Fr. Benedict Groeschel – R.I.P.

I heard that Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, died last night following recital of the Transitus on the Vigil of the Feast of St Francis.  He who was of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal died on the Feast of St. Francis.  He was 81.

May he rest in peace.

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33 Comments

  1. Liz says:

    Father, I think he might have died last evening. I may be mistaken about that, but I also heard that St. Francis died on October 3rd as well. That would be really neat!

  2. Liz says:

    *Last night I guess…maybe 11 pm.

  3. iPadre says:

    A great man! May he rest in peace.

  4. Sid Cundiff in NC says:

    May he indeed rest in peace, the greatest Catholic spiritual writer writing in English in the last 40 years.

    He came to give an outstanding talk on celibacy at the Seminary which I was attending — a seminary full of homosexuals, full with the tacit consent of the seminary officials (to complain about this was regarded as grounds for possible dismissal). Some of us who were both orthodox in theology and hetrosexual in sexuality took Fr Groeschel aside and asked how we could cope in this situation, a situation which he immediately perceived. His wise advice: “Smile for the birdie!”

    He was, by report, a friend of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Some five years ago an acquaintance of mine, a priest, was saying Mass at a priests’ retreat, a Mass in the Ordinary Form but with the priest touching his index finger and thumb after the consecration. Fr. Groeschel was present and said, with his New York Herz mit Schnauze, “Let me show you how to do the Extraordinary Form. You don’t want a robot up there saying Mass!” The priest was awestruck and so very honored.

  5. Suburbanbanshee says:

    Fr. Groeschel said and wrote some very wise things about depression that helped me a lot. May God be good to him.

  6. danhorse says:

    Rest in Peace, good Father.

  7. KateD says:

    Heaven has gained a new saint. But how he will be missed here!

  8. Mike says:

    May he intercede for the whole Church on earth in these troubled times.

  9. Fr_Sotelo says:

    Fr. Benedict was fighting the “spirit of Vatican II” back in the 1970’s and never laid down his arms–prayer, preaching, and selfless service. He fought the cadre of the dissenting left with untiring love for the Church and unbreakable hope in Providence. Flights of angels sing him to his rest!

  10. Lin says:

    He helped a lot of people! One of his best books is “Arise from Darkness: What to Do When Life Doesn’t Make Sense.” My prayers are with him. May he rest in peace! Wonderful priest!

  11. JPD says:

    I certainly will pray that this great Priest encounters the Absolute Love for all eternity. That said, I hope and pray, that 5-10 years from now, someone starts to examine his cause for Sainthood.

  12. Back pew sitter says:

    A wise and holy priest. One of the best amongst us. May he surely rest in peace.

  13. frjim4321 says:

    May he rest in peace.

  14. SimonR says:

    Fr. Benedict, along with John Paul II and Benedict XVI, was one of the greatest influences on my spiritual life. It occurs to me that I first heard him on EWTN in 1998!

    He was a wonderful holy Priest.

    I still find it hard to believe that EWTN removed his entire library of programs in September 2012. Hundreds and hundreds of programs simply disappeared. Fr Benedict was such a supporter of EWTN and I think that in the end they treated him very badly.

  15. Eugene says:

    A great man. I thoroughly enjoyed watching him on EWTN. May he rest I peace.

  16. Kathleen10 says:

    Many sincere thanks to Mother Angelica and EWTN. If EWTN never existed, millions of people would not have enjoyed the spiritual benefits that came from hearing this pretty amazing man, my family included. He was such an unusual character, warm, pious and humorously crotchety. He made challenging spiritual concepts accessible and inspiring. We understood him, and enjoyed him.
    In my humble opinion there are two real giants of Christianity left on Planet Earth, Mother Angelica and Billy Graham. They are both getting on and it’s going to be a rather lonely feeling when they leave for Paradise, but they both deserve it.
    God rest dear Fr. Groeschel’s soul. We thank God for the gift of his life and vocation.

  17. Kathleen10 says:

    Yikes, I forgot Pope Benedict.

  18. Cincinnati Priest says:

    Yes, a great man. I had the privilege of attending a few priests’ retreats he led at Trinity Retreat House in Larchmont, New York, and was inspired by them.

    Truly saintly: unflaggingly orthodox, yet never bitter or dismissive toward the heterodox. In the “dark years” of the 1970s and 1980s, he simply persevered and did good works instead of complaining.

    Had an inspiring admiration for and love of the poor he did so much to serve.

    Like so many of the saints, he was completely unimpressed by rank, stature and wordly honors and liked to associate with the lowly. I remember that on a visit to our seminary, he was just as much at home and engaged when talkung to the maintenance men as he was the rector.

    Had an uncanny ability in spiritual direction to see right through what was troubling someone, and compassionately yet firmly set someone back on the right spiritual track.

    Requiescat in Pace.

  19. KAS says:

    A beautiful human being, may he rest in peace and his memory be eternal!

