Hundreds gather in Cathedral for Bishop Gaydos’s Funeral Mass
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“Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
The people chanted with lilting repetition the words the repentant thief had addressed to the Savior while crucified beside him on Calvary.
It was a direct appeal to God, who had been a friend to Bishop John R. Gaydos throughout his life, to judge him mercifully and admit him to the eternal joys of heaven.
“Full life in the Father’s house was Bishop Gaydos’s deepest hope, and he wanted it to be ours, too,” said Archbishop-emeritus George J. Lucas of Omaha, in his homily at Bishop Gaydos’s funeral on Sept. 16.
“It is that same hope that brings us here to Mass,” the archbishop continued. “Our participation here helps us see that we are more closely united with Bishop Gaydos and others who have gone before us than his death would have us think.”
Archbishop Lucas, like Bishop Gaydos, was a priest of the St. Louis archdiocese before being raised to the episcopacy.
“It is good for us all to be here, to be part of this Mass of Christian Burial, the final act of mercy we can offer to John, our dear brother in the Lord,” the archbishop stated.
He pointed out that from the moment Bishop Gaydos said “yes” to being a bishop, “he loved being YOUR bishop.”
“He loved to brag about you like a proud father would — about your deep faith, your generosity, your care for each other in good and in difficult times, your concern for the young and for the poor,” said Archbishop Lucas.
He said Bishop Gaydos’s episcopal motto, “With a Shepherd’s Care,” and Jesus’s parables upon which it is based, only make sense in the context of a relationship in which “the flock and the shepherd are challenging each other, encouraging each other.”
He spoke at length of Bishop Gaydos’s belief in and love for Christ fully present in the Eucharist.
“We get to meet Jesus, the risen Son of God, in the Eucharistic Liturgy,” the archbishop stated. “... The Lord increases our desire for that eternal feast, and he deepens our confidence that the power of his death and resurrection is meant for you and me.”
Bishop Gaydos understood that with the gift of that knowledge comes great responsibility: “to live together in charity as the Church, for the sake of each other, and for the sake of the world.”
Archbishop Lucas said he’d probably never met anyone better suited by disposition or desire for the heavenly banquet than Bishop Gaydos.
“He wasn’t anxious to hasten the day of his death,” the archbishop pointed out. “But, by so much of his living, he has been preparing to be delighted by what the Lord has prepared for him, and to be with the good company of the saints he will enjoy it with.”
Sure and certain hope
Hundreds of people from throughout the diocese and beyond attended the Funeral Mass.
Bishop Gaydos’s earthy remains rested on a catafalque before of the altar, in nearly the same place he had laid prostrate when he was ordained bishop of Jefferson City on Aug. 27, 1997.
Colored light through the stained glass window depicting Missouri native Venerable Father Augustus Tolton’s priestly ordination reflected off the marble floor near the casket.
The previous afternoon, the bell tolled as Monsignor Robert A. Kurwicki, administrator of the diocese and longtime friend of Bishop Gaydos, blessed the departed bishop’s earthly remains upon their arrival in the Cathedral of St. Joseph.
“O God of faithfulness,” Msgr. Kurwicki prayed, “in your wisdom, you called your servant and our bishop John Raymond Gaydos out of this world. Release him from the bonds of sin, welcome him into your presence, so that he may enjoy eternal life and peace and be raised up with the glory of your saints.”
From Revelation 13, he proclaimed: “Blessed are those who have died in the Lord. Let them rest from their labors, for their good deeds go with them.”
The cantor chanted Psalm 27, with the refrain: “I am sure I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.”
That evening, Bishop-elect Ralph B. O’Donnell led Evening Prayer during a vigil service for Bishop Gaydos in the Cathedral.
Bishop-elect O’Donnell will be ordained and installed on Oct. 28 as bishop of the Jefferson City diocese, which Bishop Gaydos led from 1997-2018.
Bishop-elect O’Donnell recounted a call he received from Bishop Gaydos on Aug. 17, the day the new bishop’s appointment was announced.
“I want to share with you tonight, over anything else, the love and the enthusiasm — despite all of his health concerns and physical challenges, with his tired state, as he had been moved to a new residence for a time — that he expressed to me in that call,” the bishop-elect stated.
Bishop Gaydos “spoke with incredible love and enthusiasm about this diocese,” Bishop-elect O’Donnell said.
The retired bishop told him, “Thank you for saying yes! They’re beautiful people. You’ll have great priests. Thank you!”
Bishop-elect O’Donnell recently took part in the annual formation courses for new bishops, held at the Vatican.
On Sept. 6, Msgr. Kurwicki asked him to remember Bishop Gaydos and the Jefferson City diocese in prayer while concelebrating Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.
Bishop-elect O’Donnell did so, unaware that Bishop Gaydos had been ordained to the Priesthood with his classmates there, at that altar, 56 years previously.
Nor was he aware that Bishop Gaydos would pass away later that day.
“As I found that out later, I was filled with gratitude at the thought of having remembered the third bishop of the Diocese of Jefferson City as I prayed there and concelebrated in that sacred space,” said Bishop-elect O’Donnell.
