Recalling the unique charm of his late friend Father James T. Kirk, Father Norman Carroll had a church full of people fondly chuckling at memories of the pastor of St. Mary Magdalen parish in Wilmington. He died Nov. 27 at 68.
“Father Kirk was a priest’s priest,” Father Carroll said in his homily. “He was a trusted friend.”
“There are a lot of stories we could tell. He made us laugh. He gathered us all for the experience of bringing us together for his wonderful meals.”
Father Carroll said he deliberately distanced himself from Father Kirk during celebrations that brought together all of the priests of the diocese such as the Chrism Mass because invariably Father Kirk would be causing nearby brother priests to break out in laughter.
“He would offer a running commentary,” Father Carroll said, “and he thought he was whispering. We are different but we helped each other navigate the priesthood.”
Bishop Koenig was principal celebrant of the funeral Mass concelebrated by dozens of Father Kirk’s colleagues at the church where he had served since 2009 and become pastor in 2015.
Father Kirk was a New Castle native who attended St. Peter the Apostle School and Salesianum School. He studied for the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary College in Baltimore and St. Meinrad School of Theology in Indiana, and he was ordained in 1986.
He was assigned as associate pastor of St. Matthew, St. Catherine of Siena and Holy Child, all in Wilmington; and Holy Rosary, Claymont. In 1996, he became pastor of Holy Child until 2009, when he moved to St. Mary Magdalen.
In his 39 years as a priest, Father Kirk served as the diocesan director of worship and the dean of the Brandywine Hundred Deanery. He has been on the Diocesan Liturgical Commission, the Presbyterial Council and the Priests’ Continuing Formation Committee.
Additionally, he was invested as a priest knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1997, and five years later he became an Oblate of Saint Benedict with affiliation to St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana.
In early 1975, when he was a first-year seminarian at St. Mary’s Seminary College, Father Kirk told The Dialog that he had always wanted to be a priest. He worked part-time for Father Eugene Clarahan at the rectory at St. Peter’s, and he was an altar server and lector at the parish. He said his biggest influence was Father William E. Irwin, the diocesan director of religious education. Father Kirk worked a few summers at the Center of Religious Education on Kentmere Parkway, and he took a class at Salesianum called “Contemporary Parish Ministry.”
His journey, however, took a detour after his graduation from St. Mary’s.
“There was a period of uncertainty about whether I could make the commitment, if I could live the life,” he told The Dialog in 1998. “I began to think, maybe there are other things I was interested in, working, experiencing some other kinds of things before I committed myself.”
He took a job in Baltimore in 1978 training bank tellers and moved back to Delaware two years later as a finance officer at a Wilmington auto dealership. During that time, he worked with the diocesan vocations office to further discern his calling. He eventually returned to the seminary at St. Meinrad, earning a master of divinity degree.
“My level of maturity, having to live on my own, enabled me to really make a choice,” Father Kirk said.
He described the life of a parish priest as exciting.
“It’s always different. I can return from a funeral and meet with a couple considering marriage. I deal with all different aspects of life and death. I really like what I do,” he said.
Burial for Father Kirk was set for Glebe Cemetery in New Castle. Contributions in his memory can be made to St. Mary Magdalen Outreach, 7 Sharpley Road, Wilmington, Del., 19803.
Dialog editor Joseph P. Owens and staff writer Mike Lang contributed to this report.
