DUBLIN (CNS): Irish tenor Frank Patterson, known internationally for his glorious voice and charitable works, was buried in his hometown of Clonmel on June 17.
Patterson died of brain cancer on June 10 in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York. A funeral Mass was celebrated for him on June 14 at New York’s St Patrick’s Cathedral, and his body arrived in Dublin’s pro-cathedral, St Mary’s Church, on June 15.
Despite being diagnosed with a brain tumor last year and undergoing several operations, the 61 year-old singer continued to perform and last sang in public at Regis College in Boston on June 4.
The first indication to many that he was ill was when he collapsed shortly before he was due to sing at the May 8 funeral of Cardinal John J. O’Connor.
A native of County Tipperary, Ireland, and a resident of Bronxville, New York, he had sung on some of the world’s most famous stages, including London’s Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York.
He sang twice for Pope John Paul II, in Ireland in 1979 and in New York in 1996. Patterson made no secret of his faith and was knighted by the Church following one papal performance and in recognition of his other charitable work.
