Detroit pays tribute to Belfast priest killed in boating tragedy after body is recovered
A Belfast priest whose body was recovered from a river following a boating accident was the pride of his community, those who knew him have said.
Clergyman, Fr Stephen Rooney (66), who had been a priest in the US for 30 years, went missing after a boating accident in the Detroit river on Sunday.
The incident occurred near Grosse Ile, an island between Michigan and Ontario, Canada.
It’s understood the priest was on board a 39-foot speedboat which hit a rock in the river and overturned.
Ten people were rescued, three of them children.
Another man, Robert Chiles, also died in the accident.
Fr Rooney, who came originally from Belfast’s Short Strand area, was a pastor at St Joseph’s parish in Trenton in the Diocese of Detroit, and regularly returned to Ireland to visit his family.
His brother, Pilib O Ruanaidh, told RTE News the family has been notified that the body has been discovered.
Archbishop of Detroit, Allan Vigneron, offered his condolences, saying: “I am deeply grieved by Sunday’s tragic boating incident and the loss of Fr Rooney and St Joseph parishioner Robert Chiles.
“Father Rooney was a beloved pastor and my deepest condolences go out to the parish community in this time of grief.
“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.”
The Belfast priest’s home parish of St Matthew’s asked for prayers from parishioners on social media, as had the Passionist community at Tobar Mhuire, Crossgar, where Fr Rooney had spent time at the start of his training for the priesthood.
Parishioner Tricia Mohr said of Fr Rooney: “He always made you laugh. He served God with such joy. He was a great guy.”
Sinn Fein’s Senator Niall O Donnghaile and Mairead O’donnell sent condolences to the Rooney family after the body of Fr Stephen was recovered.
“Our heartfelt sympathies are with our friends and neighbours in the extended Rooney family at this most difficult time,” they said. “The entire community has been in solidarity with them over the arduous days since Fr Stephen went missing following a boating accident on Detroit River last Sunday evening.
“We will continue to offer any support the family may need in the coming days and weeks ahead. The Short Strand community is very proud of Fr Stephen and proud of the impact he had on so many others.
“Fr Stephen may have left the Short Strand to fulfil his vocation but the Short Strand never left him,” they said.