guerrieri, Father Phillip Johnson, Msgr. Harry Jordan, Father Robert Longo and Father Brian O’Neill.

“We pray for their eternal rest … in gratitude and thanksgiving for their contributions to this local Church [and] for their ministries that have built up the rule of God in South Jersey,” Bishop Sullivan said, asking that those gathered also pray “for those who mourn them, that they may be comforted by their memories and their faith in eternal life.”

Those who have died have contributed to “the healthiness of the one body in Christ,” he said, referencing the liturgy’s reading of Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans that reads, “In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.”

These “brothers who we remember today, and all those we may remember in the month of November” – who through their words, teaching, works of mercy and material contributions have contributed to the Body of Christ – are to be and thanked and prayed for, he said. “Death does not sever our connection in Christ … it continues beyond the grave,” Bishop Sullivan continued. “That’s why we reach out to them, especially those still on their way to glory.”

“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. May perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace,” he prayed.