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Bishop Curlin remembered during funeral Mass Jan. 2

 

CHARLOTTE — Joy. Generosity of spirit. Attention to those in need. Friendship. Laughter. A pastor’s heart. Selfless love. The presence of Christ.

These were the gifts Bishop Emeritus William Curlin shared with everyone he encountered during 60 years of priestly ministry, from his first assignment as the pastor of a poor parish in Washington, D.C., to his eight years as the third Bishop of Charlotte, and throughout his lifelong ministry to the sick and the poor before his death Dec. 23 at the age of 90. Read his full obituary.

On Jan. 2, hundreds of friends, family and fellow priests filled St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte to honor his memory and commend his soul to the Lord. A vigil prayer service was also held Jan. 1. Read the story and see pictures.

The church was filled to capacity, with overflow seating at the adjacent parish school, for the funeral Mass. More than 660 others watched the liturgy streamed live online.

Bishop Curlin’s peaceful death just before Christmas was providential, many said, because he loved Christmas so much.

“In his heart, Christmas wasn’t a day. Christmas was a way of life,” noted Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, formerly the bishop’s secretary and now pastor of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro, in the homily for the funeral Mass.

“He saw good in things, good in people, always looking for Christ in each other, always looking for the hand of God in events and the splendor of creation,” he said. “For him, Christ wasn’t just born 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem, but here and now in the stable of our hearts.”

“To be born in uncomplaining poverty, Jesus, a name that means savior, begins the Paschal mystery. He who will open His arms on the cross offers that open embrace of a child waiting to be loved. In this holy exchange of humanity and divinity, our world is changed forever, with the possibility of new life and a new way of loving. This was the life of Bishop Curlin. This was the basis of his incarnational spirituality.”

“He had so much joy,” Monsignor Marcaccio continued, smiling as he remembered his friend and how much he loved to laugh. “Joy is an indicator of holiness. Joy is the fruit of a life well lived. It is the satisfaction that comes with service and sacrifice if you’re doing the right thing – the Jesus thing.”

Bishop Curlin loved his priesthood and his relationship with Christ, he said, recounting a story about his ordination the bishop had once told him. He and a group of other priests had just been ordained when they encountered an older priest.

“When they first stepped out in all their clerical attire, proud as peacocks, the little priest came by and said to them with kind of a snark, ‘There’s a whole lot of religion on ya, but not much religion in ya.’

“Right then, it became clear to him: If you didn’t have Jesus in your heart, the people of God would see right through your clerics.”

Humility, love for others, and a constant focus on Christ became Bishop Curlin’s hallmarks, Monsignor Marcaccio said.

A prayer card placed on Bishop Curlin’s bedside table said it all, he noted: “Your will, O Lord, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen.”

Bishop Curlin lived as his close friend Mother Teresa of Calcutta did, serving as the hands and feet of Jesus, praying every night, “Jesus, if you wake me up, I will wake you up in my life,” and every morning, “Come Lord Jesus, walk the earth with me.”

He prayed “not for the edification of Bill Curlin, but in a sort of surrender – that he was willing to take the presence of Christ wherever it was needed that day. Jesus was real and present to him on the journey,” Monsignor Marcaccio said.

“His goal was to think with Christ, to feel with Christ, to have in him the same attitude of Christ,” just as his episcopal motto “Sentire Cum Christo” (“To Think With Christ”) stated.

Long before the phrase became a slogan, Bishop Curlin was challenging others to think: “What would Jesus do?”

“That’s what made him a pastor, that’s what made him a champion of the poor. Well he did it – whether in D.C. or N.C., in the inner city or in Appalachia.”

Monsignor Marcaccio told of encountering a young waiter at a restaurant just a few days earlier who had been confirmed by Bishop Curlin. He and the kitchen staff wanted to know what time the funeral was so they could pray along, because they could not attend. The young waiter remembered his confirmation 17 years ago at St. Matthew Church, and Bishop Curlin telling him that his confirmation name George was also his middle name.

