Father Benedict Groeschel Remembered

A special message from the Cardinal Newman Society:

You may have heard: Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., died shortly before midnight.

We are so very grateful to the thousands of Cardinal Newman Society members who responded to our call for prayers on Tuesday.  Father had fallen and was in great pain.

But today, he suffers no longer.  On this Feast of Saint Francis—a most important feast for a priest who devoted himself wholeheartedly to the Franciscan spirituality, a radical commitment to living as Jesus did—please pray with us that Father celebrates with the great Saint himself.

Father Groeschel was extraordinarily dedicated to the mission of The Cardinal Newman Society, desiring the renewal of faithful Catholic education as key to the renewal of faithful Catholic life.  He was thrilled to write the foreword to The Newman Guide and invited me on his EWTN show several times to celebrate the best in Catholic higher education.

He was also a friend and a father.  He touched our lives in a very personal way—in the way of Christ.  He spent time with our staff.  He stayed at the home of one of our leaders, whose boys will never forget his presence.  My wife and children also had the opportunity to spend time with him, including a brief encounter at one of his last public appearances.  We treasure these moments as we would time with a family member—but even more, because we were touched by holiness.

When I last saw Father Groeschel, he was doubled over with back pain, having slept most of his life on a hard floor with empathy for the very poor.  His decades of insightful preaching and his influential public ministry ended abruptly with a statement for which he quickly apologized, but which nevertheless stole the reputation of a man who never sought reputation.  His last years have been spent with his Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Renewal, who showed him the very same love and compassion that he gave equally to the poor and the sinful.

May Father Groeschel rest from all his suffering in the loving arms of his Father in Heaven!  Please pray with me and the staff of The Cardinal Newman Society for the happy repose of his soul:

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto him, oh Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon him.  May he rest in peace.  Amen.
Sincerely yours in Christ,

Patrick Reilly
President