At a Memorial Mass, the late Bishop Francisco González was remembered as a man of humble faithfulness who always was present to Christ and others as he dedicated his life as a priest and bishop to serving people and helping the light of faith shine brightly in them.
Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory was the main celebrant of the March 14 Memorial Mass at St. Mark the Evangelist Church in Hyattsville, Maryland, for Bishop González, a retired auxiliary bishop of Washington who died on March 4 at the age of 84 in his native Spain.
Bishop González – who was ordained as an auxiliary bishop of Washington in 2002 and retired in 2014 – would have marked his 60th anniversary as a priest this May. The bishop, who was ordained to the priesthood in 1964 in Richmond, Virginia, as a member of the Sons of the Holy Family religious order, died at that congregation’s residence in Barcelona, Spain, and his Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in the La Sagrada Familia (“The Holy Family”) Chapel in that city on March 6.
At the Memorial Mass, Father Agustin Mateo Ayala, the pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in his homily praised Bishop González for living a life of faith and service.
“He was present every time the Lord called him to service, through self-denial and a life of sacrament and prayer,” Father Mateo said.
He noted how then-Father González at his priestly ordination answered with the Latin phrase, “Adsum,” meaning “I’m here.” That, he said, was the future bishop’s “response to the Lord’s call to becoming his priest forever.”
“This was Francisco’s specific commitment to serve the people of God. As a consequence, Francisco spent the rest of his life helping God’s people keep the light of faith shining brightly, serving them the Bread of Heaven at each Eucharistic celebration and assisting many to reconcile with the Lord and others in the sacrament of forgiveness,” Father Mateo said.
In opening his homily, the priest said the Memorial Mass was being offered “for the repose of the soul of our beloved Bishop Francisco González,” and he expressed his condolences to the members of the Sons of the Holy Family, to the late bishop’s family members and friends and coworkers “who came to know and love him through the years.”
Father Mateo – also a native of Spain who, like the late bishop, ended up serving as a priest in the United States – noted that he first met him almost 30 years ago when the future bishop was the pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Takoma Park, Maryland.
“As time passed, we became close coworkers, and I found in him a trusted friend, a mentor, an inspiration and a reference in the development of my priesthood in the U.S.,” he said.
At Bishop González’s episcopal ordination in 2002, Father Mateo served as his chaplain, and they later shared a residence for several years at Our Lady Queen of the Americas Parish in Washington, D.C. “During that unforgettable time, I had the opportunity to see in Bishop González not only a good person but a man of prayer and commitment to the Church of Washington, (and) also a father figure for many people in this archdiocese,” Father Mateo said.
Noting how Bishop González presided over the Eucharist many times over the years, Father Mateo said it was fitting that a Memorial Mass was celebrated for him. “The Eucharist as the ‘foretaste of heaven’ allows us to enter eternity with those who already are in God’s presence while we are still here,” he said.
Reflecting on the late bishop’s life of faith and service, Father Mateo emphasized how it is important for people to have a friendship with Jesus fostered through daily prayer. He said that through Baptism, people are enabled to “partake in Jesus’ understanding of love and service. For Jesus, to love is to serve. Service means to disappear in the life of others. To live is to die to self so as to give life to others.”
Father Mateo, who gave part of his homily in English and part of it in Spanish, emphasized that “death to self, being other-centered is both the avenue to personal development and the right way to accomplish peaceful eternity at the end of life. In Bishop González’s life of service, we should receive the consolation and the strength we need to face the death of our friend, our coworker, our priest, our bishop, our family member and fellow traveler. We might also learn from his example of humble faithfulness to priestly ministry how to keep the light of our Baptism burning brightly.”
Acknowledging the sorrow felt by those who were inspired to serve others by the late bishop’s guidance and leadership, Father Mateo said, “We must remember that Bishop González continues to live not only in God’s presence, but also in the good deeds he performed during his life, in the lessons he taught us by word and example, and in the many treasured memories that are ours forever.”
When now-Saint John Paul II appointed Bishop González to be an auxiliary bishop of Washington, the pope in his appointment letter encouraged the new bishop to continue serving families as a Son of the Holy Family. In The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, he did that, serving as vicar general and moderator for Hispanic ministries and as the archdiocese’s episcopal vicar for Hispanic Catholics.
Bishop González in 2002 became the first member of the Sons of the Holy Family to be ordained as a bishop. St. Joseph Manyanet founded that religious community to inspire families to make their homes resemble the Holy Family in Nazareth – a place of love, faith and service where Jesus is welcomed.
Bishop González’s service as a bishop and priest included writing an award-winning column for El Pregonero, the archdiocese’s Spanish language community newspaper. Over the years, he also served as a director of the archdiocese’s Office of Family Ministry, as the administrator of Our Lady Queen of the Americas Parish in Washington, as the pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Takoma Park, and as the director of the Hispanic Cursillo and charismatic movements in the archdiocese.
Joining Cardinal Gregory as concelebrants at Bishop González’s Memorial Mass were Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop emeritus of Washington; and Washington Auxiliary Bishops Roy Campbell Jr., Juan Esposito and Evelio Menjivar. About 20 priests also concelebrated the Mass, including Father Roberto Cortés Campos, the pastor of St. Mark the Evangelist Parish.
Prayers, Scripture readings and songs during the Mass were in English and Spanish.
After Communion at the Memorial Mass for Bishop González, Cardinal Gregory read a letter of condolence from Pope Francis, sent by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican’s Secretary of State.
In that letter, Pope Francis shared his prayerful condolences and offered a blessing to the clergy, religious and lay faithful of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington following the death of Bishop González.
The pope in that letter recalled with gratitude “his years of dedicated service to the Church in Washington, marked by a zeal for evangelization, a joyful spirit and devotion to pastoral ministry, particularly to the Hispanic community.”
Related stories:
Remembering Bishop González, a Son of the Holy Family devoted to helping families be holy
Retired Auxiliary Bishop Francisco González dies in Spain at age 84
