Father James McCarthy, 92, died Aug, 5. He founded and was a long-time director of Special Religious Development (SPRED), an agency of the Archdiocese of Chicago that provides ministry to adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Born in Chicago, Father McCarthy attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary and Loyola University Chicago. He was ordained in 1955.

He was assistant pastor of Santa Maria del Popolo, Mundelein; St. Gregory the Great Parish; St. Cecilia Parish (Wells Street); and Our Lady of Mercy Parish; and as pastor of St. John Nepomucene. He retired in 2007, but continued working with SPRED. 

In 1960, Father McCarthy became associate director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) in Chicago and discovered that parents had been inquiring about providing ministry to children with disabilities. They wanted their children to receive the sacraments, but no faith formation program existed for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Father McCarthy began working with parents, special educators and catechists in several parishes to make Catholic liturgies and catechesis more accessible to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Society of Helpers Sister Mary Therese Harrington soon began assisting in this work, and they were later joined by Providence Sister Susanne Gallagher.

In 1966, SPRED was established as an agency of the archdiocese. Today, 114 parishes with SPRED groups provide ministry to about 800 people with disabilities. The SPRED network has expanded beyond Chicago, administering faith formation and sacramental preparation programs for people with special needs in 28 Catholic dioceses and 200 parishes nationwide, and in numerous parishes in England, Ireland, Scotland, Australia, South Africa, Malta, Chile and Mexico.

He was still serving as the SPRED’s chaplain and director emeritus up until the day he died, SPRED director Joseph Quane said.

“His younger brother had intellectual disabilities, so he knew about the need and took the mission very personally,” Quane said. “He made it his mission to bring the Gospel message to some of the most poor and marginalized members of our society. He wanted people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to feel a sense of belonging in their local parish communities and wanted them to actively participate in the liturgical life of their parish. One of the greatest gifts he leaves to the SPRED community is the adult catechist formation component of SPRED. Father Jim was a strong proponent of life-long catechesis and insisted that a strong community of adult catechists, who participated in ongoing spiritual formation, was required if we are to effectively minister to our friends with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

In 2013, Father McCarthy, Harrington and Gallagher received the Laetare Medal from the University of Notre Dame for their outstanding service to the Roman Catholic Church — the highest honor bestowed by the university.

“He was a very humble person, and he didn’t like all the honors they received,” Quane added. “He faced a lot of challenges when he started SPRED in the 1960s, because back then a lot of people didn’t think people with intellectual and developmental disabilities needed faith formation or spiritual nourishment.”