St. Catherine’s Parishioners and Clergy Gather for Solemn Memorial Mass Honoring Late Bishop Jeremiah F. Minihan-August 22, 1973

Parishioners, local clergy, and civic leaders filled St. Catherine of Siena Church to capacity last night, coming together in a stately procession and solemn memorial high mass to pay final tribute to the Most Rev. Jeremiah F. Minihan, the parish’s beloved former pastor and senior auxiliary bishop of Boston. Bishop Minihan, 70, passed away unexpectedly on August 14 while vacationing with friends in Dublin, Ireland. The memorial service—observing the traditional Catholic custom held on the seventh day following a priest’s death—drew an assembly of more than 1,000 mourners.

The high mass was concelebrated by St. Catherine’s current pastor, Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Sennott, alongside present and former parish priests. The solemn procession down the central aisle featured 17 white-clad priests and over 20 altar boys beneath an honor guard archway of drawn swords held by blue- and black-caped, white-plumed members of the Norwood Council Knights of Columbus. The liturgy was elevated by powerful congregational responses, traditional organ hymns, and trumpet-accompanied performances by the St. Catherine’s choir. Among the family members participating in the service was the late bishop’s sister, Sister Mary Jeremiah of St. Matthew’s Convent in Dorchester. Also in attendance were regional Bishop Joseph F. Maguire (representing Humberto Cardinal Medeiros), local clergy of various faiths, and numerous town officials.

Delivering a comprehensive 1,000-word eulogy, Bishop Maguire captured the bittersweet sentiment of the evening: “The scriptures tell us that ‘the years of man are three score and ten.’ Last month, Bishop Minihan achieved these years. Therefore, we look to him not as one untimely called, but one who in the fullness of his vigor went forth in triumph from this world… This evening, with mixed emotions—sorrow occasioned by separation from one we love, and joy arising from conviction that he is now in heaven—we gather to pray and to pay a final tribute to our friend and our priest, Bishop Jeremiah F. Minihan.”

Reflecting on Bishop Minihan’s foundational 18-year tenure as pastor of St. Catherine’s from 1946 to 1964, Monsignor Sennott delivered a deeply personal reflection in his closing meditation: “When I learned of Bishop Minihan’s death, early on the morning of the vigil of the Assumption, the world seemed to stop for a moment… But, after reflection, I realized that God had shared generously with us the life of this dedicated son of the Church. There was something captivating, something magic about his presence. Wherever he was, he added to the sum of human joy. And if everyone to whom he did a service were to bring a blossom to his grave, surely he would sleep tonight beneath a wilderness of flowers… We can cherish the memory of his integrity, sincerity, and humility—providing us with the example of how a true Christian can both live and leave this life. I’m sure he has heaven in gales of laughter, as he always had us. He gave us holiness and happiness.” (Reporting by Kenneth F. McLean).

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger