A friend of a friend sent this to him, who then forwarded it to us.

“I just got news that Redemptorist brother James Kennedy died of a heart attack this morning. He was to have been ordained next year. Please pray for all seminarians dead and alive!

The ones alive are having their exams next week.”

The humour in the words above are painful, because of what James meant to many of us in Holy Family.

I never knew James in person while I was a part of Salt and Light, but he and Sylvester (then a Redemptorist novice as well) were constantly mentioned and treated as SAL members themselves. Their birthdays were remembered and SAL constantly kept them in the loop of things.

I finally got a chance to meet the man himself this year at the Transitus of St. Francis, and it was good to put name to face at last. He was everything I imagined - and I could see why he had such an impact on SAL. He was looking forward to his ordination as a priest next year.

And now… this.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.