Tuesday, January 16, 2024
I have had the privilege and honor of knowing Irene Callaghan, her wonderful husband Jack, and her growing and delightful family since we first met, in prolife activities, in 1990. Irene loved the Catholic faith, and lived that faith—with love—every hour of every day. I do not know how I would have coped with the challenges I have faced over the last few decades without Irene’s wisdom, prayers and unwavering support.
As just a tiny example of Irene’s devotion to her family, when Irene returned from caring for her younger California grandchildren while her son John and daughter in law Anna were away, the youngest, Patrick—then a toddler—informed Irene that his mother had left instructions as to how a certain household chore was to be performed. Irene reported that she listened carefully, pondered briefly, and then replied to Patrick that his mother…could be right. “She IS RIGHT!” came Patrick’s immediate, and fiercely loyal reply. Irene’s absolute delight in recalling her encounter with her grandson was memorable. In scores of encounters thereafter, I could always count on hearing Irene’s warm laughter if I found a spot in a conversation where I could interject “She IS RIGHT.”
In the year 2000 Irene and I went to an author’s presentation, in a midtown Manhattan bookstore, about a new book concerning Pope Pius XII and World War II. The book had been touted as a “balanced” look at how the Pope coped with the horrors of that war. When the author instead spent 15 minutes blaming the Pope for the Holocaust, I was disgusted and simply wanted the two of us to walk out. That was not Irene’s approach when Catholic leaders were publicly libeled. Irene quickly got the author’s attention during the Q&A session, and Irene patiently explained that—having lived in Italy in the 1950s, she knew firsthand how the lifesaving activities of many Catholic institutions throughout Italy were inevitably guided by the Pope. Not content with having just her one voice providing the audience with an alternative view, Irene firmly nudged me to add rebuttals. Unable to say no to Irene, and inspired by her example, during the Q&A I quoted to the author a number of statements about the Pope’s courage, from such sources as The NY Times editorial board and the leaders of the State of Israel. The startled author clearly had an expectation that Manhattan would be a safe venue for Vatican bashing, but she had left Irene Callaghan out of her calculations.
Irene’s love of truth, family and the Catholic Faith will continue to be guiding forces in the lives of all who had the pleasure of knowing her.
