Fr. Ricardo Elford, C.Ss.R: A different kind of prophet
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October 23, 2023Fr. Ricardo’s brother John carried the simple wooden urn containing his brother’s ashes in a solemn but joyful procession led by Provincial Superior Kevin Zubel, Bishop Emeritus Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Fr. Ricardo’s confreres at Picture Rocks and the Diocese of Tucson, family and many, many friends. A Mariachi band sang “Buenos dias Paloma Blanca” (Good Morning, White Dove).
About five hundred were assembled at St. Augustine Cathedral on October 7 at 11:00 am to celebrate Fr. Ricardo’s life and proclaim his lasting legacy of love to migrants, the poor, the homeless – to anyone in need.
Kathleen Ryder Havens’ reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah described her cousin’s Redemptorist mission perfectly: “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice.”
John Andrew Elford’s reading from the first letter of James was an apt description of his great uncle’s attitude toward indifference to the poor: “If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and … you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?” Anna Sanchez recognized her lifelong mentor and friend as she spoke the prayer he wrote: “Speak out… for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute.”
Fr. Kevin opened his homily by describing Fr. Ricardo as a “different kind of prophet.” As a young Redemptorist student, he had heard stories about the great man he was about finally to meet at a formation course in Tucson. What he expected was “kind of a giant of a man – you know, an Old Testament type, maybe with a beard down to his waist.” What he got was the quiet, diminutive, clean shaven “old fellow” sitting next to him near the back of the room, waiting patiently for his turn to speak. “Like any true prophet,” Fr. Kevin noted, “the voice of God comes to life from those we least expect.”
Fr. Kevin pointed out that Ricardo had a true missionary spirit from the very beginning, a Redemptorist spirit; a spirit that said: “We will encounter Christ, yes, in churches, and yes, in places of welcome, but we’ll encounter Christ in a sacramental way when we go out…“ That was Padre Ricardo.
“To celebrate [Ricardo’s] life, to pray for the salvation of his soul, is to hear a call to service,” Fr. Kevin said. “We remember him by carrying forward his works. We remember him by bringing to life with boldness advocating for those in need, advocating for those who often feel pushed to the margins of society.”
On March 24, 1982, Pastor John Fife declared Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson the first place of sanctuary for asylum-seeking refugees. Fr. Ricardo, Jim Corbett, and others stood in solidarity with him.
Eventually, more than 500 other congregations in the United States followed suit. John Fife and Jim Corbett were named the co- founders of the Sanctuary Movement “but as everyone in Tucson and Sonora knew, that was not true,” Pastor Fife declared in his eulogy. “And now in this cathedral and in Ricardo’s spiritual presence, we join to ordain Ricardo as a co-founder of the Sanctuary Movement.”
[ …a thunderous and long applause] Let the people say: Fr. Ricardo Elford PRESENTE. A team of friends, family, and Redemptorists worked together to try to fulfill Fr. Ricardo’s wish that his funeral service have a “theme of social justice.” What the team decided to follow was the clear direction Ricardo’s and Jim Corbett’s Pendle Hill Pamphlet, The Servant Church, provided.
The Servant Church, ‘the Church to serve,’ Pastor Fife pointed out, was the “prophetic vision” that Ricardo and Jim felt called to write as a result of their shared Sanctuary Movement experience. The Servant Church reaches out to all of good will to call them to service without reward.
The team chose the readings, but all were directly from or inspired by that publication. Fr. Kevin may have been the presider of record, but Fr. Ricardo was clearly the “Presider of Spirit.” Fr. Ricardo has been presiding at Mass since his first in 1964 – in churches (of all denominations), at the breakfast table in a migrant center, in a hotel parking lot, in a soup kitchen, and even under a tree. It’s as if Fr. Ricardo couldn’t resist “presiding” one final time in the grandest church in Tucson.
With Fr. Kevin Zubel, Pastor John Fife, and Ricardo’s family, we proclaim: Father Hugh Richard “Ricardo” Elford PRESENTE.