“Imagine that for a moment: In the midst of those massive confirmations, those massive ceremonies, to be able to make a lasting connection in that split second with that kid,” Monsignor Marcaccio said. “Folks who might seem little or least, praying for you – that’s how you get into heaven.”

The Beatitudes, printed on his funeral Mass cards, were the words Bishop Curlin lived by, he said.

“His commitment to the poor and the sick was not heroic social work. It was a fruit of this deep spirituality. He knew that if Jesus walked the earth in him, he should look for Him to do the same in others, especially in the distressing disguise of the poor. Isn’t that how Christ first came to us? Isn’t that how we will be judged by Him in the end?”

Monsignor Marcaccio recalled the Gospel reading for the funeral Mass, Matthew 25:31-46, about serving Jesus in the poor, the sick and the imprisoned.

“One day we will all give an account of how we loved, to Christ. I give thanks for the example I had of incarnational eyes, though clouded by macular degeneration and cataracts, those eyes that could still see – as they always saw – Christ hidden in the poor, hidden in the sick.”

To Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, who presided at the funeral Mass, Monsignor Marcaccio said, “He was so proud of your ministry. He loved you so very much. I think it was your visit and prayers at the end that told him it was OK to come home for Christmas. And so he did.

“And now, for him, Christmas isn’t a day. It is forever.”

Joining Archbishop Lori in offering the Mass were Bishop Peter Jugis, Auxiliary Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III from Atlanta, Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari, and dozens of priests from the Diocese of Charlotte and several religious orders.

Members of lay apostolates and charities that were close to the bishop’s heart – including the Order of Malta, the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, the Knights of Columbus and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre – were present, as well as the Missionaries of Charity and the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.

After the funeral Mass, a bagpiper played as the casket was taken from the church and placed in the waiting hearse. As the Knights of Columbus honor guard stood at attention, all of the priests then came up and, one by one, sprinkled the casket with holy water.

Burial followed in the cemetery at Belmont Abbey, where the first bishop of Charlotte, Bishop Michael Begley, is also interred.

The diocesan Pastoral Center and Charlotte area Catholic schools were closed Jan. 2 so that employees and students could attend the funeral, but Catholic Charities’ food pantry remained open in Bishop Curlin’s honor – handing out food to 11 people in need, some of whom had walked to the food pantry in single-digit temperatures.

— Patricia Guilfoyle, editor. Photos by SueAnn Howell and Patricia Guilfoyle, Catholic News Herald

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Bishop Curlin remembered during funeral Mass Jan. 2

 

CHARLOTTE — Joy. Generosity of spirit. Attention to those in need. Friendship. Laughter. A pastor’s heart. Selfless love. The presence of Christ.

These were the gifts Bishop Emeritus William Curlin shared with everyone he encountered during 60 years of priestly ministry, from his first assignment as the pastor of a poor parish in Washington, D.C., to his eight years as the third Bishop of Charlotte, and throughout his lifelong ministry to the sick and the poor before his death Dec. 23 at the age of 90. Read his full obituary.

On Jan. 2, hundreds of friends, family and fellow priests filled St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte to honor his memory and commend his soul to the Lord. A vigil prayer service was also held Jan. 1. Read the story and see pictures.

The church was filled to capacity, with overflow seating at the adjacent parish school, for the funeral Mass. More than 660 others watched the liturgy streamed live online.

Bishop Curlin’s peaceful death just before Christmas was providential, many said, because he loved Christmas so much.

“In his heart, Christmas wasn’t a day. Christmas was a way of life,” noted Monsignor Anthony Marcaccio, formerly the bishop’s secretary and now pastor of St. Pius X Church in Greensboro, in the homily for the funeral Mass.

“He saw good in things, good in people, always looking for Christ in each other, always looking for the hand of God in events and the splendor of creation,” he said. “For him, Christ wasn’t just born 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem, but here and now in the stable of our hearts.”

“To be born in uncomplaining poverty, Jesus, a name that means savior, begins the Paschal mystery. He who will open His arms on the cross offers that open embrace of a child waiting to be loved. In this holy exchange of humanity and divinity, our world is changed forever, with the possibility of new life and a new way of loving. This was the life of Bishop Curlin. This was the basis of his incarnational spirituality.”

