GAYLORD -- "In my heart I know we are collectively grieving the loss of a great father, brother, and friend," Diocese of Gaylord Bishop Bernard Hebda said.
Bishop Patrick Cooney gave 20 years to the Diocese of Gaylord. He impacted thousands of lives throughout Northern Michigan. Monday, bishops, priests, and friends from around the state gathered to say goodbye.
"Bishop Cooney is goIng to be remember as a great shepherd, a great pastor of the Diocese of Gaylord, someone who had a wonderfully loving heart and really was concerned about people and wanted to make sure that they had an encounter with Christ," Hebda said.
Bishop Cooney was the third Bishop of Gaylord. He came to the region in 1990 and held the position until he retired in 2009. He was well known for his motto, 'Forever Faithful'.
An idea he lived by in his most challenging moments.
"In the water's of baptism, God's servant Priest Patrick Ronald Cooney died with Christ and rose him to a new life may he now share eternal glory," Archbishop of Detroit Allen Vigneron said.
Bishop Patrick Cooney was 78.
WATCH: Bishop Hebda remember's Bishop Cooney
