Rev. Carmine Sacco: Requiem Æternam

In your mercy, please pray for the repose of the soul of Rev. Carmine Sacco, S.J.

Fr. Sacco was the pastor of St. Rita parish in Tacoma from 1979 to 2011. He was a solid rock in Tacoma’s Catholic community and touched the lives of generations of Tacoma’s Catholics.

He was pastor at St. Rita’s so long that he once said he had baptized the grandchildren of people he had baptized. He was a month shy of 92 when he died early yesterday morning.

Fr. Sacco was humble and wise and often quite funny. Although he freely accused himself of various shortcomings – I can still hear him chiding himself “Sacco, what did you do that for?” – he was one of the holiest men I’ve ever met. A holy priest.

He kept doves at his little rectory, and eventually a chicken named Martha who sometimes seemed to have the run of the yard.

Although St. Rita’s was our second parish – it’s only a few blocks from Pistachio House – he was the first real pastor I had. He was very kind to Francine and I. He mentored me in dozens of small ways and fostered in me a sense of diaconal vocation.

Mining my purely theoretical interest in liturgy, he drew me into the practical nuts and bolts of liturgical planning and preparation. He is probably the reason I am a liturgist.

With his “Pneuma” study group, he instilled in me a great love for the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I think this helped set me on the course of becoming a catechist.

In short, he formed me as a pastor should. He took the talents and interests that the Lord gave me and helped sculpt them into something that could be used to advance the Kingdom. For this, I will be forever grateful.

He became somewhat frail in his old age. I still remember with dread when he collapsed while celebrating the Christmas Midnight Mass of 2010. I was one of the two lectors that night, and as he tottered at the altar we rushed up to help him.

He had just finished the Eucharistic prayer, and suddenly the sanctuary of the little church was filled with first responders.

As the EMTs took him out on a gurney, he was mindful enough to want to lighten the terrible mood of fear and worry that should be no part of the Christmas celebrations. So he “waved like the pope” to the congregation as they wheeled him out.

It certainly broke the mood. Fr. Sacco would be all right, and we could continue.

Of course, this was pretty much what led to his retirement. His health never really recovered, and he spent his last years at the Bellarmine Jesuit Community as a self-described contemplative.

I’m going to miss him. I already do.

His Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Saint Rita Catholic Church in Tacoma on Thursday, September 29 at 10:30 am, with the vigil in the church on Sept. 28. He will be interred in Mount Saint Michael Jesuit Cemetery Spokane.

Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine:
et lux perpetua luceat eis.
In memoria æterna erit iustus,
ab auditione mala non timebit.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord:
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
He shall be justified in everlasting memory,
and shall not fear evil reports.

Absolve, Domine,
animas omnium fidelium defunctorum
ab omni vinculo delictorum
et gratia tua illis succurente
mereantur evadere iudicium ultionis,
et lucis æternae beatitudine perfrui.

Forgive, O Lord,
the souls of all the faithful departed
from all the chains of their sins
and by the aid to them of your grace
may they merit to avoid avenging judgment,
and enjoy the blessedness of everlasting light.

Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine,
cum sanctis tuis in æternum,
quia pius es.
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine;
et lux perpetua luceat eis ;
cum Sanctis tuis in æternum,
quia pius es.

May everlasting light shine upon him, O Lord,
with your Saints forever,
for you are kind.
Grant him eternal rest, O Lord,
and may everlasting light shine upon him.
with your Saints forever,
for you are merciful.

Amen.