Fr Coote with some young supporters last year Fr Tony Coote has been remembered as a man of both humility and generosity.
Fr Coote [pictured] – who when was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease in 2018 embarked on an enormous ‘Walk While You Can’ fundraising campaign – died on August 28. He was 55.
Speaking at his funeral Mass in the Church of St Thérèse, Mount Merrion in Dublin on Monday, Fr John Kelly recalled how his diagnosis “meant that he himself became the homily.
“Tony embraced this disease with great resilience, with Faith and hope and above all, with two values that set him apart: humility and generosity,” Fr Kelly said.
He said that Fr Coote “has been an inspiration, a beacon of light and hope to those who are sick and especially those with Motor Neurone Disease”.
Fr Kelly told the packed congregation that “Tony did not want to be defined by his illness he did not want people to be identified by their life choices.
“For anyone who may feel hurt, excluded and unloved by the Church please reflect on the Gospel of Jesus shared by Tony. He passionately wanted to assure all peoples of the love that Jesus Christ has for them and that we each are a rainbow of this love in the world.
“The homily of Tony’s life is an inclusive – all embracing, compassionate God who is close to all,” Fr Kelly said.