2 priests mourned by Catholic Diocese of Brownsville

The Catholic Diocese of Brownsville is mourning the death of two of its priests who died Sunday night in unrelated incidents.

Father Ricardo Garcia, 49, of Mary Mother of the Church of Brownsville, died in his sleep Sunday night at his pastoral residence in Brownsville.

Father John A. O’Malley, 83, a retired priest, also died Sunday of natural causes, at Rio Grande Regional Hospital in McAllen.

A funeral Mass for Garcia will be at 9:30 a.m. Friday, at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle-National Shrine. A rosary will be held 7 p.m. Thursday at the Basilica.

A funeral Mass for O’Malley will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, also at the Basilica. A rosary will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores will preside over both funerals, said Brenda Nettles Riojas, spokeswoman for the diocese.

“They are his priests, and he will be performing the services for them,” Riojas said.

A native of Edinburg, Garcia was ordained on May 22, 1992. He served as a priest at St. Mary’s Church and as judicial vicar of the Diocesan Tribunal.

Garcia previously served the parishes of Sacred Heart Church in Escobares, St. Anthony Church in Harlingen, Our Lady St. John of the Fields Church in Mission, Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Brownsville and St. Anne Mother of Mary Church in Pharr.

O’Malley came to the Diocese of Brownsville in 1962. He is a native of Dublin, Ireland, and was ordained a priest in Wexford, Ireland, on June 5, 1955. He retired in 1998.

O’Malley was assigned to St. Joseph Church in Alamo. He also served at parishes in La Feria, Pharr, Brownsville and Weslaco before retiring.

O’Malley was passionate about pro-life causes and often prayed the Rosary outside the abortion clinic in McAllen, officials said. In his spare time, he liked biking, playing golf and walking outdoors.

He is survived by his brother Father Frank O’Malley and his sister, Sister Elizabeth O’Malley of the Congregation of the Sisters of Mercy, both of Dublin.

A prayer service for Garcia was held Monday evening.

Many in the St. Mary’s community,including Youth Minister Director Danny Lucio, received word of Garcia’s death on Monday morning,.

Employees at St. Mary’s Church received a call from the bishop asking them to “stick together” as a family during this time of loss, he said.

Lucio, who was with Garcia on Sunday at a youth event, said the priest was his usual self.

“He was sharp, witty and funny,” Lucio said Monday. “He seemed fine.”

Word of Garcia’s passing left everyone stunned and in deep sorrow. Many in the youth ministry went to Lucio’s office to be consoled, he said. Youths from other parts of the Valley and out of the area are making plans to visit to be with the St. Mary’s community and possibly attend the funeral.

Lucio said Garcia was responsible for bringing additional youth-related programs to the church, which helped change the direction of youth ministry.

“He not only changed the dynamics of our catechism, but how to treat each other” as well, Lucio said.

Lucio said Garcia would often tell him, “Be yourself, because God loves and God loves you because he created you exactly the way you are…”

Garcia was assigned pastor of St. Mary’s Church in September 2007. He replaced Monsignor Gustavo Barrera, who was assigned to Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in McAllen.

Lucio said Garcia loved music, and that few people knew he was a disc jockey in his high school days.

“He had every song you could ever think of on his iPod,” Lucio said.

Garcia is survived by his parents, Ricardo and Soccoro Navarro Garcia, of Edinburg, his siblings and numerous nieces and nephews.

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Laura B. Martinez is a reporter at The Brownsville Herald.