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Archives The Carny Priest looks to his century mark

June 24, 2015

“He has always preached what wonderful people the carnival people are. He has done it from the pulpit, in newspapers, on radio and television, and will continue to do so until his dying breath.” …
The Carnival Priest, by Tom Lowell, 1998

By Dave Shampine
Staff writer

WATERTOWN – Msgr. Robert J. McCarthy on the firstCarny of July will observe his 97th birthday, and three months later will mark his 69th year as a priest. He is the oldest living priest in the diocese of Ogdensburg, and possibly the only priest ever to reach that age in the diocese.

Would he like to see his 100th birthday? “I’ve gone this far,” he said during a recent interview. “Why not go for it.”

He is singing a different tune from several decades ago, when he was saying he didn’t expect to see 50. “My father died when he was 56, and my brother was 54 when he died,” he reasoned. His secret for long life: “take care of myself physically, avoid gaining too much weight,” he told his hefty interviewer.

Hosting the writer in his infirmary room at the Sisters of St. Joseph complex on outer Washington Street, Msgr. McCarthy responded without hesitation when asked to specify his most rewarding role in his vocation. “Being the carny priest.” And just as Lowell wrote, the monsignor got right into it, as if mounting a thrill ride.
“Carnival workers had been neglected because they were seen as migrants, because they would come for a few days, then pick up and leave. They didn’t pay local taxes, and they were not involved in the community,” he said.

"I did all I could to improve that image by going on television, speaking at service clubs and to businessmen of the community,” he said. “I wanted to convey that they are ordinary people who had chosen that kind of work while trying to raise families and make a living.

“They are migrants because they love to move,” Msgr. McCarthy said. “And if you think about it, we might not be here if our ancestors had not been migrants.”

The last-born of six children of Irish-born childhood immigrants Joseph and Bridget O’Brien McCarthy, he and his siblings were, while growing up in Potsdam, occasionally exposed to circus performers. But it was not until 1961 or the following year that the then 43-year-old priest became attached to his new mission. He was assigned to St. James Church in Gouverneur, hometown of the St. Lawrence County Fair.

“I went to the fairgrounds to ask for free amusement ride tickets for needy children, and I was given a hundred tickets,” he said, “and then, I was asked to baptize a few carnival workers’ babies.” And the rest is history, as the overused phrase appropriately says.

His cross-country trips to administer his faith, humor, and down-to-earth personality brought him before anybody who cared to hear him preach the praises of carnies.

His efforts - “It was unusual for a priest to be working with people who are seen as derelicts,” he said - came to the attention of numerous publications, including the Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and even the National Inquirer.

He became familiar with facing television cameras, appearing on “60 Minutes” with Harry Reasoner, “To Tell the Truth,” and even “Hee-Haw.”

“I was great on Hee-Haw.”

His work even attracted the interest of Pope John Paul II, who met with the American priest twice, in 1979 and again the following year at the Pope’s summer residence. The Pontiff was apparently aware of his work, because in 1971 the priest had been appointed official chaplain of carnivals in the United States by the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Pastoral Care of Itinerant People.

While maintaining his diocesan responsibilities as a parish priest, he began collecting a string of honors for his continued personally-adopted mission. The tributes included:
• The 1990 Sullivan-Considine Award for his contributions in the field of entertainment.
• The Miami Showmen’s Association “showman of the Year” award in 1991.
• In March 1994, the U.S. Catholic Conference’s Office for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees honored him for 35 years of ministering to more than 120,000 carnival workers and their families.
• He was Inducted into the Carnival Hall of Fame, Kinsley, Kan., in October 2006.
• The Showmen’s League of America, Chicago, named him in 2007 an honorary life member.

And then there are the tangible benefits of his work – friendships and acquaintances with celebrities in the entertainment and sports worlds, a list way too long to include here.

Through his efforts, a permanent office was established in Washington, D.C. to store baptismal records, marriage certificates and other church documents pertaining to carnival workers.

Becoming a priest
CarnyAs an Irish Catholic, Msgr McCarthy said, “The church was engrained in us. As Irish Catholics, our whole life involved the church. “An Irish family had to have a priest in the family,” he said.

His only brother went to Clarkson University and became a civil engineer, so it fell upon the younger boy, a 1936 graduate of Potsdam High School, to enter the religious life.

He has no regrets, he said.

After completing studies at St. Bernard’s Seminary, Rochester, Msgr. McCarthy  was ordained by Bishop Bryan J. McEntegart on Oct. 19, 1946 at St. Mary’s Cathedral. His first celebration of Mass was the next day at his home parish, St. Mary’s Church. He was close to home for nearly four years with his assignment in Canton.

A succession of moves placed him at Holy Family Church in Watertown; St. Bart’s, Old Forge; St. Mary’s, West Leyden; St. Patrick’s Colton; St. James, Gouverneur, and then back to Holy Family to be pastor for the last 21 years of his active ministry. He retired in June 1993. He was given the honorary title of monsignor, or papal chamberlain, in 1960.

Msgr. McCarthy is credited with bringing the Sisters of the Precious Blood to Watertown.

“Just about every diocese has a contemplative community, which leads a life of prayer, but we didn’t have any. I applied to Bishop Navagh to ask for a monastery, and he agreed. Sadly, he moved on before they came.”
In his upbringing and nearly seven decades as a priest, he said he has observed changes in the vocation, changes which he suggested should appeal to young men who are considering the religious life.

“In the old days, the priesthood was thought to be an exclusive group,” he said. “Priests were more involved in just church work. They would never be seen in public without the Roman collar.

“It is a different life we have today. Priests are more involved in the public, participating in sports, teaching, and even newspapermen.

I have seen a great change in the priesthood – our current Pope is an example of that,” he said.

The monsignor, who on April 28 was honored by the Watertown Fire Department as “firefighter of the year,” has led an adventurous life, as readers of the Lowell book can attest.

He addressed his lifestyle, in the book:
“People get to know you is something I have heard often in my life. And it is a warning that I should never be at any place, or do anything that would shock them or cause them to lose their respect for me, or the priesthood. I have devoted my life to attempting to live that way, but my life has not been devoid of fun. I do like to be around fun people when the occasion presents itself, and I do know how to have a good time.”

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