Monsignor Travers’ 70 years of diocesan service
The Bishop of Elphin has led tribute to the late Monsignor Charles Travers Roscommon town and formerly of Ardcarne, Co Roscommon. who passed away on January 15th in the devoted care of the staff of Roscommon University Hospital.
Beloved son of the late Owen and Rita, and brother of the late Patrick, Mel, Owen and Joe. He will be very sadly missed by his sister-in-law Kathleen, nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces, great-grandnephews, great-grandnieces, cousins, wider family, Bishop Kevin Doran, his fellow priests and deacons of the Elphin Diocese and beyond, his parishioners and a huge circle of friends.
Concelebrated Mass of the Resurrection took place on Tuesday at 12 o’clock followed by burial afterwards in the grounds of the Sacred Heart Church, Roscommon.
Mgr. Charles Travers, a native of Ardeash, Croghan, Co. Roscommon, who has died after a short illness, gave almost seventy years of service as a priest of the Diocese of Elphin.
While his physical strength began to fail him in recent years, he lost nothing of his desire to serve or of his interest in what was going on in the world around him. May he rest in peace.
Born in 1927, Charlie was one of five sons of Owen and Rita Travers.
Like most Elphin priests of his generation he was educated at the College of the Immaculate Conception, Summerhill, Sligo.
Following his Leaving Certificate, and just as the Second World War was drawing to a close, he was accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Elphin and went for his formation to St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth. He was ordained in 1952.
It was common enough at the time, due to the growing numbers, for newly ordained priests to minister abroad, in England or in the USA.
The young Fr. Travers spent the first ten years of his priesthood ministering in London, initially in Putney (in the Archdiocese of Southwark) and for the final four years in Euston (in the Archdiocese of Westminster).
On return to Elphin Fr. Travers served as curate in Kiltoom and then in Ballinafad, before being sent to the Corpus Christi Catechetical Institute (London), where he completed a Diploma in Religious Education.
He spent a short time immediately afterwards as Chaplain at St. Thomas More Secondary School in London.
He returned to Ireland in 1969 to take on the role of what was then known as “Diocesan Examiner” for Religious Education. It was time of great change in the approach to Religious Education and Fr. Travers devoted all his energies to supporting teachers and priests in responding to that challenge.
Canon Travers returned to Sligo in the Jubilee Year of 1975, where he served as Administrator of the Cathedral Parish until 1987.
He was named a “Prelate of Honour” (Monsignor) in 1985.
He went on to serve as Parish Priest of Sacred Heart Parish, Roscommon Town and Vicar General of the Diocese, from 1987 until he retired in 2002, having reached the canonical age of 75.
For Charlie, retirement was not about giving up his priesthood.
On the contrary, it meant that, having been freed of the burden of administration, he had more time to devote to the pastoral care of people.
He continued to serve as Curate in the parish of Roscommon until 2016. His final appointment was as Chaplain to the Sisters of Mercy in Roscommon, a role which he exercised faithfully up to the time of his death.
Bishop Kevin extended his sympathies to Charlie’s nephews and nieces, to his fellow priests and to his many friends and former parishioners.