The funeral procession for Fr John Cummins, RIP Tributes have been pouring in after a Laois-based priest died in a tragic accident involving his car, with Bishop Denis Nulty describing his death as “heart-wrenching” in his funeral homily over the weekend.
Fr John Cummins (52) of Abbeyleix, Co. Laois, died after an incident at his home on the Ballinakill Road on January 30 at around 4.30pm. Fr Cummins had served in the parish for 18 months.
The funeral Mass took place on February 3 in the Church of the Holy Rosary in Abbeyleix. Bishop Nulty said that messages had “poured in” since the tragedy, saying: “Every message, every tribute said the same thing. John was gentle, loyal, he was so pastoral, he was the essence of kindness. John was a great preacher.
“A great man to stay in touch with friends, as many lay as clerical, with couples he married, with former colleagues from Carlow IT, and of course with family.”
“At a time when the Church needs more good priests on the pitch, it feels as if God scored an own goal last Wednesday evening (January 30). John was not just a good priest, he was a great one as tributes of recent days vouch.”
Studies
He served for four years in Naas; five years pursuing further studies in Rome; five years as Chaplain in the Institute of Technology in Carlow; twelve years in the Cathedral Parish, eleven of those years its Administrator, and “a much too short year and half here with you in Abbeyleix,” added Bishop Nulty.