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When I joined Good Shepherd parish, I was a little surprised to find that the bulletin, in listing the available priests included an entry that read “Bishop Joseph Estabrook, in residence”. After all, this is a suburban parish, not a cathedral, and it seemed a little strange to me that a bishop would be “in residence” here. Eventually, my curiosity caused me to do some research, and I discovered that Bishop Joe, as he was commonly called, was an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, which is a strange diocese in that it isn’t defined geographically. I figured that the bishop needed to live somewhere, but I wasn’t quite sure how he came to be at Good Shepherd.
Over the last couple of years, I would occasionally attend a mass celebrated by Bishop Joe. Unlike episcopal masses I’d attended before (most notably the annual bishop’s mass at my high school), these masse didn’t entail any extra pomp or ceremony. Bishop Joe turned out to be a pretty good preacher, presenting sermons that I found interesting and thought provoking. Along the way, I learned that Bishop Joe had moved to Good Shepherd prior to his ordination as a bishop, while he was still serving as a naval chaplain at the Pentagon. He had been looking for a parish to live at, and greatly admired the community he saw at Great Shepherd, with its strong and active social justice outreach efforts.
Over the last year or more, I hadn’t seen Bishop Joe, so when he showed up at the end of mass a couple of weeks ago, his appearance was a bit of a shock. He was skeletally thin, and very weak. He made his way to the lectern and announced that he had been fighting pancreatic cancer for more than two years. He had been being treated in Texas, and was about to enter hospice care at the home of his brother in Texas, but had traveled back to Virginia, to Good Shepherd, essentially to say “Good bye” in person.
Last weekend, Bishop Joe finally lost the battle with the cancer. I think it speaks volumes about his opinion of Good Shepherd parish that while he did hospice at his brother’s in Texas, and wished to be buried in his home town of Albany, NY, he chose to have his funeral mass celebrated at Good Shepherd parish in Alexandria, VA.
I never really got to know Bishop Joe on a personal level, but somehow I felt compelled to attend his funeral today, to pay my respects to a man who had somehow earned my admiration. I have become a bit cynical about the leadership of my Church these days, but Bishop Joe somehow just seemed to rise above the suspicion I generally have of those who hold his title. I expected a full church (and it was), and I expected a long service (it was a full two hours). Why I didn’t expect a dozen episcopal leaders, I don’t know, but the mass was celebrated by Archbishop Broglio, who was Bishop Joe’s superior, and was concelebrated by 11 other bishops, including Cardinal Wuerl of Washington, DC, as well as almost 40 priests. It was a bit overwhelming to see so many bishops and archbishops at my parish church (to say nothing of the Cardinal).
I’m glad I went to the mass. Bishop Joe seemed like a genuine man of character and integrity, and he clearly was widely respected, judging by the size of the congregation at the mass. I hope his family (a brother and a sister, with five nieces and nephews) can find some comfort in the impact he clearly had on so many lives. Rest in peace, Bishop Joe.
The press release from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
Over the last couple of years, I would occasionally attend a mass celebrated by Bishop Joe. Unlike episcopal masses I’d attended before (most notably the annual bishop’s mass at my high school), these masse didn’t entail any extra pomp or ceremony. Bishop Joe turned out to be a pretty good preacher, presenting sermons that I found interesting and thought provoking. Along the way, I learned that Bishop Joe had moved to Good Shepherd prior to his ordination as a bishop, while he was still serving as a naval chaplain at the Pentagon. He had been looking for a parish to live at, and greatly admired the community he saw at Great Shepherd, with its strong and active social justice outreach efforts.
Over the last year or more, I hadn’t seen Bishop Joe, so when he showed up at the end of mass a couple of weeks ago, his appearance was a bit of a shock. He was skeletally thin, and very weak. He made his way to the lectern and announced that he had been fighting pancreatic cancer for more than two years. He had been being treated in Texas, and was about to enter hospice care at the home of his brother in Texas, but had traveled back to Virginia, to Good Shepherd, essentially to say “Good bye” in person.
Last weekend, Bishop Joe finally lost the battle with the cancer. I think it speaks volumes about his opinion of Good Shepherd parish that while he did hospice at his brother’s in Texas, and wished to be buried in his home town of Albany, NY, he chose to have his funeral mass celebrated at Good Shepherd parish in Alexandria, VA.
I never really got to know Bishop Joe on a personal level, but somehow I felt compelled to attend his funeral today, to pay my respects to a man who had somehow earned my admiration. I have become a bit cynical about the leadership of my Church these days, but Bishop Joe somehow just seemed to rise above the suspicion I generally have of those who hold his title. I expected a full church (and it was), and I expected a long service (it was a full two hours). Why I didn’t expect a dozen episcopal leaders, I don’t know, but the mass was celebrated by Archbishop Broglio, who was Bishop Joe’s superior, and was concelebrated by 11 other bishops, including Cardinal Wuerl of Washington, DC, as well as almost 40 priests. It was a bit overwhelming to see so many bishops and archbishops at my parish church (to say nothing of the Cardinal).
I’m glad I went to the mass. Bishop Joe seemed like a genuine man of character and integrity, and he clearly was widely respected, judging by the size of the congregation at the mass. I hope his family (a brother and a sister, with five nieces and nephews) can find some comfort in the impact he clearly had on so many lives. Rest in peace, Bishop Joe.
The press release from the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
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(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-11 04:57 am (UTC)BTW, somehow you have duplicated your story within the post. No big deal but you may like to fix it sometime
(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-11 05:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2012-02-11 01:24 pm (UTC)