Diocese of Worcester mourns permanent deacon who became a priest

Diocese of Worcester mourns permanent deacon who became a priest March 23, 2015

This piece of news caught my eye this morning, from The Catholic Free Press: 

The funeral Mass for Father Paul W. Lemire was held Friday at St. Anne Church, 130 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury. Burial is in St. John’s Cemetery in Worcester.

Frlemire-274x300Father Lemire, 79, senior priest in residence at St. Anne’s, died Saturday in UMass Memorial Medical Center-Memorial Campus in Worcester, surrounded by his family.

He is believed to be the Diocese’s only priest who was first a permanent deacon. He was ordained a permanent deacon in 1979.

When his wife, Mary, knew she was dying, they discussed his  becoming a priest, according to Veronika Montiverdi, whose husband, Gerald, is a permanent deacon from the class of 1981.

“She knew that Paul was going to go on to be a priest after she died,” Mrs. Montiverdi said. “She was thrilled. … Ministry – that was Paul’s thing. … I know she was looking down from above on the day of his ordination. … Paul always carried her in his heart.”

He generously gave the Church many years, as a deacon, then as a priest, remarked Father Paul J. Tougas. When Father Tougas, now retired, directed the permanent diaconate program, Deacon Lemire was one of those who assisted him.

“If I encapsulated his life, I would say, ‘Here I am, Lord; I have come to serve,’” said Deacon Philip E. Devine, chaplain at North Central Correctional Institution in Gardner. “If you look at his life – he was a husband, a father, a grandfather, and … a teacher.”

Read more. 

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him…

Photo from  The Catholic Free Press


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