Bishop Matthew Clark was remembered at his funeral Mass Monday as “a close friend of Jesus Christ” and a devoted leader of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester for more than 30 years.
The Mass was celebrated at Sacred Heart Cathedral by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, with dozens of robed priests seated behind him.
Clark died Jan. 22 at age 85 after a period of illness. He had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2019 and was living at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Rochester Motherhouse infirmary in Pittsford.
Among those in attendance was Clark’s sister, Helen. In a brief welcome message, Clark’s successor, Salvatore Matano, relayed words of condolence from the Vatican and said that Clark had chosen the scriptural readings and hymns for his own funeral.
In his homily, Dolan largely addressed Clark directly, calling him “Matt” — just as he did 50 years earlier when Clark was his spiritual advisor at a seminary in Rome.
“He would repeatedly encourage me in that soothing voice, sometimes barely above a whisper, while always smoking a Pell Mell,” Dolan said. “He’d say, ‘Tim, Tim, slow down, be at peace, be still, let the power of God’s word sink into your heart.'”
He described Clark as “a close friend of Jesus Christ” and recalled sensing in him “a joy that could erupt in laughter but mostly just oozed from a soul that seemed to be at peace.”
Clark, who grew up in the Albany area and attended St. Bernard’s Seminary in Rochester, arrived as bishop in 1979 and stayed for 33 years.
He shepherded the diocese through a painful period of contraction, showing a progressive inclination — within Catholic orthodoxy, at least — on social issues including the proper place of women and LGBTQ people in the church.
In 1997 he performed a special mass at Sacred Heart for gay and lesbian Catholics. He did not address or defend the church’s official position on homosexuality, but asked the 1,100 people in attendance to “forgive us for all the times we have failed to respect you.”
Like many of his contemporaries in Catholic leadership, Clark failed to prevent an epidemic of child sex abuse within his purview. A deluge of lawsuits related to incidents during Clark’s tenure bankrupted the diocese and forever tarnished the church’s reputation among parishioners and the general public.
That point did not come up at Clark’s funeral. Rather, Dolan named three “promptings” he recognized in Clark’s legacy: to remain to Jesus’s love; joy; and friendship, among people and with Jesus.
Even at the end of Clark’s life, Dolan said, “I have a hunch that he still remained in his love; savored a genuine joy within; and kept strong with his companion Jesus.”
Clark will be interred privately at the bishops’ crypt at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery on Lake Avenue.
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