Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

About 700 people, including 120 judges from Maryland and other states, attended the funeral rites for Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson at St. Ann Parish in Hagerstown. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other civic leaders were present. (CR Staff)

Slain Maryland judge honored at Catholic parish in Hagerstown


By
Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Gun Violence, Local News, News, Western Vicariate

Andrew F. Wilkinson, a judge of the Maryland Circuit Court for Washington County, was laid to rest Oct. 27, in a Mass of Christian burial attended by members of the judiciary and state officials.

About 700 people, including 120 judges from Maryland and other states, attended the funeral rites at St. Ann Parish in Hagerstown. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and other civic leaders were present.

Wilkinson was fatally shot Oct. 19 in the driveway of his home in Hagerstown.

Judge Andrew F. Wilkinson of the Maryland Circuit Court for Washington County, pictured in an undated photo, was fatally shot Oct. 19, 2023, in the driveway of his home in Hagerstown. (OSV News photo/courtesy Maryland Courts)

Earlier in the day, the 52-year-old Wilkinson had presided over a divorce case involving suspect Pedro Argote, who was found dead Oct. 26 in a wooded area — about a mile from where his abandoned vehicle had been located — near Williamsport, Md.

Monsignor J. Bruce Jarboe, pastor of St. Ann, said in the homily for the Mass that none of those present expected to be attending the funeral, “and none of us wants to be here doing this, today. It is, however, so important that we are here together in love, together in care, together in mutual support. We do not carry this heartache alone.”

Although the funeral was closed to the media, the Archdiocese of Baltimore provided an audio recording of a portion of the homliy.

Monsignor Jarboe said that Wilkinson was immersed on the day of his baptism into a share in a new and perfected life in the risen Jesus. “We know that Drew believed this deeply,” the pastor said.

Jesus “dispels the darkness of any presence of sin and evil, the power of his risen presence within and among us. It is, of course, a change that has come far too soon for the vast network of Drew’s family, friends, colleagues and community members who miss his presence so much,” he said, noting that the Lord stands ready to welcome us into God’s eternal kingdom.

“Which is why, even in the midst of a sadness that fills our hearts and spirits right now – a sadness that we do not attempt to minimize at all – in the midst of it, we are still confident that Drew now comes to experience the glory of a new, perfected, transformed life with the risen Christ,” Monsignor Jarboe said.

“To be clear, our prayer today is not some kind of attempt to minimize this truly difficult reality that we face. It is an expression of what we claim as our Christian hope, the confident belief and conviction that in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, the ultimate power of death has been overcome, and that nothing can separate us from God’s great love. God created Drew in love,” he said.

Born in Guam, Wilkinson studied economics at the University of North Carolina and completed his law degree at Emory University School of Law. He was admitted to the Maryland Bar in 1997 and joined the Maryland Circuit Court for Washington County in January 2020.

Wilkinson was involved in a number of charitable and civic outreaches, including service with Food Resources Inc., the Hagerstown YMCA, the Rotary Club, and the Assembly Club of Hagerstown. He also was a youth soccer and baseball coach.

OSV News contributed to this story.

* Story updated Oct. 30 to include additional information about the homily.

Read More Gun Violence

Copyright © 2023 Catholic Review Media

Print Print