Long Island Catholic priests to attend Pope Francis' funeral

The Rev. Michael Duffy, rector of the Cathedral of St. Agnes parish in Rockville Centre, has blessed the bodies of scores of people at funerals. But this week he found himself praying over the body of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica.

As soon as he landed on Thursday morning after an overnight flight to Rome, he went straight to the Vatican, "where I was graciously permitted to spend a few moments in silent prayer near his body," Duffy told Newsday in a text.

"As priests, we often bless caskets at funerals — but to bless the mortal remains of the Roman Pontiff, the Successor of Peter, was an overwhelming and humbling experience," Duffy said. "It was a sacred privilege I will never forget."

Duffy is among several Catholic priests from Long Island who are in Rome. Like some others, he had already planned to be there for the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acuti, a devout Catholic and Italian computer-coding teenager who died of cancer in 2006. His canonization Mass was to take place Sunday in St. Peter’s Square but has been postponed.

Duffy said that after "prayerful consideration," he decided not to cancel his trip.

"A papal funeral is such a rare and significant moment in the life of the Church — I felt a deep sense of duty and devotion to be here, to represent my cathedral parish and my diocese in prayer and solidarity," he said.

The atmosphere at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City where Francis’s mortal remains are in a coffin is "solemn and reverent. Pilgrims from all over the world are arriving to pay their respects. While the lines are long — some waiting more than eight hours — people are enduring peacefully and prayerfully.

"Yes, there is mourning — but also profound thanksgiving for the life, ministry, and legacy of Pope Francis. And above all, there is hope — the hope of the Resurrection that he proclaimed so compellingly, in word and in deed."

The Rev. Michael Bartholomew, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Cutchogue and Mattituck, said he also initially was going to Rome for the canonization.

Instead, he will attend the pope’s funeral and even hopes to concelebrate it — meaning he will be among a large group of priests in St. Peter’s Square in a reserved section celebrating the Mass together along with Catholic bishops and cardinals from around the world.

On Friday, he was able to concelebrate a Mass inside St. Peter’s Basilica not far from Francis’s body, he said.

"I was very happy I could do that and feel it was great honor to pray for Pope Francis during the Mass," he said.

Memorial Mass on LI

Crowds at the basilica and St. Peter’s Square were much larger on Friday than Thursday, he said, but on Friday "it actually seems a much more reverent atmosphere ... The noise in the basilica was much quieter."

For Bartholomew, Francis "was a great model and example of pastoral charity" who reached out to all people much like one of his other religious heroes, St. Oscar Romero of El Salvador, he said. Romero was the archbishop in El Salvador who spoke out against the country's dictatorship. In 1980, Romero was assassinated by an unknown assailant while celebrating Mass.

Back on Long Island, Bishop John Barres, head of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, will celebrate a memorial Mass for Francis on Monday at 7 p.m. at St. Agnes Cathedral. He will not be attending the funeral, a spokesman said.

Duffy said he expected a hectic scene at the funeral in Vatican City, and he would be attending most of it while stationed on a nearby rooftop.

He noted that Francis had been the pope for 12 of the 13 years since Duffy was ordained, and that "his leadership has had a profound impact on so many across the world."

"He deeply understood the power of image: from washing the feet of prisoners to embracing the sick and marginalized — and even now, in death, resting in a simple wooden casket that speaks volumes about humility and Gospel simplicity."