Father Michael J. Murray, who for 20 years served as priest director of Catholic Cemeteries of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, died Aug.13, 2026 after a five-year battle with cancer.
He was 76 years old, and next month would have celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington.
Born on July 12, 1950, in Washington, D.C. to Charles A. and Frances (Schlegel) Murray, he attended Saint Jane de Chantal School in Bethesda. Maryland, and the now-closed Cathedral Latin School in Washington, D.C.
After studies at the Catholic University of America, and the Pontifical Gregorian and Angelicum Universities in Rome, he was ordained a priest of this archdiocese on Sept. 18, 1976.
Following his ordination, Father Murray was first assigned as parochial vicar at Saint Bernadette Parish in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1976. He was later assigned as parochial vicar at Saint Nicholas Pairsh in Laurel, Maryland in 1978 and then Saint Joseph on Capitol Hill in 1981.
From 1986 until 1988, he served at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Fairbanks, Alaska in 1986.
While serving in Alaska, Father Murray earned a pilot’s license and continued to enjoy flying for many years. “You see the beauty of creation,” he said of his avocation as a pilot in a 2016 Catholic Standard interview when he was celebrating the 40th anniversary of his ordination as a priest.
He returned to Washington in 1988 and was named as parochial vicar to Our Lady of Victory Parish in Washington, D.C., and a year later was named parochial vicar to Saint Martin in Gaithersburg.
He was named pastor of Saint Mary in Newport, Maryland in 1993, and held that post until being named pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Forestville, Maryland in 1996.
From 2000 until 2005, Father Murray served as executive director of the archdiocese’s Office of the Permanent Diaconate and as the director of Saint John Vianney House in Kensington, Maryland. Saint John Vianny House is run by the archdiocesan Office of Pastoral Care for Priests and hosts Church-related support groups, workshops, retreats and other programs.
In his 2016 interview with the Catholic Standard, Father Murray said that an especially rewarding part of his priesthood was directing the permanent diaconate office and witnessing men responding to a call to serve God and the Church as deacons in parishes.
In 2005, he was named Pastor of Saint Anthony Padua in Washington, D.C., serving there for one year until 2006 when he was named priest director of Catholic Cemeteries of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. He served in that until his death.
The archdiocesan Catholic Cemeteries oversees Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington, D.C.; All Souls Cemetery in Germantown, Maryland; Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland; Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton, Maryland; and Saint Mary’s Queen of Peace Cemetery in Mechanicsville, Maryland.
“He had many friends here at the cemetery and the public loved him,” said Lilliam Machado, president and CEO of the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Washington. “He did a monthly memorial Mass (for the souls buried in the Catholic cemeteries) and the people’s love for him was quite evident.”
Machado said that Father Murray “was a great consoler to many people and to loved ones in mourning.”
“He was also a great source of invaluable guidance for me, and he was always available to our staff whenever they had questions,” Machado said. “We are going to miss him terribly, and we are truly mourning his loss.”
Speaking of Father Murray’s hobby of flying, Machado recalled that the priest “loved to fly, and he had a lot of friends around the world. He will be missed and not just by us, but by many people all over.”
A visitation for Father Murray will be held at the Saint Jane Frances de Chantal Parish in Bethesda on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026, at 10 a.m.
Washington Cardinal Robert W. McElroy will celebrate the Mass of Christian Burial at St. Jane Frances de Chantal at 11 a.m. that day.
A repast in the parish hall will be held immediately following the Mass, and interment will take place at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery.