    I am glad that he went home. We need many in heaven praying for us down here as our world slides (or seems to slide) into a new dark age.

    I would not be surprised if he were to be declared a Saint eventually. He certainly spent his life trying to get people to turn to God and grow in virtue and all forms of goodness.

  20. JesusFreak84 says:

    He was one of those who let me know that I didn’t have to let go of a sense of humor, even a sarcastic one, to be a devout Catholic. (Mother Angelica’s in the same boat.)

  21. monmir says:

    I spoke several times to Fr. Groeschel. I was attending a Jesuit parrish-close to work and therefore decided to also attend on Sunday- I told him about a lecture I attended with Fr. Peter Fink and how I thought this was a little bit heretic. Told him about the 8 abuses at Mass, this plus the heretic lecture I left the parrish . Fr. Groeschel did follow through with the Jesuits, although he told me, he had received no answer (now I know better). He was a person to follow through, not just talk but action.
    I felt very bad when he was criticized for his talk, because he was no more wrong than Pope Benedict was at Regensburg. That was the way he expressed himself simple and straightforward. As for the EWTN action it is not surprising, the channel has practically become irrelevant for good catholicism.
    Fr. Groeschel thank you for your holy and caring life, may Our Lady guide you to her son for your eternal reward.
    Remember the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal in prayers they are wonderful holy men

  22. sunbreak says:

    He was a treasure. He did retreats several times at a local convent so the sisters could raise money. His retreats were awesome. I still have some tapes from one conference and autographed books from him.

  23. yatzer says:

    A wonderful man. I hope he prays for us to be as persevering as he was.

  24. I attended a talk he gave in London, and he gave me a blessing afterwards. I will pray to him, as well as for him.

  25. Eric says:

    Truly a great man.
    I was attending a conference in which he was involved and listening to a lecture by, if I remember correctly, Scott Hahn. Father Groeschel came in late and sat down next to me. He found something funny that Hahn said and gave me a sharp elbow to the ribs. I was somewhat surprised and looked at him to find him chuckling and pointing up at Hahn.

    I was always impressed by what he had to say and was somewhat taken aback when I heard him make light of purgatory. “I’m from Jersey, how bad can it be?” Not too long after that he got hit by a bus. I never heard him joke about it after that. I makes me thankful that little people like me get little corrections.

  26. robtbrown says:

    Eric says,

    I was always impressed by what he had to say and was somewhat taken aback when I heard him make light of purgatory. “I’m from Jersey, how bad can it be?”

    I don’t think he was making light of Purgatory but rather making a joke about Jersey Attitude, which talks tough minded and fearless. “Hey, I can do seven years of hard time standing on my ear.”

    Frank Sinatra was from Hoboken . . . No jokin’

  27. StWinefride says:

    Requiescat in Pace!

    Not only is the 3rd of October the anniversary of the death of St Francis, but it is also the Feast of the first translation of the relics of St Clare!

    Go calmly in peace, for you will have a good escort, because He who created you has sent you the Holy Spirit and has always guarded you as a mother does her child who loves her. O Lord, may You Who have created me, be blessed.”

    St Clare speaking to her soul – her last words.

  28. Noelle says:

    I very much enjoyed his book, “Behold He Comes: Meditations on the Incarnation.” It made for beautiful reading during Advent and Christmas. I recollect that, at the end of the book, he included some Latin hymns and chants for the season and, I believe, commented on their history. I think I will re-read it this Advent. (Do look for it through Fr. Z’s Amazon search box.)

  29. Cajetan says:

    May he rest in peace.

  30. stephen c says:

    I enjoyed watching him Sunday nights. Sometimes he would talk about his old friends Mother Teresa and Solanus Casey, and other friends like that. He seemed interested in all his guests, and many of the guests seemed to make him super happy, as if they knew a couple of details about the way to heaven that he hadn’t heard of before and he wanted to find out about those details so he could share the illuminating facts.

  31. LeslieL says:

    I was away this weekend and didn’t hear the news until Father mentioned it at Mass this morning. I am glad for Fr. Groeschel – he is finally with our Lord whom he loved so much.
    I used to be privileged to go on Retreat with my mother-in-law. We did that for years before she died – Fr. Groeschel and Fr. Apostoli would take turns…..these were among the best retreat experiences of my life….
    I saw Fr. Groeschel about 4 weeks ago – he was visiting friends of mine – some Sisters who run a Home for the Aged. Ill as he was, he celebrated Mass and stopped to take pictures with both the Sisters and the residents of the Home. Pastoral and loving to the end….he will be well missed.
    Rest in Peace Father. God bless you –

  32. guans says:

    I thank God for Fr. Groeschel and EWTN (rosary 3x a day, mass 4x a day, chaplet of Divine Mercy)

  33. Moral_Hazard says:

    Rest in peace Fr. Groeschel. As the years go on, I’m less and less surprised at the robust sense of humor of great saints.

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