With a heavy heart, I ask for prayers for my friend, Fr. Rich Colgan, CSP, who died late last night from complications from coronavirus.
I first met Fr. Rich when the Paulist Fathers gathered a group of Paulists and young adults together for a focus group to discuss the possibility of the Paulists opening a National Office for Young Adult Ministry. Fr. Rich, then working at the Paulist Center in Boston, brought much wisdom from his work with young adults in Boston and inspired many of us to believe strongly that the Paulists were indeed called to take on this venture. Of course, the office that was opened was eventually, BustedHalo.com.
Fr. Rich was a gentle soul who was most recently the novice master for the Paulist Seminarians in Washington, D.C., a role he relished and where he was much beloved by those in formation. A priest for 41 years and a member of the Paulists for 46, Fr. Rich is the first member of the Paulists to die from coronavirus.
I will miss him dearly.
Here is a quick youtube profile of him that offers a good window into his gentle soul.
Eternal rest, grant unto him, O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May Fr. Rich’s soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Fr. Rich was a very special man. He was my spiritual director in Portland, OR and so warm and loving. He never acted high and mighty or holier than thou but was down to Earth with a ready laugh and a warm hug. When, he got sick with Lympoma, I would write to him and always write a prayer on the back of the envelope.
I hope he did not suffer much when he got the Covid because I hate to think of him in pain. The world lost a shining star when he passed. You will missed Fr. Rich.