Former St. Joseph’s pastor was a pillar of the Liverpool community
By Russ Tarby
Contributing Writer
The Rev. Father Charles Major, who served as pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Roman Catholic Church in Liverpool for 34 years, died Sept. 5. His parishioners all called him “Father Charlie.”
Since his retirement in 2011, the priest resided at The Nottingham, in Jamesville, but he often returned to his beloved village of Liverpool to visit former congregants and to shop at Nichols Supermarket.
He underwent open-heart surgery in 2005 and made a full recovery, allowing him to continue as pastor and to partake in his favorite pastime: golf. Two years later, however, another disease threatened his life and work.
“John Barleycorn” had gotten the better of him, Father Charlie candidly told his congregation on the Sunday before Christmas 2007. So he led by example, checking into the Guest House in Rochester, Minnesota, for several months of rehabilitation.
At the time, the recovering cleric expressed his “gratitude for the outpouring of concern, the outpouring of support, the outpouring of well wishes” he received from parish members and others.
Long known as a progressive force in the community, Major returned to St. Joseph’s in 2008 and immediately answered his calling. In April that year, he officiated at the funeral of Liverpool murder victim Mark Clark.
“This is a tragic and difficult time,” the priest told Clark’s survivors. “There are events in life for which we have no answers. The church has no answers. God has no answers. The Dalai Lama has no answers.” Those who grieve an untimely death, he said, can find solace in God, but no answers.
In March 2011, Major helped the community face another village tragedy after infant Isabella Marie was found dead in a trash bin outside a local apartment complex.
“This tragedy took place within a mile of where I live,” the pastor noted at the baby’s funeral at St. Joe’s. “So I felt bad about this.” He wondered out loud, “Where was our welcoming spirit to this mother and child?”
He praised the Liverpool Police Department for arranging the infant’s funeral.
“I’m so happy to be part of a village which is raising awareness of this child,” Major said. The funeral service “enriches us as citizens,” he said, and represented a “faith-and-village connectiveness.”
A graduate of Le Moyne College, Major actively supported social justice causes, including Jail Ministry and anti-poverty efforts in the city and suburbs of Syracuse.
Before his death at age 84, Major penned a few lines about his life: “His accomplishments were modest,” he wrote, “his enthusiasms were varied, his devotion as a pastor was warm, profound and personal; his mistakes were many, his offenses were garden variety — not an original sinner but practiced in imperfection.”
Celebrations of Major’s life will take place at St. Joseph the Worker Church, 1001 Tulip St., Liverpool. Calling hours will be from 3 to 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 14, with a Vigil for a Deceased Priest to follow at 7 p.m., led by Msgr. Charles Fahey. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15, led by Bishop Thomas Costello, Fr. Peter Major (Charlie’s cousin), Msgr. John Heagerty and Deacon Steve Manzene.
