Hundreds gather for Delaware bishop's funeral

WILMINGTON, DEL. — Hundreds gathered Wednesday to pay their final respects to Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli, remembering him as a down-to-earth leader who steered the Roman Catholic Diocese of Wilmington through turbulent times.

Saltarelli died Oct. 8 of bone cancer; he was 77. He led the diocese of 230,000 Catholics, which includes Delaware and Maryland's Eastern Shore, from 1996 until his retirement last year.

The mourners at St. Elizabeth Church included two cardinals, two dozen bishops and more than 100 priests, nuns, deacons, friars and seminarians. Dozens of Saltarelli's relatives also attended the Mass, which capped three days of services. Saltarelli was buried at All Saints Cemetery in Milltown.

"Bishop Michael Saltarelli was a priest's priest, a bishop's bishop, and a people's bishop," said Bishop John O. Barres of Allentown, Pa., who delivered the homily at the Mass. "May he rest in peace."

John and Ann Carney, the parents of former Lt. Gov. John Carney, arrived at the church early to pray the rosary. They said Saltarelli did a good job leading the diocese through the clergy sex abuse scandal and the closing of three Catholic schools.

Saltarelli apologized frequently to victims of sexual abuse by priests and said church leaders should have dealt with the issue decades earlier.

His successor, Bishop W. Francis Malooly, praised Saltarelli in his homily as a "faithful servant" who "sowed and cultivated" the seeds of a strong ministry to the diocese's growing Hispanic population.

Many mourners recalled Saltarelli's approachable, easygoing personality.

"When you were in his presence, you didn't have to be goody-goody," said Mary Jo Mento, a lifelong parishioner at St. Elizabeth. "You could kid around with him. He was just as happy as a lark to be with the people of God, to talk to them, to laugh with them."

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Information from: The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal, http://www.delawareonline.com