The priest "seemed fine" when he was last publicly seen Saturday night, said a diocesan spokesman.
Springfield police respond to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart rectory where the body of the Rev. Paul Archambault was found in a closet Sunday.SPRINGFIELD – Police have yet to release any new information on their investigation into the death of a 42-year-old priest whose body was found Sunday in a closet at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart rectory.
Capt. Peter J. Dillon declined to comment on the death of the Rev. Paul Archambault Monday morning.
Mark E. Dupont, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, said Archambault was last publicly seen early Saturday night when, in his duties as chaplain at Baystate Medical Center, he ministered to a family in the emergency department.
“Obviously, he was doing exactly what he was known to do and that is respond to these emergencies regardless of the day or the time of day,” Dupont said.
The Rev. Paul Archambault is shown here at his 2005 ordination.Archambault arrived at Baystate about 6 p.m. and left about 45 minutes later, Dupont said. “He seemed fine when he left,” he said.
Dupont said he did not have any information on the cause, or suspected cause, of the priest’s death. “At this point we are referring the matter to the (state medical examiner) and Springfield police, he said.
Archambault last said Mass at 4 p.m. Saturday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Hampden. He was scheduled to return Sunday morning to the Somers Road church, said Dupont said.
When Archambault did not arrive, parish members contacted priests at Sacred Heart, which is located between Rosewell Street, Boston Road and Breckwood Boulevard.
Another priest came to the Hampden church to conduct the service and a search was started, Dupont said.
“He was a very young and very gifted young priest,” Dupont said, adding that Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell was “tremendously saddened” by the news. “It’s a tremendous loss to the diocese in Springfield.”
Archambault was a part-time assistant pastor at St. Mary’s, whose pastor, the Rev. Timothy J. Murphy, could not immediately be reached for comment. Archambault served regular Masses at the Hampden church, where he was known for his commanding voice and for quizzing parishioners on their knowledge of church doctrine during Mass.
Along with serving as chaplain for Baystate, Archambault, did many special projects including recently serving at an all-night vigil in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.A native of Northampton, Archambault graduated from St. John’s Seminary College in Brighton in 2000 and earned a master’s degree in divinity from Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, Conn. He was ordained as a priest in 2005 and first assigned as a parochial vicar at St. Theresa Parish in South Hadley.