“He had so much joy,” Monsignor Marcaccio continued, smiling as he remembered his friend and how much he loved to laugh. “Joy is an indicator of holiness. Joy is the fruit of a life well lived. It is the satisfaction that comes with service and sacrifice if you’re doing the right thing – the Jesus thing.”

Bishop Curlin loved his priesthood and his relationship with Christ, he said, recounting a story about his ordination the bishop had once told him. He and a group of other priests had just been ordained when they encountered an older priest.

“When they first stepped out in all their clerical attire, proud as peacocks, the little priest came by and said to them with kind of a snark, ‘There’s a whole lot of religion on ya, but not much religion in ya.’

“Right then, it became clear to him: If you didn’t have Jesus in your heart, the people of God would see right through your clerics.”

Humility, love for others, and a constant focus on Christ became Bishop Curlin’s hallmarks, Monsignor Marcaccio said.

A prayer card placed on Bishop Curlin’s bedside table said it all, he noted: “Your will, O Lord, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else. Amen.”

Bishop Curlin lived as his close friend Mother Teresa of Calcutta did, serving as the hands and feet of Jesus, praying every night, “Jesus, if you wake me up, I will wake you up in my life,” and every morning, “Come Lord Jesus, walk the earth with me.”

He prayed “not for the edification of Bill Curlin, but in a sort of surrender – that he was willing to take the presence of Christ wherever it was needed that day. Jesus was real and present to him on the journey,” Monsignor Marcaccio said.

“His goal was to think with Christ, to feel with Christ, to have in him the same attitude of Christ,” just as his episcopal motto “Sentire Cum Christo” (“To Think With Christ”) stated.

Long before the phrase became a slogan, Bishop Curlin was challenging others to think: “What would Jesus do?”

“That’s what made him a pastor, that’s what made him a champion of the poor. Well he did it – whether in D.C. or N.C., in the inner city or in Appalachia.”

Monsignor Marcaccio told of encountering a young waiter at a restaurant just a few days earlier who had been confirmed by Bishop Curlin. He and the kitchen staff wanted to know what time the funeral was so they could pray along, because they could not attend. The young waiter remembered his confirmation 17 years ago at St. Matthew Church, and Bishop Curlin telling him that his confirmation name George was also his middle name.

“Imagine that for a moment: In the midst of those massive confirmations, those massive ceremonies, to be able to make a lasting connection in that split second with that kid,” Monsignor Marcaccio said. “Folks who might seem little or least, praying for you – that’s how you get into heaven.”

The Beatitudes, printed on his funeral Mass cards, were the words Bishop Curlin lived by, he said.

“His commitment to the poor and the sick was not heroic social work. It was a fruit of this deep spirituality. He knew that if Jesus walked the earth in him, he should look for Him to do the same in others, especially in the distressing disguise of the poor. Isn’t that how Christ first came to us? Isn’t that how we will be judged by Him in the end?”

Monsignor Marcaccio recalled the Gospel reading for the funeral Mass, Matthew 25:31-46, about serving Jesus in the poor, the sick and the imprisoned.

“One day we will all give an account of how we loved, to Christ. I give thanks for the example I had of incarnational eyes, though clouded by macular degeneration and cataracts, those eyes that could still see – as they always saw – Christ hidden in the poor, hidden in the sick.”

To Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, who presided at the funeral Mass, Monsignor Marcaccio said, “He was so proud of your ministry. He loved you so very much. I think it was your visit and prayers at the end that told him it was OK to come home for Christmas. And so he did.

“And now, for him, Christmas isn’t a day. It is forever.”

Joining Archbishop Lori in offering the Mass were Bishop Peter Jugis, Auxiliary Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III from Atlanta, Benedictine Abbot Placid Solari, and dozens of priests from the Diocese of Charlotte and several religious orders.

Members of lay apostolates and charities that were close to the bishop’s heart – including the Order of Malta, the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, the Knights of Columbus and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre – were present, as well as the Missionaries of Charity and the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.

