By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami

Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily at the funeral Mass for Monsignor John Delaney, who died June 30, 2025. The Mass was celebrated April 16, 2025, at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Oakland Park. 

Monsignor John Delaney died at home in County Mayo, Ireland, on June 30th.  His funeral Mass was celebrated at his home parish – Bishop John Noonan, of Orlando, and Fr. Peter Lambert were there to represent us. 

Today, we celebrate what is often called in Ireland and elsewhere a month’s mind: a Mass for the repose of the soul of the deceased one month after their death. It’s not quite a month since he died, but we offer this Mass today, and we entrust his soul to the mercy of God. He was a priest for 61 years, years spent in the vineyard of the Lord, that is, South Florida and the Archdiocese of Miami.

In gratitude for his faith, his long years of priestly service, and his perseverance in his vocation, we commend John Delaney to Mary, the mother of all priests, whom we invoke as Queen of the Apostles.

He was my family’s pastor in Lake Worth at Sacred Heart Parish from 1971 to 1974. I was in the seminary then, and on Tuesdays, he gave me, and a couple of other seminarians a job: to call numbers at the weekly Bingo in the parish. He paid us each $10.

That was also the time of the big liturgical changes in the Mass, and Monsignor worked hard to introduce the changes and ensure that the Mass was celebrated well, not only by himself, but he made sure the other priests of the parish followed the rubrics carefully. His hard work was recognized when Pope Paul VI appointed him, and a dozen more priest monsignors, at the nomination of Archbishop Coleman Carroll.  Msgr. Dever was made a Monsignor at the same time.

Many of you here may recall the things he did during the many years he spent in the priesthood serving Christ in Florida. But rather than list the accomplishments and the assignments of this man, rather than enumerate his virtues, or kid about his shortcomings, let it suffice just for us to say: John Delaney was simply a priest, a priest who tried to serve the Lord and his people faithfully.

And Msgr. Delaney, like each of these men here, carried an immense treasure in earthen vessels; and so, we invoke God’s loving mercy on his soul and ask for him the joy and peace of eternal life in the communion of the Most Blessed Trinity.

As priests, we know our human frailty, and so we are not shy in asking for prayers for him; and when we die, we beg your prayers for us, confident that the love of Jesus Christ, who gave us the gift of the priesthood, is stronger than death.

As we pray for Msgr. John Delaney, his death is an opportunity for us priests to experience in a deeper way our communion with him and our other brothers in the priesthood who have died; it is an opportunity for all of us to proclaim our faith in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which we do in celebrating this Mass for the repose of his soul.

Reflecting on death and dying does not have to be morose, but rather, should be hopeful. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit” (CCC #1817).

We pray confidently, comforted by the words of St. Paul: “If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; if we persevere, we shall also reign with him.”

Jesus suffered death as each one of us must one day. But Jesus rose from the dead, and so death does not have the final word in the history of our human race. As we proclaim in the Apostles’ Creed, we believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

Amen.