Bishop Soto will preside at a funeral Mass for Father Nicholas Duggan, a retired priest of the Diocese of Sacramento, on Monday, October 8th, 2018 at 11:00am at St. Paul Parish in Sacramento.
Father Duggan, who served as a priest of the diocese for 56 years, died on Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018. He was 81. He retired from active ministry on Oct. 1, 2003. He has been residing at Nazareth House of San Rafael. He was pastor emeritus of St. Paul Parish in Sacramento.
A vigil for Father Duggan will be held October 7th, 2018 at 6:00pm at St. Paul Parish in Sacramento. Viewing will be at 4:00 pm. A rosary will be prayed at 5:30pm, followed by the 6:00pm vigil service. The celebrant will be Monsignor James Murphy.
A native of Kilkenny, Ireland, Father Duggan was ordained to the priesthood on June 3, 1962, following his studies at St. Kieran’s Seminary in Kilkenny. He decided to serve in the Diocese of Sacramento during his first year in seminary. The late Bishop Joseph T. McGucken of Sacramento was on a trip to Ireland to recruit seminarians and his presentation to Father Duggan’s seminary class pointed the way, Father Duggan told The Catholic Herald upon his retirement in 2003.
Father Duggan started his ministry in September 1963 at St. Thomas More Parish in Paradise, where he was assistant pastor until 1968. Five years as assistant pastor of Holy Family Parish in Citrus Heights followed. In 1973, he served in that same capacity at St. Anne Parish in Sacramento. One year later, he was appointed as pastor of St. Anne, where he served until 1986.
In April 1986, Father Duggan began his tenure as pastor of St. Paul Parish in Sacramento, where he served until his retirement in 2003. During that time, he led the parish in raising funds to build a new church in 1994 and in the renovation of the previous church to serve as a parish hall. During his tenure, the growth of the parish from surrounding subdivisions of homes increased the parish household count to some 1,500 families. Father Duggan also added many liturgical, spiritual and social justice ministries in the parish.
Father Duggan faced head on his own medical challenges, having been diagnosed over a year before his retirement with a frozen palate. After having therapy and consulting with several doctors about the medical condition which affected his speech, he struggled to make the difficult decision to retire, he told The Herald in September 2003.
“It was easier to leave Ireland and my own family than leaving St. Paul,” he said. “The people have been absolutely fantastic. They’re the reason a priest keeps going.”
For the first years of his retirement, he lived at the priests’ retirement village adjacent to Christ the King Passionist Retreat Center in Citrus Heights. He had been residing at Nazareth House of San Rafael.