MOUNT CLEMENS — The brother of Bishop Patrick R. Cooney celebrated the first of his two funeral Masses on Oct. 19 at St. Peter Church in Mount Clemens.
Bishop Cooney’s casket lay before the altar where he had often joined his brother, Fr. Michael Cooney, pastor of St. Peter Parish, since moving to the area after retiring as bishop of Gaylord three years ago. Bishop Cooney died Oct. 15 at the age of 76.
Speaking on behalf of himself and his two sisters, Fr. Cooney told the congregation of about 750 people, “Our loss is also your loss, for we are all one family.”
Fr. Cooney was both celebrant and homilist at the funeral. Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron of Detroit and his predecessor as archbishop, Cardinal Adam J. Maida, sat in choir, as did Detroit Auxiliary Bishops Donald Hanchon and Arturo Cepeda.
Over the weekend, Bishop Cooney’s body was transferred to St. Mary Cathedral in Gaylord, where Archbishop Vigneron was principal celebrant for the second funeral Mass on Oct. 22. Bishop Bernard A. Hebda, current bishop of Gaylord, was the homilist.
In his homily and other remarks, Fr. Cooney drew on Irish folklore as well as the Canticle of Simeon from the second chapter of St. Luke’s Gospel: “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”
And Fr. Cooney added, “What do you say about a great guy who did the best he could by the lights he had?”
In talking about his brother several days before the funeral, Fr. Cooney told The Michigan Catholic how the late bishop had been both his brother and his best friend — and the inspiration for his priestly vocation.
“I was born on the same day, and at the same hour he was, but 14 years later, and he was my godfather,” Fr. Cooney said.
Visits to Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit, where his brother was studying for the priesthood, became a regular part of the young Michael Cooney’s growing up. Saying he got to see “what good guys” his brother and fellow seminarians were, he added, “I wanted to be like that, so I followed him everywhere, including into the seminary.”
Bishop Cooney was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Detroit on Dec. 20, 1959, and a bishop Jan. 27, 1983. He served as auxiliary bishop of Detroit from the time of his episcopal ordination until his installation as bishop of Gaylord on Jan. 28, 1990.
Throughout his ministry he held several other positions, including as assistant
chancellor of the Archdiocese of Detroit. He retired in 2009.
Bishop Hebda, in his homily Oct. 22, recalled Bishop Cooney as a shepherd who took great pastoral care of the faithful.
“From the time that I met him, I understood that the diocese had been blessed to have such a wonderful shepherd,” Bishop Hebda said. “The bottom line is that a bishop is called to love his flock. Bishop Cooney did that in spades and it was so evident to all those around him.”
Bishop Hebda also joked about the crozier Bishop Cooney used while head of the Gaylord diocese, which was carved from a piece of driftwood.
“I envy his good judgment. The only thing really that I didn’t envy about Bishop Cooney was his crozier,” he said to laughter. “Usually a liturgist has good taste in such things ... but this?”
But Bishop Hebda got serious again to note that Bishop Cooney had once explained to him the significance of his odd choice.
“You see, there are some carvings on it, and Bishop Cooney said that they helped to keep him focused and explained the importance of each one to me.
“He said that the first carving was of Fr. Marquette, who helped to bring the faith to northern Michigan. He said that this carving reminded him that we are always building upon the efforts of others.
“Then he pointed to the second carving, which is of Bishop Baraga, and Bishop Cooney reminded me that he had such a loving, fatherly heart ... and that his life was filled with many holy works. Bishop Patrick Cooney had that same loving heart,” Bishop Hebda said.
“Then Bishop Cooney pointed to the third carving, which is of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha and said that this carving always reminded him that we need to make the best use of the time we have here,” noting that the Native American died at the young age of 24. “So it is fitting that on Sunday, as Bishop Cooney lay here in state, that Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha became a saint.”
Bishop Hebda noted that the diocesan conference center in Gaylord was recently renamed the Cooney Conference Center, “so that every day we will be reminded of the lessons learned from this special shepherd.”
“And this unique crozier, with all its meaning, will have a special spot within the conference center from this day forward.”
The Catholic Weekly, the newspaper of the Diocese of Gaylord, contributed to this report.
