The tragic death of Father Dennis Rocheford a little over a week ago has deeply touched every Priest in the Diocese of Worcester. On Thursday morning the Cathedral was packed with those who came to pray for Father Dennis and to remember his memory.
When, before coming to the Cathedral, I served as temporary administrator of Saint Theresa’s Parish in Blackstone, I experienced first-hand how Father Dennis Rocheford had faithfully shepherded God’s flock and was so beloved by so many of those to whom he brought the Lord. So many have thanked God for the wonderful ways in which God blessed so many people through this good priest.
At the same time, as those at his Funeral heard, Father’s tragic death leaves us, urged on by Christian charity and hope, to pray for his immortal soul.
As we remember him, let us commend his soul to the great High Priest who alone will judge the living and the dead. Let us beg God for mercy and ask him to grant his troubled soul eternal rest in God’s gentle embrace.
