Parish celebrates Msgr. Bernard Corrigan's 60 years as a priest

Warwick - It was difficult to find a parking spot last Sunday for the 12:15 p.m. Mass and, later, reception at Warwick’s Church of St. Stephen, the First Martyr. Parishioners, along with family and friends, filled the church to join in a special concelebration of Mass in honor of Msgr. Bernard Corrigan, 85, pastor emeritus. Corrigan, the principal celebrant of the Mass of Thanksgiving, has served as a priest for 60 years and continues to serve the Parish by saying Mass, hearing confessions and, among other duties, conducting bible study and Church history adult classes. During his homily, he delayed his comments on the Gospel to discuss his humble beginnings, his gratitude for his Irish-born parents and the happiness his vocation brought. Corrigan mentioned that his father, a very pious individual, was born in 1875 and that his parents had lived through the great Irish potato famine of 1849. He recalled that during his childhood he fancied, like many other children, becoming a cowboy or fireman but with the positive inspiration from his teachers and parish priests, decided in Grade 8 to test for admission to Cathedral College, a pathway to the priesthood. His vocation, he explained, was a calling from God. Shortly after his ordination in 1947, Corrigan joined the faculty of Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. He remained there for over 33 years and was then assigned by Cardinal Cooke to be pastor of St. Stephen’s in Warwick. The quiet country parish was supposed to be a rest from the heavy teaching schedule at Cardinal Hayes. But Warwick was exploding and so was the small Catholic Church, which is now occupied by the Assembly of God, on South Street. “In the warmer weather,” recalled Corrigan, “the Church was so crowded that people were standing in the aisles and hearing Mass outside by the windows. I knew we needed a bigger Church.” Praising the cooperation he received from members of the parish, Corrigan reported that several committees worked hard for three years to study the issue and arrive at the decision to build the new Church. “It could never have been built without the enthusiasm of the people in the Parish,” he said. At one point in his homily, Corrigan drew laughter when he repeated something he had said during his Golden Jubilee 10 years earlier. “Inside every old person there is a young person saying, ‘What the heck happened?’” Before retirement, Corrigan served as Pastor of St. Stephen’s for 16 years. He continues to serve as pastor emeritus. After Mass, Rev. Michael McLoughlan, pastor of St. Stephen’s, offered: “He has become someone beautiful to God - a superb priest.” The entire congregation then rose for a standing ovation that lasted several minutes.