Father Bill Carmody, outspoken Catholic priest in the Colorado Springs area, remembered as champion of youth and faith
A devoted sports fan; often the loudest man on the court or the field. A church leader. A shy man who loved working with kids. A great hugger.
When word spread Tuesday that Father Bill Carmody had died, his friends and parishioners remembered him as all of these things. Carmody, 58, died in his sleep late Monday night after a long battle with cancer. The beloved Catholic priest left behind him a legacy that stretches from Widefield schools to the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood on the westside.
Born in Denver and ordained in 1990, Carmody, known affectionately as “Father Bill,” made his mark in the communities of Security, Widefield and Fountain, where he spearheaded the movement to found St. Dominic Catholic Church, the largest Catholic church in the Diocese of Colorado Springs. But ask anyone who knew him – it’s impossible to reduce Father Bill’s life to any one accomplishment. An adamant high school sports fan, he’ll not only be remembered as a priest, but as a champion of youth and faith.
To the greater Colorado Springs area and the nation, Carmody was known as the leader of the local anti-abortion movement. While he planted blue and pink crosses outside of his church to call attention to abortion, he also spent two decades giving weekly masses in front of the local Planned Parenthood clinic.
“For more than 25 years, he was a warrior for the unborn,” said Bishop Michael Sheridan of the Diocese of Colorado Springs. “He is known nationally for his work. That is his legacy.”
But for parishioners like Toni McDonald, Carmody also embodied the spirit of Jesus Christ by welcoming anyone into his church and his faith.
“He made you feel like you belonged,” she recalled, tearfully, on Tuesday. “He made you feel like Jesus was hugging you.”
When McDonald first met Carmody at Holy Family church, he seemed like a shy man. It took McDonald a year to get to know her new priest, but he became the force that kept her coming back.
“He was the reason I went back to church,” she said. “Because of him, my daughter became a Catholic. I thanked him for saving our souls, because he was just that way.”
Eventually, when the congregations at Holy Family and Saint Joseph’s outgrew their buildings, Carmody and his parishioners were tasked with finding a solution. After much prayer and deliberation, Carmody made a difficult and controversial decision: the two churches would become one. With land donated by the Venetucci family, the congregations raised money to build a new church. In 2010, Saint Dominic’s became the largest Catholic church in Colorado Springs.
“He wanted his church to reflect Jesus,” McDonald recalled. “If you look at the church, it’s not full of stained glass windows or anything.”
While he led the largest Catholic church, Carmody also became a large figure on the sports fields and courts of Widefield’s schools. When Widefield School District 3 had one high school, he attended as many games as he could, said Scott Sage, the assistant principal of discipline and building management at Mesa Ridge High School.
“He loved watching sports,” Sage said. “He came to lots of basketball games, volleyball games, football games … It was nice to see. You know, he would come out and he would support the kids, and he would yell and cheer and coach them from the sidelines.”
When the district built a second high school, Mesa Ridge, Carmody’s allegiances were torn at first, Sage said. But eventually his love of kids and sports over came any previous loyalties.
Carmody’s personal passion was ministering to youth, said his longtime Deacon Al Kimminau. He was known for dealing rounds of high-fives to kids as he walked out of the church. And he saw his church as a safe haven, and encouraged kids to come there when they didn’t feel safe at home, McDonald said.
Ultimately, Carmody’s parishioners were like family. When he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, he moved in with a longtime parishioner who was like a mother to him, McDonald said. It was in that house that Carmody died.
While his death dealt a blow to his parishioners, it was something they had been expecting, McDonald said.
“He knew he was dying, and he even told us,” she said. “He told the kids, ‘I’ve got cancer’.”
While the congregation is preparing itself for Carmody’s funeral in two weeks, it will also have to prepare for a future without Carmody .
“We don’t know where we are going from here,” said McDonald. “This is just hard because his remnants are there. I don’t think they are ever going to be able to replace him.”
Parishioners from St. Joseph’s Church watch as Father Bill Carmody carries the Tabernacle into Holy Family Church in Security following the final mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Fountain, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008. St. Joseph’s and Holy Family will merge to form St. Dominics. JUSTIN EDMONDS, THE GAZETTE
Father Bill Carmody, left, holds onto the Tabernacle while transporting it via police escort on North Santa Fe Avenue to Holy Family Church in Security following the final mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Fountain, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008. St. Joseph’s and Holy Family in Security will merge to form St. Dominics. JUSTIN EDMONDS, THE GAZETTE
Father Bill Carmody,right keep vigil with Irene Meszler and others participating in 40 Days for Life, an international vigil to end abortion. Carmody said organizers will try to keep atleast one person outside of Planned Parenthood 24 hours a day and small groups will gather for prayer throughout the days. photo by Carol Lawrence 2/6/08
A week before his death, Father Bill Carmody (framed by protest signs) was at the Planned Parenthood reopening to protest in his usual spot on the corner next to Centennial Blvd. Monday, February 14, 2016. Photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette
Photo by Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette
In 2003, Father Bill Carmody leads several people in an anti-abortion protest in front of the old location for Planned Parenthood on Colorado Avenue. Dozens of people gathered for a mass at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church to mark the 31st anniversary of the Roev vs. Wade court decision that paved the way for legaized abortion nationwide. In 1973 the U.S. Supreme Court challenged a statute of Texas that said abortion was a crime and sided with an unmarried Texas women who wanted to safely and legally end her pregnancy. After the mass at the church the group marched several blocks were they peacefully protested the landmark decision. Some of the marchers carried roses and then placed them in the bushes in front of Planned Parenthood before they left. The Gazette, Bryan Oller
Father Bill Carmody of Holy Family Catholic Church in Security leads a discussion about racial profiling and other issues with the church youth group including (from left): Kevin Sutherland, 17, Natalie Macdonald (CQ), 15, Mandy Greene, 15, and Eric Sellers, 18, on Sunday Dec. 2, 2001, at the church rectory. Carmody wore Egyptian clothes to spark the debate about racial profiling. Jay Janner/The Gazette