Walter Miller, 93, Catholic charismatic

 Driving through rural North Jersey in 1970, Walter C. Miller came upon an old country building with a sign reading, "Prayer meeting every Wednesday night," which it just so happened to be.

Religiosity and curiosity drew him in to what was the retreat house of a Catholic priest recently back from 12 years of contemplative life in Europe.

After a fervid meeting, the priest asked Mr. Miller if he wished to be "baptized in the Spirit."

"How much does that cost?" he asked.

"Nothing, nothing," the priest assured, and joined by other supplicants, he prayed over Mr. Miller, whose life would not be the same from then on.

He had experienced the nascent Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States, and soon was sowing its seeds in the Diocese of Camden. He remained a prominent leader until he died, also amid impassioned prayer, at 93 on Wednesday, March 27, at a convalescent facility near his Collingswood home.

An international Pentecostal movement recognized by the Vatican since the mid-1970s, the Charismatic Renewal centers on a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. It is imbued with belief in miracles and "gifts" of healing and prophecy. Praise of God is exclaimed; glossolalia, or speaking in tongues, welcome.

Mr. Miller was the compleat charismatic. Any given evening would find him at one of a couple of dozen prayer meetings in the six-county diocese, or hopping a bus to get to one in Philadelphia. Until his death, he was chairman of the annual fall conference in Wildwood, which draws thousands of adherents.

"Walter was a gentle soul with a deep faith," said Msgr. Thomas T. Mannion, director of the diocesan Office of Community Relations. He met Mr. Miller in 1972 through a prayer group at St. Anne Church in Westville.

"He sought no recognition," he said, "but he certainly was a fisher of men and women."

Mr. Miller never spoke of himself as a leader. In fact, he never spoke of himself, period.

After he was gone, even his closest friends were left scrambling to fill in the blanks. What had he done for a living? Where did he go to school? Where was he raised?

To start: Wilmerding.

He grew up. in the tiny town near Pittsburgh, the eldest of the four children of William and Zita Miller.

In 1942, he joined the Army and served as an infantryman in the Mediterranean theater, fighting in the North Apennines, Rome-Arno, and Po Valley campaigns. Throughout, he carried in his pocket a picture of the Virgin Mary.

Discharged in 1946 as a technician fifth grade, he went to Baylor University in Texas on the G.I. Bill.

He organized conventions for a Texas hotel chain, worked for Durkee Foods in North Jersey, then went south to Westville, Gloucester County, in the early '70s. He worked more than 20 years at the Abilities Center of Southern New Jersey, a provider of vocational rehabilitation, and retired, reluctantly, at 75.

He never married. Not that there was room for it.

"He was all about the power of the Holy Spirit," said a prayer group member who, out of respect for Mr. Miller's humility, asked that her name not be used. "He emptied his whole life" of all else.

He was a linchpin of the earliest charismatic prayer meetings in the Camden Diocese, notably those at St. Anne Church and at St. Rose of Lima in Haddon Heights, where the late Bishop James L. Schad was pastor. As many as 500 people turned out for Sunday-night gatherings that ran more than two hours.

Mr. Miller became known for "gifts." Many fellow supplicants said he could prophesy, others that he could heal. Holy was the common modifier in describing him.

"He changed a lot of people's lives," said friend Chick Warrington, who counts himself among them. "So many come up to him and say: 'Walter, do you remember me? Twenty years ago, you led me to the Holy Spirit.' "

Over the years, charismatic prayer meetings have typically gotten smaller, in some sites down to 20-some attendees; the annual conferences that once drew more than 10,000 now get fewer than 2,000.

Until earlier this year, though, Mr. Miller was unfailingly among those present. He usually got where he needed to go by bus, not wanting to bother others to drive him - even if they were going to the same place.

In February, age-related illnesses took their toll. Mr. Miller moved from the Collingswood apartment where he had lived the last six years to Cooper River Convalescent Center in Pennsauken.

His last weeks were agonizing, said friend Sue Wheeler. "He never complained once. The greater the pain, the louder he prayed. He was praising God like he was leading a prayer meeting."

Mr. Miller is survived by a brother, Paul.

Services were held Saturday, April 13.

Donations may be made to St. Rose of Lima Parish, 300 Kings Highway, Haddon Heights, N.J. 08035.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mccannhealey.com.