Fr. Joseph Bayne remembered as a rock star in Buffalo
Former Buffalo Fire Chaplain died in Chicago last month; funeral held in his hometown of Baltimore
Baltimore, Md. (WBEN) - Fr. Joseph Bayne, who served as chaplain of Buffalo Fire for some 13 years, was remembered at a memorial service in his hometown of Baltimore on Monday.
In the homily, Fr. Joe was remembered as a friar who believed what he read, taught what he believed, and practiced what he preached. "It wasn't just in church where he preached, because Joe met people where they were," those gathered recalled.
In 1989, Fr. Joe moved to Buffalo, where he began a 29-year ministry at The Franciscan Center, a transitional housing program for runaway and homeless young men from Western New York. The Center served more than 4,000 young men before closing its doors in 2018. For thirteen of his years in Buffalo, Fr. Joe served as Chaplain of Erie County Emergency Services and the Buffalo Fire Department, often known by his call number, ES-11.
Those speaking at the funeral said there was a fire in Fr. Joe's belly. "It burned strongest when the alarm rang. He had the firefighter in his blood," say mourners. "He administered to firefighters," and was considered a rock star in Buffalo.
In 2018, Fr. Joseph was reassigned to Chicopee, Mass., where he served briefly as Pastor of St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr Parish and Chaplain of the city fire department, before accepting the responsibility of becoming the Associate Director of Formation at the Conventual Franciscans' Postulancy house in Chicago. This ministry to young men in their first year of formation as friars was very much a reprisal of his years at The Franciscan Center.
Fr. Joe died on Friday, June 23, 2023, in Chicago.
