Father Mark Logue, who transformed two parishes and touched many lives, dies at 78 

Long after Father Mark Logue left a parish, the signs of his priesthood remained.

At St. Luke in Edgemere, a former school building became a beautiful worship space adorned with stained glass rescued from a closed convent in New York. At Our Lady of Sorrows in West River, an expansion completed in 2001 nearly tripled the church’s seating capacity, creating room for generations of parishioners to worship together.

Both projects expanded where parishioners could gather. But those who knew Father Logue say what they remember isn’t the square footage – it’s him.

“He appreciated life and loved people,” said Pete Ball, president of the pastoral council at the Pastorate of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Edgewater and Our Lady of Sorrows. “He may be the most compassionate person I ever met in my life.”

Father Logue, who served as pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows from 1996 until his retirement in 2016, died July 6. He was 78.

Ordained by Cardinal Lawrence Shehan May 13, 1973, Father Logue spent 43 years serving the Archdiocese of Baltimore. After assignments as associate pastor of Sacred Heart in Glyndon, St. Mark in Catonsville and St. Rita in Dundalk, he became pastor of St. Luke in 1984. 

“We took a bland-looking hall and converted it into, what I think, is a pretty good worship space,” Father Logue remembered in a 2016 Catholic Review interview. “We did that in pieces, without a major fundraiser, the way a lot of homeowners living there would have.”

That same practical approach guided his 20 years at Our Lady of Sorrows.

Soon after arriving in West River in August 1996 – with four small dogs in tow – Father Logue realized the parish rectory also served as the parish office. Rather than share the space, he rented a house across the street where parish meetings could be held around a large dining room table. Later, after a new rectory was built on parish property, he continued hosting meetings in his living room.

“He would have the pastoral council meetings there. It was a huge table. It would seat 15 to 16 people,” Ball said. “After he had the house built on the (church) property and after he couldn’t get down to the hall, he would have meetings in his living room. It was so comfortable and relaxing.”

Father Logue also oversaw the church expansion that increased the building’s seating capacity from 150 to 400 in time for Easter Sunday Mass in 2001.

“It’s a little bit country here, laid back and quiet,” Father Logue said of Our Lady of Sorrows in the 2016 interview. “Every pastor says that his people are kind, and they really are here.”

Born Dec. 13, 1947, in Philadelphia, Father Logue said his vocation began while attending Forty Hours devotion with his mother at his home parish of St. Agnes in Catonsville.

“She told me that afterward, I hummed one of the hymns forever,” Father Logue said in the Catholic Review interview. “I was in the third grade.”

He attended St. Charles Minor Seminary and St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore before his ordination at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore.

His ministry was marked not only by building projects but also by service to those in need. While serving at St. Rita, he helped establish Rita’s Supper Table in 1981, a parish soup kitchen now known as Soup for the Soul.

That spirit of hospitality extended to parish life.

An accomplished cook, Father Logue personally prepared an annual volunteer appreciation dinner every January at Our Lady of Sorrows.

“He made the best black bean soup and his pork roast and sauerkraut, no one knew how he did it so well,” Ball said. “During Lent, he made pizza from scratch. The dough would rise a couple of days before he spread it out and he would make five or six huge pizzas.”

Father Gene Nickol, who was ordained alongside Father Logue in 1973, laughed as he recalled his classmate’s culinary talents.

“That sounds like Mark,” Father Nickol said after hearing someone remark that Father Logue could make anything from nothing. “He was an excellent cook.”

Even after years of knee and back problems that required 10 surgeries during his pastorate, Father Logue continued serving his parish.

“At times when he was ill or was operated on, I would go down and say a Mass for him,” said Father Nickol, who will offer the homily at his friend’s funeral Mass. “I know he was a great pastor who took good care of his people.”

Following his retirement in 2016, Father Logue moved to a cottage in Rehoboth Beach, Del., before later becoming a resident at St. Martin’s Home for the Aged in Catonsville.

“He loved the water. He loved the beach,” Ball said. “He always had a tan. A couple of ladies I was talking with remarked on ‘his sparkling blue eyes.’ He was just a wonderful person.”

Although Father Logue spent much of the last year of his life confined to bed, Father Nickol said he never complained.

“I always thought that was very heroic,” Father Nickol said. “It is hard to live that way. He wasn’t cooking. God love him. Most people have very good memories of him.”

For Ball, the memories that endure are not simply of expanded churches or new buildings, but of a priest whose greatest gift was making people feel welcome.

“What a great leader,” Ball said. “He was willing to do the work and was always accepting of new ideas.”

Archbishop William E. Lori will offer a funeral Mass for Father Logue July 20 at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Sorrows, with a viewing preceding the liturgy at 10 a.m. A reception will be held in the parish hall.

Email Katie V. Jones at kjones@CatholicReview.org

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