Funeral of Thomas Galberry

1. At the altar for the funeral:

• Celebrant: John Williams
• Assistant Priest: Hugh Carmody
• Deacons of Honor: John Synnott and Peter Larola
• Deacon of the Mass: A. Murphy
• Sub-deacon: Lawlor
• Cantors: T. Campbell and P. M. Kennedy
• Masters of Ceremonies: J. Kelly and P. McAleney

2. In addition to John Williams and Louis de Groesbriand, seven other bishops attended in person, and one bishop was represented by his vicar general.
3. The Courant estimated that there were approximately 100 priests total, and the reporter named 89 of them (although there were some duplications, and some of the duplications owed themselves to misspellings the second time around).
4. The bearers who carried Galberry’s casket to the receptacle in the crypt were 10 members of the Order of Saint Augustine.

1. The article identified John Synnott as “Rev. Father Sinnote.”
2. There were several changes in identifications between an article published on October 14, 1878 and this article:

• The masters of ceremony, M. J. Kelly and P. McAleney, had been identified as “M.F. Kelly” and “P. McAlenney”
• The cantors were listed as “chanters”
• One of the cantors, J. T. Campbell, was identified as “J. F. Campbell,” but J. F. Campbell of Manchester was listed as attending the funeral
• The other cantor, P. Kennedy, was listed as “P. M. Kennedy,” but P. M. Kennedy was listed as attending the funeral. To keep things nice and confusing, both P. Kennedy and P. M. Kennedy were listed as priests in Moosup.
• For this entry, I went with the identifications made in the article on the funeral.

3. On October 12, 1878, the Courant reported that Edgar Wadhams would give the sermon at the funeral. In the article published on October 14, 1878, Wadhams had been replaced by Louis de Groesbriand.  Wadhams was not listed among the bishops attending the funeral.

Thomas Galberry died on October 10, 1878.

The Month’s Mind service in commemoration of Thomas Galberry will be held on November 12, 1878.

1. Michael J. McGivney, who is currently being considered for canonization by the Catholic Church, attended the funeral as a priest from New Haven.
2. At this point, it was proposed that Francis McFarland’s body should be moved to the crypt, where he would be placed in the first of the lower row of receptacles. Galberry was placed in the second.

From Louis de Groesbriand’s sermon:

• “The sinners of this congregation and diocese are sorry over his demise, for he spoke to them about light, life, and hope.”
• “We must pray for the repose of the soul of our dear departed bishop: because when the soul leaves the body it appears before the judgment seat of God, and God is Almighty – and knows everything – all our secrets.  The soul is judged as it appears before God who is infinitely pure and holy.  Pray for the repose of his soul.”
• “If the soul of a bishop or priest is detained far away from God because it is not pure enough, O, how ardent its desires and how dreadful its torments before it reaches its God! Therefore, we say, pray for this dead bishop.”
• “He would not come to Hartford at first because he felt that he was unworthy and when he was consecrated here some one said to him that it seemed strange he should have declined to come until directed to do so, and he replied, ‘I refused because I wanted you to have a good bishop.’”
• “Though he was a bishop, he was a humble man.”

1. J. T. Campbell was a priest in South Manchester.
2. Hugh Carmody was a priest in New Britain.
3. M. F. Kelly was a priest in Windsor Locks.
4. P. M. Kennedy was a priest in Moosup.
5. Peter Larola was a priest in New London.
6. P. McAleney was a priest in Hartford.
7. P. A. Murphy was a priest in New Haven.
8. John Synnott was a priest in Bridgeport and the future vicar general of the Diocese of Hartford.
9. John Williams was Archbishop of Boston.
10. As of the day before the funeral, P. A. Stanton and M. Walsh had been scheduled to serve as the deacons of honor. Both men were from Philadelphia, and Stanton had been at Galberry’s bedside in New York City as Galberry died.  Neither Stanton nor Walsh were named as attending the funeral.
11. Also as of the day before the funeral, J. S. Fitzpatrick had been scheduled to serve as sub-deacon. Fitzpatrick was a priest in New Haven, and he had been at Galberry’s bedside in New York City as Galberry died.  Fitzpatrick did attend the funeral.

Unattributed.  “The dead bishop,” Hartford Daily Courant, October 12, 1878, page 2.

Unattributed.  “The dead bishop,” Hartford Daily Courant, October 14, 1878, page 2.

Unattributed.  “The late Bishop Galberry,” Hartford Daily Courant, October 16, 1878, page 2.