In Loving Memory
+Friar Charles J. McCarthy, OFM Conv.

Friar Charles J. McCarthy, OFM Conv., (73) was called home by Sister Death on November 28, 2024, in Albuquerque, NM. Friar Charles was a priest-friar in the Conventual Franciscans of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation. He was preceded in death by his parents, John Patrick McCarthy and Clare Celine Nothangel McCarthy, as well as his sister Marguerite Ann McCarthy, and  two brothers, Dennis Michael Patrick McCarthy and Kevin William McCarthy . He is survived by his brother, Francis Paul McCarthy of Lockport, IL.

Friar Charles attended Mt. St. Francis Minor Seminary from 1965 to 1969. He did his postulancy at St. Bonaventure Friary, St. Louis, MO, from 1971-1974. He completed the Novitiate year and professed his first vows as a Conventual Franciscan in 1975. He professed solemn vows in 1978 at St. Anthony Novitiate in Auburn, IN. He completed his studies in preparation for the priesthood in 1979, when he was ordained to the transitional diaconate in St. Paul, MN. Ordination to the priesthood took place at St. Anthony Novitiate late in 1979.

Friar Charles served in various ministries within the Province of Our Lady of Consolation: Vocation Director, Initial Formation Director, Pastoral Associate, Pastor, and Director of Hispanic Ministry in DeKalb county Illinois in the Diocese of Rockford Illinois. From 1982 to 1993, he served in the province’s missions in Honduras.

In 1993, he and two other friars reestablished the Conventual Franciscan Order in Denmark. He served in Denmark from 1993 to 2001. While in Scandinavia, Friar Charles persuaded the bishops of Sweden to introduce the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), a significant accomplishment.

Friar Charles returned to the United States in 2001 and assisted in initial formation in San Antonio before ministering in El Paso, TX. In El Paso, he brought ACTS and Teen ACTS to El Paso, which has blossomed through the Diocese of El Paso and Las Cruces. He was the Guardian and pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Friary and Parish and ministered among the Tigua People of Ysleta del Sur. He served as pastor of Assumption Parish in Richfield, MN, from 2010-2014. From 2014 to 2018, he ministered to the Spanish-speaking community in Louisville, KY. In 2018, he returned to New Mexico and ministered to the Native American community in Albuquerque and, later, San Jose in Laguna, NM, until the time of his death.

Friar Charles served in varied and diverse places throughout the world, and these experiences gave him a global perspective on issues facing the Church and the U.S. An excellent listener with a good sense of humor, Friar Charles always added a unique and informed point of view to any conversation or discussion.

Memorial Gifts can be made on this page or mailed to the Province of Our Lady of Consolation, Office of Mission Advancement, 103 St. Francis Blvd., Mount Saint Francis, Indiana 47146.

FUNERAL/MEMORIAL MASS arrangements.

Memorial Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, El Paso, Texas
December 10, 2024, 7 p.m.
Rosary, 6 p.m.
Memorial Mass, 7 p.m.,
Celebrant:  Bishop Anthony Celino of El Paso, Texas
Livestreamed:
facebook.com/@OLMCysletamission

Memorial Mass at San José Mission, Laguna, New Mexico
Saturday, December 14, 10 a.m.
Celebrant: Fr. Phil Ley, OFM Conv., Vicar Provincial, Province of Our Lady of Consolation
Mission San José de Laguna
1 Friar Rd
Laguna, NM 87026

Mass of Christian Burial at Mount Saint Francis Chapel, Mount Saint Francis, Indiana
January 14, 2025, 11 a.m.

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