Just as C. Diane Biggs had always been there for them, her friends and colleagues at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center gathered at the St. Ursula Chapel in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Nov. 5 for her Memorial Mass. Biggs, a longtime employee of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington who most recently served as an administrative assistant for the Office of the Permanent Diaconate, died on Sept. 18 at the age of 72.
“We gather today to remember in prayer and deep gratitude our colleague Diane,” said Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the main celebrant at the Mass. “There are so many people here in this Pastoral Center who have many wonderful memories of working with her and being part of her service to this local Church.”
The concelebrants at the Mass included Washington Auxiliary Bishops Roy Campbell Jr., Juan Esposito and Evelio Menjivar, along with nine priests. Assisting at the Mass were Deacon Don Longano, the director of the Office for the Permanent Diaconate, and Deacon Charles Huber, the assistant director of permanent diaconate formation.
Biggs also served for many years in the archdiocese’s Office of Consecrated Life. Her survivors include her husband of 35 years, William Biggs, the chief financial officer of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.
In his homily, Cardinal Gregory noted that November is the month when All Souls Day is celebrated in the church calendar, and people pray for “our faithful departed and our friends who have preceded us to God’s kingdom.”
“It’s quite appropriate this family of our archdiocesan staff gather to remember and praise God for the gift Diane was for us,” the cardinal said, adding that the Mass also offered a time “to thank God that she was with us in so many ways for over a quarter century. That’s a long time to work for the Catholic Church. She did it with great joy and with great generosity.”
Prayers at the Mass were offered for Diane Biggs and her family and friends. The cardinal also offered a special prayer, saying, “On this day let us also pray for our nation. On this Election Day, we pray that people will exercise their right (to vote) and choose wisely, and our nation will be healed of its divisions.”
On Sept. 26, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, who also serves as the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was the main celebrant at a Mass of Christian Burial for Diane Biggs at St. Catherine Laboure Church in Wheaton, Maryland.
In words of remembrance at the Mass, Deacon Don Longano noted that Diane Biggs was “faithfully dedicated to the archdiocese, the clergy and her co-workers… Most particularly, Diane had a heartfelt commitment and deep fondness for the deacons.”
Addressing the approximately 40 permanent deacons attending that Mass, Deacon Longano said, “Brother deacons, this was not just a job for Diane – she cared for us as family.”
He noted how Biggs worked with more than 225 deacons, forming friendships with them and with their wives, sometimes working late to help a deacon or working on weekends on diaconate events.
“She assisted deacons with innumerable requests, managed many administrative aspects of the office, guided the preparation of all diaconate events, and upon the death of a deacon or wife, helped provide a sympathetic voice for the bereaved families. She was the institutional memory of our diaconal 0rder,” Deacon Longano said. He added, “Diane had a very friendly, outgoing personality, an easy, contagious laugh, and an outstanding work ethic. It’s no wonder that at any number of diaconate events over the years I affectionately introduced Diane as my direct supervisor, my boss!”
Diane Biggs was born in Washington and grew up as a member of St. John the Evangelist Parish in Silver Spring. Later she worked in human resources at the Woodward and Lothrop department store, where she met her future husband who then also worked there.
Deacon Longano noted how Biggs had many good friends and colleagues at the Pastoral Center, and in her service to the deacons, “her most effective communication tool was the ‘Diane-gram,’ frequent email messages exhorting her deacons to particular action, or providing essential information.”
Biggs provided faithful service and support to the deacons until nearly the end of her life, Deacon Longano said, noting how earlier this year she broke her kneecap and continued to work remotely at her home office. But he noted that before she could return to working at the Pastoral Center, “God had a different plan for Diane. God was calling Diane to her eternal home.”
Concluding his remarks at Biggs’ Mass of Christian Burial, Deacon Longano said the Gospel of Matthew, 25:21, offered fitting words for her service to Christ and the Catholic Church: “Well done, my good and faithful servant… Come share your Master’s joy.”
“May Diane rest in peace,” he said.
