Kenny Rogers A Northern Irish priest has paid tribute to the late American singer Kenny Rogers as a man who “found his Faith” and “made his peace” for mistakes made earlier in his career.
Fr Brian D’Arcy, a Passionist priest based in Co. Down, said the late Rogers, who died on March 20 aged 81, embarked on his spiritual journey when he sought forgiveness.
“I only met him a couple of times, but he was a very friendly, helpful man who realised he made a lot of mistakes when he was younger in his career but made his peace later in life.
“His relationships were the cause of a lot of the mess which was made in his life. He married five times, his father was an alcoholic and his mother was a very strict Baptist.”
He added: “People were very fond of him as a professional, despite what was going on in his personal life and he worked his way through it.”
Described by Fr D’Arcy as “an incredible performer” and “a greater unifier”, Rogers was a country singer, songwriter, actor, record producer and entrepreneur.
Houston-born Rogers was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013 and sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
“He discovered his Faith later in life,” says Fr D’Arcy of Rogers. “He was a man who realised his need for forgiveness but knew that is what God does, so decided to go on and enjoy his life.”
Forgiveness
Fr D’Arcy continued: “No one is born perfect or lives life perfectly. He made mistakes, needed forgiveness and had to accept it as part of his spiritual journey.
“He was a human being, who accepted humanity, was given gifts, he misused those gifts, learnt from the error of his ways, asked for forgiveness and found his peace.”