Rochester Bishop Emeritus Clark laid to rest Monday
ROCHESTER, NY – Funeral services were held for Bishop Emeritus Matthew Clark of the Catholic Diocese of Rochester on Monday.
Clark died on January 22 at the age of 85.
The funeral mass was held at noon after a visitation at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Flower City Park. A memorial service was held for Clark on Sunday.
Sacred Heart Cathedral was filled with those paying their respects, from Roman Catholic church leaders to people in the community who say Clark has changed their lives.
“I’ve been a die-hard Catholic my entire life, and the bishop has always been a very important part of that life,” said Doug Escher of Rochester. “I’ve seen him engaging in community with the masses, you’ve seen him in street clothes, you’ve seen him with kids. So he is a man for all seasons. So I kind of respect that. I am here to pay my respects to Bishop Clark and what he has done for us as a Catholic community.”
“I’ve known the bishop since he became bishop, so that’s why we came,” said Vivian Sciortino of Spencerport. “I have been in this church since 1966. It is a long time.”
During the Christian funeral Mass, a message from Pope Francis was read by the current diocesan bishop of Rochester, The Most Reverend Salvatore Matano.
“His Holiness commends the departed soul to the love and mercy of Christ the Good Shepherd,” Matano said. “To all who mourn Bishop Clark and the sure hope of the Resurrection, the Holy Father heartily imparts his blessing as a pledge of peace and comfort in the Lord.”
Clark retired from the Rochester Diocese in 2012 after serving there as bishop for more than 33 years.
The Cardinal Archbishop of New York delivered the homily.
“Although I was hardly as close to him as you are in these last years of decline and oblivion, of loss of independence, of gradual fading, I have an inkling, and I have heard nothing to the contrary, I have an inkling that he is still in his Love remained, enjoyed a genuine inner joy and remained strong with his companion Jesus,” said His Eminence Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan, Cardinal Archbishop of New York.
Clark was the second-longest serving bishop in the diocese.
He focused much of his work on interfaith relations and peace initiatives.
The bishop died at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St Joseph, where he was being cared for, after announcing four years ago that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
He is buried in the bishop’s crypt in the graveyard.
