By all accounts, Fr Mychal Judge, OFM, was an excellent priest, with a real care for the people in his flock. A Franciscan friar, he spent much of his priestly ministry in New York City, with a special heart for those with AIDS, addicts, the homeless and the impoverished – once literally giving someone the coat off his back. In 1992, he was appointed chaplain of the New York City Fire Department, a role that he loved, and the firefighters loved him right back.
The reason the world knows about “Fr Mike”, as he was known by those he served, was not because of his life, but because of his death. Yet when considering his legacy and virtue, his death is what should be thought of first and foremost.