He called to mind that in the Ordination Rite for a Bishop, the consecrating bishop prays: “Grant, O Father, Knower of All Hearts, that this, your servant, who you have chosen for the episcopate, may nourish your holy flock and may without reproach exercise before you the High Priesthood, serving you night and day, that he may unceasingly cause your face to shine upon us and offer the gifts of your holy Church. May be pleasing to you and lead us in purity of heart, offering a sweet fragrance to you, through your Son, Jesus Christ.”
Of the many
Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of St. Louis presided at the Funeral Mass.
Concelebrants included: Bishop-elect O’Donnell; Archbishop Shawn McKnight of Kansas City in Kansas, formerly of Jefferson City; Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas; Bishop James V. Johnston Jr. of Kansas City-St. Joseph; Bishop Edward M. Rice of Springfield-Cape Girardeau; Bishop Emeritus John J. Leibrecht of Springfield-Cape Girardeau; Archbishop Lucas and other bishops and abbots.
Also concelebrating were Msgr. Kurwicki; diocesan College of Consultors members Monsignors David Cox and Gregory Higley and Fathers Brad Berhorst, Christopher Cordes, Jason Doke, Gregory Oligschlaeger and William Peckman; and additional priests of the Jefferson City, Kansas City-St. Joseph and Springfield-Cape Girardeau dioceses and the St. Louis archdiocese.
Deacon Dan Joyce of the Cathedral parish and Deacon Jacob Hartman, who is preparing for Priesthood, assisted at the altar.
Seminarians and students from Helias Catholic High School in Jefferson City served as altar servers.
The diocesan choir, conducted by Andrew Meagher DMA and accompanied by organist Annette Kehner and flutist Kathleen Basi, led the singing, with Dwayne Carver serving as cantor.
Gregory Gaydos, nephew of Bishop Gaydos; Georgia Terrill, niece of Bishop Gaydos; and Luke Cocayne, great-nephew of Bishop Gaydos proclaimed the readings.
Children in the Gaydos family presented the gifts at the Offertory.
The last six priests ordained by Bishop Gaydos — Fathers Christopher Aubuchon, Jason Doke, Matthew Flatley, Colin Franklin, Anthony Rinaldo and Anthony Viviano — served as pallbearers in the Cathedral.
Bishop Gaydos was buried next to Bishop Michael F. McAuliffe, Jefferson City’s second bishop (+1969-97), in the priests’ section of Resurrection Cemetery in Jefferson City.
Bishop Gaydos’s masters of ceremony and vicars general — Msgr. Kurwicki, Msgr. Higley and Fathers Joseph Corel, Louis Nelen, Jeremy Secrist, David Veit — served as pallbearers at the cemetery.
Deacon Ric Telthorst, diocesan director of Catholic cemeteries, assisted at the cemetery.
“Without reservation”
At the end of the Funeral Mass, Bishop Gaydos’s brother, Stephen, thanked everyone present on behalf of the family.
“To us, he was not only Bishop Gaydos — he was John: a devoted brother, uncle, son and friend,” said Mr. Gaydos.
He recalled how the family had witnessed the bishop’s faith at a very personal level.
“The example he gave us has been a blessing and a model for myself and generations of our family, both young and old,” said Mr. Gaydos.
The family is grateful to God for the 20 years Bishop Gaydos served as head of the Jefferson City diocese.
“Here he discovered the fullness of his vocation,” said Mr. Gaydos. “He poured himself out for the people entrusted to his care — walking with them, guiding them and loving them.”
The family is also grateful for the 56 years Bishop Gaydos spent in the Holy Priesthood, “including 28 years in the great and venerable Archdiocese of St. Louis.”
Mr. Gaydos said that through all circumstances, Bishop Gaydos sought to be a faithful servant of Christ and His Church.
Even as the end became near, Bishop Gaydos carried everyone here in his heart and in his daily prayers.
“He loved this diocese — its parishes, its schools, its people — and he gave his life to it without reservation,” said Mr. Gaydos.
He thanked everyone who had helped take care of Bishop Gaydos in his declining health and all who helped plan the funeral liturgy.
“We are especially grateful to Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski for celebrating this Mass and to Archbishop George Lucas for his beautiful homily and years of friendship,” said Mr. Gaydos. “We thank Archbishop Shawn McKnight who succeeded Bishop Gaydos in this diocese and who cared for his bishop emeritus with concern and compassion during those years.”
Gift and mission
“In his life and ministry, Bishop Gaydos has shown us that there is a gift and a mission given to every baptized person,” Archbishop Lucas proclaimed at the funeral.
That mission is lived out in different ways in the Church, taking into account the various personalities, gifts, limitations and vocations of each person.
“Today, we give thanks to our Father in heaven for claiming Bishop Gaydos as his own dear son in Baptism,” the archbishop stated.
“We give thanks to Jesus for calling him to share in his Priesthood, and for entrusting him with care of the flock in the Diocese of Jefferson City,” he said. “We give thanks to the Holy Spirit for the powerful gifts given at Confirmation and Holy Orders.
“We praise God for the grace that enabled Bishop Gaydos to say ‘yes’ to all of this,” said Archbishop Lucas. “We give thanks that in his life and ministry, he gathered us around the altar to celebrate the new covenant in Christ’s sacrifice, and that in his faith, hope and charity, he helped us to look forward to the food that will last.”
Mr. Gaydos said his brother’s life was one of selfless service, deep love and unwavering faith.
“May he now rest in the arms of the Good Shepherd he followed so closely,” he said.
