This great priest entered eternal life on November 30 at the age of 90.
The founder of Helpers for God’s Precious Infants had an impact that was felt around the world. From the Helper’s Facebook page:
It is with a heavy heart that I’m letting you know that our beloved Msgr. Philip J. Reilly passed away this morning on the feast of Saint Andrew.
So much can be said about Msgr, how many tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands or more!??) of lives he’s touched, mothers and babies he’s helped, and marriages and faith he’s strengthened.
How many crosses he had to endure, crosses from every direction, especially with regards to fighting cancer for so many years and still going out to help countless mothers and the babies. Not to mention how many abortion mills he’s closed and abortionist hearts he’s converted! All through the grace of God. Be he had the will to follow God’s lead. He went out and accomplished eternal work!
There is a reason virtually everyone called him a “living saint”. He had so many spiritual children. Now we can pray for the repose of his soul and pray to him for our intentions.
Fittingly, his funeral Mass will be celebrated on Sunday, December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing Msgr. Reilly several times and walking with him and dozens of others from my parish to gather in prayer outside an abortion clinic in my Queens neighborhood. His humility, serenity, sense of purpose and passion for the unborn were all an inspiration.
He didn’t believe in confrontation or angry protest. He believed simply in presence and prayer — and the power of quiet witness to change hearts and save lives.
As I wrote several years ago:
Msgr. Reilly, a humble and determined priest of Brooklyn … has turned his quiet, peaceful form of protest into a global movement centered on prayer and, quite simply, presence. Those who are familiar with his work know his ministry is non-confrontational, obedient, faith-filled, and Eucharist-centered. Every march begins with Mass and ends with Benediction. And in between, there is the simplest and most recognizable form of prayer: the rosary. The woman who gave life to our salvation, the Mother of God, is invoked again and again. “Pray for us now and at the hour of our death, Amen.” Death is never far from our minds when we walk the streets to pray for the unborn. We are mindful of our mortality. But we are also reminded of the gift of life. The gift of reconciliation. The blessing of hope.
He has been a powerful witness to life, across many decades. Lest we forget, his greatest weapon has been the one he carried with him this morning on the streets of Queens.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.