After the funeral Mass, a bagpiper played as the casket was taken from the church and placed in the waiting hearse. As the Knights of Columbus honor guard stood at attention, all of the priests then came up and, one by one, sprinkled the casket with holy water.

Burial followed in the cemetery at Belmont Abbey, where the first bishop of Charlotte, Bishop Michael Begley, is also interred.

The diocesan Pastoral Center and Charlotte area Catholic schools were closed Jan. 2 so that employees and students could attend the funeral, but Catholic Charities’ food pantry remained open in Bishop Curlin’s honor – handing out food to 11 people in need, some of whom had walked to the food pantry in single-digit temperatures.

— Patricia Guilfoyle, editor. Photos by SueAnn Howell and Patricia Guilfoyle, Catholic News Herald

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Archbishop Lori remembers his friend

Reflection and memories of Bishop Curlin

Read part of Monsignor Marcaccio's homily

Archbishop Lori remembers his friend

CHARLOTTE — “He loved His own in the world and He loved them to the end.”

These words about Jesus from John 13:1 described Bishop Curlin perfectly, said Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore in remarks at the end of Bishop Curlin’s funeral Mass Jan. 2.

From his first days as a priest at St. Gabriel Church in Washington, D.C., to his last days living in Charlotte, Bishop Curlin exuded the joy and selfless love of Christ.

“Long before Pope Francis spoke about encountering the Lord in one another and accompanying one another, about priests being close to their people, Bishop Curlin lived that reality – no matter what assignment he happened to be in,” Archbishop Lori said.

“No matter what he was doing, Bishop Bill would drop everything, especially when someone was in trouble or distress,” he said. He consoled, counseled and encouraged so many people throughout his life, with “an enormous capacity for friendship, but not just any friendship – but a friendship rooted in Our Lord’s love.”

Archbishop Lori first met then Monsignor Curlin in Washington, D.C., while he was discerning a call to the priesthood and Monsignor Curlin was in charge of diocesan vocations. The two became close friends, and Archbishop Lori was among those at Bishop Curlin’s bedside shortly before his death Dec. 23.

Archbishop Lori recounted several stories about their days in D.C. together, including the time when he experienced chest pains and went immediately to the hospital.

“I think I was still in the emergency room when none other than Monsignor appeared, with the holy oils and the ritual, and the best-ever bedside manner.

“The next day, he walked into my hospital room with my mother, whom he had flown from Louisville, KY., so that she could look after her son. Thankfully I recovered,” he paused, then added with a smile, “I did not die in his arms, and I did not become a retreat story.” The congregation laughed, remembering Bishop Curlin’s love of storytelling and how renowned he was for his spiritual talks and retreats.

Archbishop Lori also recalled early on in his priesthood when his first pastor, one of Bishop Curlin’s closest friends, fired the housekeeper in a fit of temper one day.

“If this firing had been written up in an HR manual, it would be in the chapter entitled ‘Mistakes to Avoid,’” he joked.

The pastor calmed down, then called Bishop Curlin for advice.

“Monsignor Curlin dropped absolutely everything, rushed over to visit his friend and me, the bewildered assistant,” he said. “But he never came empty-handed. He brought a large bag of Roy Rogers hamburgers and fries. And before the end of the evening, he had us laughing at ourselves. He gave his good friend, my pastor, the right advice on how to resolve the situation justly and charitably, and gave me an invaluable lesson about priestly friendship and fraternity.”

“This is why his ministry, I think, seemed to be so spontaneous, even effortless – preaching five-, seven-day retreats, three talks a day and a homily, without a note,” he said. “Being free to go wherever he was most needed, and an uncanny sense of what the real Gospel priority might be in any given situation.”

He radiated Christ and the joy of the Gospel, he said.

“When Bishop Curlin smiled at you, it was Jesus smiling. And when he embraced you, it was the embrace of Jesus.”

“He was born to be a priest, he was born to love, and he loved us to the very end, like Jesus.”

Turning toward the casket in front of the altar, Archbishop Lori paused, then said, “Bill, may your great priestly soul rest in the peace of Christ.”

— Patricia Guilfoyle, editor