Msgr. Moore: ‘A man who lived the Beatitudes’

IC file photo

Photo 1 of 2

SALT LAKE CITY — Monsignor Terence M. Moore, who passed away Dec. 19, was warmly remembered at his funeral services at the Cathedral of the Madeleine on Jan. 9. Deacon Paul Graham, a close friend of Msgr. Moore’s for the past 25 years, gave the homily at the funeral Mass.

When Deacon Graham asked Msgr. Moore why he chose to become a priest, the answer was, “‘I just felt that God’s plan for me was to help and care for others in the best way that I can,” the deacon recalled. “Msgr. Moore dedicated his whole life to just doing that.”

 The Beatitudes were among some of Msgr. Moore’s favorite Bible verses, Deacon Graham said. “‘Paul, Jesus lived the Beatitudes,’ he told me. Well, you too, Fr. Terry, you too lived the Beatitudes. Fr. Moore accepted people from all walks of life unconditionally. It didn’t matter what faith they practiced, it didn’t matter who they were, didn’t matter if they were school students, refugees, alcoholics, CEOs or migrant workers.”

Similarly, at the vigil on Jan. 8, Father Stephen Tilley, pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish, said Msgr. Moore’s “willingness to serve and love the Church reflected the love that Christ shows for us, the cross, the self-emptying love that is a complete gift for others.”

Fr. Tilley shared a conversation he had with Msgr. Moore where the elderly priest compared his parish to a garden of flowers given to him by God. “‘I never have much desire to control what gifts God gives, I just receive it and try to nurture it,’ he said to me. I’ve often thought about this conversation that I had with Monsignor, and always pray that I could see all parishioners as a gift from God.”

Among those at the funeral Mass were three of Msgr. Moore’s nephews, Peter Moore, Gerard Moore and David Cunny, who traveled from Ireland to help lay him to rest.

“I know how much you all meant to Terry; he had the most wonderful friends here for the past 56 years,” Peter Moore said in remarks after the funeral. “Our family is very proud of Terry, his legacy and all the achievements in his life. We thank God for the memories we cherish so dearly.”

Bishop Oscar A. Solis also spoke following the funeral Mass.

“The void that Msgr. Terence Moore has left is [that of] his tremendous legacy to the people of Utah,” the bishop said. “Although he was retired, I would say he was an active priest who extended service to the people of God wherever he was needed. He invested his life [in] the people, [in] the local Church of this diocese, in so many various ways that touched many lives, especially the poor.”

Bishop Solis presided at the funeral Mass; concelebrating were Msgr. Colin F. Bircumshaw, vicar general; Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general emeritus; and numerous priests of the diocese. Assisting were many of the deacons of the diocese. Msgr. Moore was laid to rest at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Salt Lake City.

Msgr. Moore grew up in Ballyfin, County Laois, Ireland and entered the seminary at St. Patrick’s College, Thurles, Ireland in 1961. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 10, 1967. Wanting to serve in a place where he could make an evangelical difference in the Church, Msgr. Moore came to Utah as a missionary priest that August.

Early in his ministry Msgr. Moore became involved in social justice work on behalf of disenfranchised members of the downtown urban community. The Most Rev. Joseph L. Federal, sixth Bishop of Salt Lake City, noted his zeal for community involvement and sent him to study for a master’s degree in social work at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. in 1970. After his return to Utah, then-Father Moore became the director of the Newman Center at the University of Utah. In 1978 he was named director of Refugee Resettlement for Catholic Charities of Utah. He completed a doctorate in social work at the University of Utah and then served as the coordinator of Refugee Resettlement for the Utah State Department of Social Services.

In 1985, he was appointed pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Sandy, where he served for 14 years and in 1987, he was named executive director of Catholic Community Services of Utah. In 1999 he assumed the role of founding pastor of St. John the Baptist Parish in Draper, a position he held until his retirement from full-time active ministry in 2013. He was named Prelate of Honor to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on November 5, 2008, with the title Monsignor. He was an active member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem since his installation into that Order in 2004. He also served as chaplain to the Knights of Columbus in several parishes and Assemblies. Msgr. Moore retired in 2013 but continued to serve wherever he was needed as long as his health allowed.