Statement of Archbishop Dermot Farrell, Archbishop of Dublin, on the announcement of the death of Brother Kevin Crowley OFMCap:
Firstly, my sincere sympathy to Brother Kevin’s family and his Capuchin confrères on his death. Brother Kevin devoted his life to the service of the poor. His work with the Capuchin Day Centre staff and volunteers transformed the lives of the poor and marginalised in our city who availed of its services, from misery and despair to hope and love. He was always able to see Christ in the people he met. His was a love that reached out with no questions asked of those who sought assistance. Brother Kevin was an authentic follower of St Francis of Assisi.
As we mourn Brother Kevin’s death, he would want us to remember the poor we still have with us in ever greater numbers because of homelessness, wars, famine and the multiplicity of addictions that affect our country today. We ask the Lord to grant us compassion for those who are experiencing Calvary and sorrow for our own self-indulgence. We cannot put words on that love of God, and yet when we have witnessed it in a good man’s life and death, we too are able to recognise it, and to say a deeper and more grateful ‘yes’ to God.
May Brother Kevin Crowley rest in the eternal embrace of God.