NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE OF KNOXVILLE
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Father Joseph Hammond passes away The Crusaders of the Holy Spirit priest was 79 and served in Hispanic ministry in the diocese for 27 years By Dan McWilliams
beloved Father Joseph Hammond during a difficult time… . As a community of faith, we find strength in coming together in prayer, especially for those who have served us so faithfully. Please join us in praying for Father Hammond’s peace, comfort, and the grace to feel God’s presence with him.” Priests, deacons, religious, and the Catholic faithful of East Tennessee were informed of Father Hammond’s death on Sunday, Aug. 10, with Bishop Mark Beckman saying, “Father Joseph was a loving, humble, and good priest and will be deeply missed. I am grateful for his wonderful service in our diocese.” The visitation for Father Hammond took place Aug. 15 at St. John Neumann, with a bilingual
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ather Joseph Mary Hammond, CHS, a native of Ghana who had served in Hispanic ministry in the Diocese of Knoxville since 1998, died Saturday evening, Aug. 9. Father Hammond, who was 79, had been in residence for many years at St. John Neumann Church in Farragut. He was a priest of the Crusaders of the Holy Spirit community for 36 years, passing away just four days after his ordination anniversary. He had been diagnosed with stage four liver cancer more than a month before his death. In an Aug. 3 e-mail, St. John Neumann Parish stated “We humbly ask for your prayers for our
EAST TENNESSEE CATHOLIC ARCHIVE PHOTO
Home country Father Joseph Hammond, CHS, on his first visit to the diocese in 1998, points to his native Ghana on a world map on the wall in the former office of The East Tennessee Catholic.
Father Joseph Hammond, CHS Scripture service following. Monsignor Patrick Garrity, who served with Father Hammond at both St. Patrick in Morristown and St. John Neumann, led the Scripture service and spoke about his late friend. Bishop Beckman and Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz celebrated the funeral Mass on Aug. 16 at the Farragut church, with interment following at the new diocesan Holy Cross Cemetery in Lenoir City. Father Michael Maples, who served at St. John Neumann alongside Father Hammond from 2014 until accepting a position at Conception Seminary College in Missouri this summer, delivered the homily at the funeral Mass, and Deacon Jim Fage of St. Patrick Parish gave a eulogy after Communion. Monsignor Garrity served as pastor of St. Patrick from 1997 to 2010 and then of St. John Neumann
until his retirement from full-time priestly ministry in 2018. He fondly remembered serving at both parishes with Father Hammond. “I’ve had the privilege of knowing Father Hammond since 1998 when he first came to the Five Rivers Deanery to do Hispanic ministry across upper East Tennessee,” Monsignor Garrity said. “At that time, he lived at Notre Dame Church in Greeneville and traveled to several parishes including St. Patrick in Morristown to celebrate the Spanish Mass. It is there that we first became friends. “In 2001, he moved to St. Patrick in Morristown with me, and he continued his ministry to the Hispanic communities. He was very fluent in Spanish and had ministered for a number of years in Venezuela before coming to the United States.” Father Hammond knew Monsignor Garrity’s parents, the late Galen and Sylvia Garrity. “In the years that followed, my parents would come visit often. They also became very close with Father Joseph,” Monsignor Garrity said. “In fact, after my father died, and my mother was seriously ill, she moved in with us so that I could care for her. I think she adopted him, and he adopted her and that’s how he and I became brothers.” That brotherhood continued a couple of counties away when both Father Hammond continued on page B2
SJN hosts A Very Special Day with the Bishop The faith-based event offers fun for about 60 special-needs individuals and family members By Bee Goodman
BEE GOODMAN
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n Aug. 2, St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut hosted A Very Special Day with the Bishop. The event is a faith-based day of fun for special-needs individuals and their families. Under Bishop Richard F. Stika in 2021, the Diocese of Knoxville held its first Bishop’s Very Special Day event, which saw 15 attendees. This year, the day with Bishop Mark Beckman had about 60 people in attendance. The day opened with a celebration of Mass at 10 a.m. and was followed by numerous activities such as arts and crafts, lunch, and musical time led by Katie Helms, a longtime advocate for disabled and special-needs people. “I love being here. I love all the people, kids, and adults here. I want to do everything I can for them,” Ms. Helms shared. Ms. Helms returned this year and led the group in many songs and dances. As she led music time, smiles erupted all around the room. One child, Joseph Weber, excitedly pounded on a bucket drum, yelling the words to the songs he knew and dancing through the ones he hadn’t heard before—he never stopped smiling. The event is special for a number of reasons. It brings together a community that is often left out or chooses to be excluded for necessity and comfort. The special day creates a time for fun activities outside of pressures and sensitivities the attendees and their families can
‘Each individual is a treasure’ Sara Marquardt of St. John Neumann’s youth ministry speaks to a young friend, Robert, at A Very Special Day with the Bishop held Aug. 2 at the Farragut church. face every day. Public outings can be especially difficult for those with special needs due to the need for physical and social accommodations. Restaurants with loud conversations, clinking utensils, and kitchen noise can be a problem. This can make celebrating Mass a difficult task for these families. A Very Special Day with the Bishop aims to create a safe, comfortable, and faith-
filled environment for everyone attending. Julie Radachy helped organize the event and shared how Mass and other public settings can be difficult. “First, there are potential obstacles on the church campus for individuals with special needs. For example, there may not be enough room for walkers or wheelchairs within the church. Also, for those with sensory-processing issues,
lights, sounds (including the volume and the amount of reverberation) might make attending Mass and even certain parish events difficult. In addition, most missals and church hymnals are designed in a traditional font size for those who do not have visual difficulties, making it difficult for those who do to follow along,” she said. “Second, there are other obstacles Very Special Day continued on page B3