The Phoenix Fire Department’s longtime chaplain passed away early Sunday morning, a Phoenix fire spokesperson confirmed.
The fire department confirmed that father Carl Carlozzi died after battling esophageal cancer for more than a year.
In a post on Twitter Sunday, the department said, “His love and spiritual guidance has served thousands.”
Carrozzi joined the department as a volunteer 25 years ago and has responded to tens-of-thousands of emotionally “trying” dispatches, a fire spokesperson said. The chaplain is credited with helping people feel more at ease and comforted.
Over his decades with the department, he married over 100 firefighters and performed several funerals and baptisms for firefighters and their children.
No word as to when funeral services will be held for Father Carl.
