An image of a priest ran wild on social media in Eastern Pennsylvania today.. It was taken by stranded motorists who were forced to a complete stop on Intestate 81 southbound on July 8.. the image shows a rain soaked highway, traffic jammed because of endless accidents that littered the roadway.. and a solemn priest in a cassock… As he gets ready to perform last rights on a driver who was killed in in the event..

Truth be told, we were a bit apprehensive to post this on our Facebook page today. We didn’t take it, it was sent to us repeatedly by people. We also could not locate the mysterious source of the photo who was in the right place at the tragic time.. This image seemed so personal.. to tragic but .. yet somehow heroic and meaningful combined.

And now we are happy we did post it.

The emotional response to this image has been resoundingly inspiring across social media.. Maybe this will only be for a brief blip in the Internet world.. but it’s been hours now and few negative comments have popped up.

And thanks to the image being shared, we were also able to find out officially who the priest was in the photo–something many in the Lebanon area were desperate to find out so they could thank him for how he consoled people when they needed it most..

Fr. John Killackey was the priest pictured in the haunting photo.

Fr. Killackey is photographed here for an article entitled ‘path to the priesthood’ in the MISSIVE:

Fr. Killackey himself wrote the article describing what drove him onto a religious path,

 My seminary formation, in many ways, was another beginning to my vocation. It had its good and bad days as God purified any imperfect ideas I had of being a priest. Despite my faults, however, I always felt confident at the end of each year that Our Lord wished me to stay. I was blessed with great confreres and diligent seminary formators, and I am grateful to them for their direction and sacrifices. After seven years, by the grace of God, I was ordained a priest and stationed at Mater Dei, our apostolate in Harrisburg, PA, which has been a wonderful experience. I ask for prayers that I may be faithful to the graces that God gives us each day to be His saints.

WHAT IS MATER DEI

Back in the summer of 2007, Pope Benedict issued a decree that revived the old Latin mass of the Catholic Church. REUTERS reported then,

Catholics around the world will have the Pope’s blessing to ask priests to celebrate mass in Latin or get baptized or married according to the old rite. However, the new rights will continue to be the norm, and few are expected to want to return to the formal old rite in a language they do not speak.

The Pope said he wanted reconciliation with traditionalists, some of whom were so angered by the 1960s reforms that they broke with Rome, causing the first schism of modern times.

The traditional Latin mass was used prior to Vatican II…

Benedict’s decision in 2007 was done to reach out to the followers of an excommunicated ultratraditionalist, the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who split with the Vatican over Vatican II, particularly the introduction of the New Mass celebrated in the vernacular.

The Vatican excommunicated Lefebvre in 1988 after he consecrated four bishops without Rome’s consent. The bishops were excommunicated as well..

With the blessing of the Holy Sea, traditionalists could once again florish.

In December of 2007, Harrisburg Diocese Bishop Kevin Rhoades established Mater Dei Community to serve as a home for the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of Harrisburg.  The Mater Dei Community has the use of the historic St. Lawrence Chapel in downtown Harrisburg.

THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT

We reported on the horrors along the interstate yesterday..

A day later, the true scale of the event is now being reported.

There were 14 crashes along I78 and I81 within minutes.. Weather and driver errors are being blamed by police..

And one is dead.

The fatal crash occurred just after 2 p.m., in the area of mile marker 86.8 southbound on Interstate 81, East Hanover Township, police said.

Police state that during a heavy rain event, a driver did not notice traffic slowing or stopping.. The driver hit another vehicle at a high speed, causing heavy damage to the front of the vehicle, police said. The driver died as a result of the crash and has not been identified.

Although the driver hit one car specifically, police said a total of six vehicles were involved in the crash, including multiple tractor-trailers.

ONE WILL FALL BY THE WAY

The death of a driver, coupled with that image of a priest drenched in rain getting ready to perform his duty reminded me of a song that always strikes a ‘chord’ during emotional moments. The song is called ONE WILL FALL BY THE WAY, and was written by WG Snuffy Walden and used during the 1990s Made for TV version of Stephen King’s THE STAND….

It just seems to be the appropriate song of contemplation for this, or any moment a soul leaves this planet..

It was at the scene of death that Fr. Killackey was there for… performing a priestly duty of anointing the dead to ascend to higher realm..

Tonight, Fr. Killackey’s brother posted  a message on our social media page stating,

This is my brother, Fr. John Killackey. He administered Last Rites to a trucker who died in the accident just in front of him: please pray for the soul of the deceased.

We contacted Fr. Killackey for this story but were not able to get in contact. However Fr. Killackey’s brother had this message:

“Say a prayer for all of our priests”