John Frates knew, from the moment his son Peter was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, that the day would come when he’d have to stand before a congregation of mourners and eulogize him.
“I never imagined, though, that it would be this magnificent,” he said, looking out at a throng of people Friday at St. Ignatius Church on the campus of Boston College.
The funeral Mass for the St. John’s Prep and Boston College baseball star, who lived in Beverly, was broadcast on local television and streamed online. The procession, which left from the Campbell Funeral Home in Beverly early Friday morning, drove through the campus of St. John’s, with the school’s entire student body lining the streets and roads throughout the campus.
From there, it proceeded to the campus of BC, arriving in front of the church around 10:45.
Rev. Tony Penna, who is a chaplain for several of the BC athletic teams, including baseball, was the principal celebrant.
During his homily, Fr. Penna talked of the first time he’d heard Frates’ name.
“It was in 2002,” he said, “and someone called me and said he knew of this kid Frates who is perfect for BC. He’s smart, he’s a good baseball player, he helps people, and — best of all for us — he goes to Mass. We have to get him.”
Fr. Penna remained friends with Frates. The last time they saw each other was earlier this month, when he went to Frates’ home in Beverly to pray with him.
“We started out talking about things like BC’s hockey team beating Harvard, and St. John’s Prep going to the Super Bowl. Then we went from that to praying.”
He said that he could feel the power coming out of Frates’ body from a foot or so above it.
Frates was diagnosed with ALS in 2012 and vowed his would be a public fight against the disease. Although his body gradually failed him, Fr. Penna said, his spirit never did.
“Peter Frates made a difference in all of our lives,” he said. “Otherwise, none of us would be here today.”
Fr. Penna said that Frates’ life, and how he turned the terrible diagnosis of ALS into something positive, reminded him of an old story about people who got a tour in advance of heaven and hell. They were exactly the same, he said. Long banquet tables with food, drink and sweets. But in hell, he said, “everybody was emaciated. You got in a little closer, and they had no joints in their arms. They could pick up the food, but they couldn’t eat it.”
In heaven, he said, “the people looked very well fed. Upon closer look, those people didn’t have any joints in their arms either. But they were all feeding each other. They were helping each other.”
Such was Frates’ life, Fr. Penna said. He took the worst possible circumstances a person could have and used them to help other people.
Frates is credited with being the driving force behind the ice bucket challenge, which has — to date — raised more than $200 million for ALS research.
John Frates added bits of humor to his eulogy.
“Pete had a pretty good-sized ego,” he said. “He’d have loved this.”
He spoke of his son’s willingness to help other people, whether they were stranded on the side of the road, or in the snow. He also joked that his son had a uniform for everything, whether it was baseball, snow plowing or landscaping.
Joined in the sanctuary by his son, Andrew and daughter, Jenn, John Frates spoke of the sacrifices both his children made to be there for their brother.
“The only thing is that now Andrew informed me that other day that he’s going to be in charge of my life. We’ll see how that goes,” he said to laughter.
Finally, he said, “the minute we walk out of this church we are done grieving. We are done. What’s left is to celebrate his life and the magnificent human being he was.”