Archdiocese of Newark Announces Livestream of Memorial Mass for Archbishop Emeritus John J. Myers

By Tom Dermody/The Catholic Post

Archbishop John J. Myers was recalled as a man of faith, prayer, a scholar, a teacher, and as “a really good bishop” during a Solemn Requiem Mass at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Peoria on Wednesday, Sept. 30.

The Archbishop Emeritus of Newark and former Bishop of Peoria was interred in the Bishop’s Mausoleum at St. Mary’s Cemetery in West Peoria following a funeral liturgy attended by family members of the Earlville native, representatives of several communities of religious women, and nearly 100 clergy, including Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark and eight other visiting bishops. The Mass was livestreamed on the Diocese of Peoria’s website and is archived on its Facebook page.

Archbishop Myers, who guided the Diocese of Peoria from 1990 until his appointment as Archbishop of Newark in 2001, died on Sept. 24, 2020, at a care facility in Ottawa. He was 79. (See obituary here.)

Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, was principal celebrant of the Requiem Mass. In opening remarks, he welcomed Cardinal Tobin — who succeeded Archbishop Myers in Newark following his retirement in 2016 — as well as a delegation of priests from the Newark Archdiocese.

Turning to the family of Archbishop Myers, seated in the front pews to his right, Bishop Jenky said “we share your sorrow, but most of all we share your faith in Christ’s victory over death.” He promised continuing prayers for their consolation.

https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F301244732166%2Fvideos%2F366377114406696%2F&show_text=0&width=560

The homilist was Msgr. Steven P. Rohlfs, rector emeritus of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and a longtime friend of Archbishop Myers.

Msgr. Rohlfs, who served the Diocese of Peoria in several leadership roles during Bishop Myers’ 11 years as diocesan bishop, including as vicar general, said the archbishop had “all of the qualities necessary to be a good bishop.” He called him “a man of faith and prayer, honest, fair, merciful, just, tolerant, funny, discreet, a good mentor, teacher and example.”

Requiem Mass for Archbishop John J. Myers: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=embed_video&v=366377114406696

Vowing not to use superlatives that are often part of recalling the recently deceased, Msgr. Rohlfs drew laughter when he answered “No” to the self-posed question if he thought Archbishop Myers was “the best bishop.”

“I don’t think any of us have ever met ‘the best bishop,” Msgr. Rohlfs said, drawing more laughter as he turned to Cardinal Tobin, Bishop Jenky, and other bishops present — including Coadjutor Bishop Louis Tylka — and ad libbed “No offense.”

But Msgr. Rohlfs repeatedly called Archbishop Myers “a really good bishop.”

“No matter what role the Archbishop played in each of our lives, all of us could probably say the same thing: He was really pretty good.”

Msgr. Rohlfs shared three humorous, yet poignant, personal stories about Archbishop Myers, including one that illustrated how “he always had the care of the priests in his heart,” said Msgr. Rohlfs, his voice cracking with emotion.

He mainly spoke of Archbishop Myers in the present tense, because “he is still very much alive and existing in eternity,” and ended his homily by detailing three things the archbishop would want to say now to those gathered if he had the chance. He summarized them as:

• Make sure you understand the true meaning of life, “to learn to love on earth the way they love in heaven.”
• Devote yourselves to things that make a difference in the “really real world of Heaven,” and that
• Archbishop Myers will see us again. “He still knows us, still loves us, and still cares about us,” said Msgr. Rohlfs.

Accompanying Archbishop Myers’ casket as pallbearers were six priests who served as his administrative assistants — Msgr. Stuart Swetland, Msgr. Eric Powell, Msgr. Mark Merdian, Msgr. Jason Gray, and Father Joseph Donton in Peoria, and Msgr. Michael Andreano, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Newark.

Four nieces of Archbishop Myers had roles in the liturgy. Kathryn Niemerg and Zoe Myers gave Scripture readings, while Maribeth Hoffman and Denise Gould led the Prayers of the Faithful.

Those intentions were each prefaced by a corresponding trait of Archbishop Myers. For example, they noted his devotion to the Eucharist, his promotion of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, how he “walked with the church in its suffering after Sept. 11,” and his concern for universities, seminaries, Catholic health care and medical ethics before adding specific related prayers for each of those subjects.

Among the concelebrating bishops were Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of St. Paul; Bishop David Malloy of Rockford; Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Bishop Joseph M. Siegel of Evansville; Bishop William Patrick Callahan of La Crosse; and Bishop Manuel Cruz, an auxiliary bishop of Newark.

This article original appeared in the The Catholic Post – The Newspaper of the Diocese of Peoria, Ill