Father John Hart: 'A priest to his very core'

IC photo/Marie Mischel

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Msgr. Terence Moore gives the homily at the Aug. 3 funeral Mass for Fr. John Hart in the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

Fr. John Hart was recalled as a priest with an adventurous, missionary spirit at the Mass of Christian Burial on Aug. 3 at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

Fr. Hart died July 27 after a long illness. A native of Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland, he was one of 10 children of Daniel and Margaret Foley Hart. He was born May 10, 1935 and was ordained a priest on June 12, 1960 in Thurles, Ireland and came to Utah on Sept. 2 of that year. In his 52 years of active ministry he served at various parishes in the Diocese of Salt Lake City, and also as a chaplain with the U.S. Army. After service during Operation Desert Storm, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel, then returned to parish work in the diocese. He retired in 2006 and lived in Salt Lake City.

“Johnny was a priest to his very core,” said Msgr. Terence M. Moore, a retired priest of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, who gave the homily at the funeral Mass.

Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general, presided at the Mass. Concelebrants were Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus; Fr. Martin Diaz, rector of the Cathedral of the Madeleine; and numerous priests of the diocese. Deacon Drew Petersen was Deacon of the Mass; numerous deacons of the diocese assisted.

Like Fr. Hart, Msgr. Moore was ordained in Thurles. After coming to Utah, the men became friends and would often vacation together, Msgr. Moore said. “Johnny loved to travel and he and I have been to all corners of Europe, several countries in Asia, Australia and New Zealand,” he said. “Everywhere we went he had this amazing curiosity in local culture and learning from the lifestyle of the peoples of the countries we visited. He loved meeting the local folk and invariably would get into a philosophical or political conversation.”

Fr. Hart’s “wry wit and funny catchphrases were hallmarks of his conversation and repartee,” Msgr. Moore said. “He was quick with a joke and a teller of tall tales. He delighted in conversing over a meal and relished camaraderie with his brother priests and parishioners. Many times you had to ponder whether he was telling a tale or relating some facts.”

In the late 1960s, Fr. Hart was pastor of St. Pius X Parish in Moab; the assignment included the missions of St. Joseph in Monticello and Sacred Heart in La Sal. When he visited Salt Lake City, he would regale the younger priest with stories of his missionary work in southeast Utah, including how he offered Mass on the back of pick-up trucks and once on an ironing board.

“It was all part of his missionary outreach and he obviously thrived on it; he told the stories with such verve and enthusiasm,” Msgr. Moore said. “Johnny was a priest to his very core. Fr. John Hart had a pastor’s heart and the great joy in his life came from selfless service to the people.”  

Fr. Hart “devoted his life to living out the Beatitudes,” Msgr. Moore said, adding that the other priest “was single-minded and passionate in his pursuit of justice and peacemaking and selfless pastoral service.”

Among those attending the funeral Mass were Fr. Hart’s nephew and his wife, Ciaran and Jenny Sheehan; a niece, Susan Towers; and a grandnephew, Aidan Lynch. Speaking on behalf of Bishop Oscar A. Solis, who was out of town, Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general, asked them to extend to other family members the “great debt of gratitude” that the diocese owes to them. Fr. Hart was “a great gift to Utah,” Msgr. Bircumshaw said.   

Fr. Hart is survived by two sisters, Mary Whooley and Frances Byrne, both of Ireland, and extended family. He was buried alongside his parents in Clonakilty, County Cork, Ireland.