Fr. Ken celebrates Golden Jubilee in priesthood

Eganville – Exactly 50 years to the day and almost to the hour, Father Ken O’Brien celebrated Mass Saturday afternoon in St. James the Less Church, the same parish in which he was ordained to the priesthood on May 11, 1974.

The church was filled with parishioners from St. James, St. Ann’s in Cormac and Our Lady of Nativity in Pikwakanagan where Fr. O’Brien served for the last nine years until his retirement last November, as well as family members and many visitors from former parishes where he served, and beyond. Afterwards, a dinner was held at the Legion Hall where the jubilarian was honoured by more than 200 people in attendance.

Fr. O’Brien was ordained in the old St. James Church by Bishop J.R. Windle, the then Bishop of Pembroke Diocese. Currently, the diocese is without a bishop following the appointment last fall of His Excellency Leo Desrochers as the Archbishop of Moncton, NB. Father Ryan Holly, a native of Cormac, is now filling the role of diocesan administrator until a new bishop is appointed.

Fr. Holly was the guest homilist for Saturday’s celebration and said in that moment 50 years ago, Ken O’Brien was forever configured to Christ the High Priest through the sacrament of Holy Orders.

“While ordination never imparts all of the answers, abilities and qualifications for priestly ministry, God’s very own spirit is given to us mere mortals to celebrate eternal mysteries,” he said. “Through preaching, teaching and sanctifying, the priest brings souls to Christ. In the midst of the rough and tumble of this earthly existence, the priest seeks to bring the good news of the Risen Lord to where it is needed most.

“When we hear the words of Christ to His disciples before His ascension to ‘go into the whole world and proclaim the good news’, we can easily think that the task is too lofty, grand or general in meaning,” he said. “The truth of this is that while each of us have received this command in our own baptism and confirmation, the priest responds through the sacrament of Holy Orders, through the voice of his bishop, to go where we are asked to go.”

He said Father Ken laid before the altar of God 50 years ago in the act of self-giving and that initial yes he gave to the Lord has had to be repeated every day since. He said going into the whole world for him first meant going to Holy Name of Jesus, Cathedral, Catholic High, (Pembroke), Chalk River, Osceola, Cobden, Combermere, Latchford Bridge and then back to Eganville, Pikwakanagan and Cormac.

””It cannot go without saying that among all of your pastoral talents and gifts, you have seemed to have accomplished something that even our Blessed Lord was unable to achieve in his earthly ministry when he said that ‘no prophet is accepted in his own hometown’,” he said. “I think it’s safe to say by the looks of those assembled here you are doing just fine.”

Fr. Holly said a priest’s missionary territory is the altar and pulpit, but also includes hospitals and parishioner’s homes, the school yard, the graveyard, the confessional and even the committee room. A significant portion of Fr. Ken’s mission territory has been at Marianhill and that he considered it a blessing to now reside there in this new chapter of his priestly ministry, in a place where he continues to live his priestly mission.

“Our present times place us very much in an apostolic age much like that of the early church,” Fr. Holly continued. “Sometimes we may even feel like we are starting from scratch. We must never remain frozen or discouraged, but rather enkindle the gifts of the Holy Spirit to stir up the graces we need so that the Church in this age will be known by our fidelity to the person and commands of the Risen Lord in this Pilgrim Church still marching across the years.”

A Nice and Decent Person

During addresses following the dinner at the Legion, Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke MPP John Yakabuski said he was always totally impressed with the way Fr. O’Brien approached people, including himself, and the compassionate way he dealt with people.

He said it always struck him what a genuinely nice and decent person he was.

“And then I think about taking on that task and responsibility for five decades,” he said. “I wonder how many people in this room can thank Fr. O’Brien for the help he gave them on that faith journey, because that faith journey is different for every one of us and it is anything but a straight line for most of us.

“We require help, we require guidance and we require someone to have faith in us and for so many people here and for so many people who are not here, Fr. O’Brien would have been that guidance, that light, that confidence, that encouragement because in every faith journey there are days people might want to pack it in and say this is hard. But to have someone of his stature and his kind and compassionate way to help people walk that journey is something that is truly important.”

Mr. Yakabuski presented certificates from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Premier Doug Ford, MP Cheryl Gallant and himself.

Bonnechere Valley Township Mayor Jennifer Murphy said Fr. O’Brien has been in her life for a long time, going back to her teen years when he was in Osceola and he would do his best to keep all of the O’Kane great-grandchildren on the straight and narrow.

“I don’t know how much he succeeded,” she said. “You have been a constant in my life for so many years. Thank you for everything you have done for me, this township, the County of Renfrew and for my family, providing years and years of guidance and serv ice”

As deputy warden of Renfrew County, she also brought greetings on behalf of all members of county council.

A Joy To Serve With

Rev. Claire Bramma, a member of the Parish in the Valley Anglican team serving the Bonnechere and Madawaska Valleys, spoke on behalf of the Eganville and Area Ministerial Association and said her experience in Eganville and area has been very much enriched by Fr. O’Brien.

“Ken has just been such a joy to serve along together with,” she said. “His wisdom and his generosity, his time and faithfulness has touched my heart and he has also played a vital role in us getting together.”

She said she had heard the legends about the Protestant side and the Catholic side of Eganville but she was convinced Fr. Ken has created a safe, welcoming and collaborative space for all faith leaders.

“And that is so fortunate,” she continued. “He also has been vital in helping us focus on what unites us, rather than what makes us different. One of the things that I will always remember him saying is ‘it’s my church, your church, our church ... let us do more for us to become one’.”

She thanked Fr. O’Brien for expressing God’s love to the ministerial group, for his wisdom and sense of humour which was uplifting when they came weary to meetings, and for his grace and peace which calmed their worries.

“We will never forget you and we will continue passing on that torch for unity in Christ. God Bless you.”

Fr. Holly also spoke at the dinner where he expressed love and gratitude on behalf of the entire Diocesan family.

“We are told when we are ordained, many of the older priests would always say, ‘be sure never to miss the ordination, the anniversary or the funeral of a priest because every time we get together to celebrate one of those events it celebrates our own vocation’,” he said.

He presented a framed Papal Blessing from Pope Francis.

Life of Gratitude and Generosity

Speaking on behalf of his brothers, Father Kerry Brennan of Renfrew said in summing up Fr. O’Brien’s 50 years in the priesthood one could safely say it was a life of gratitude and generosity.

“Fr. Ken believes the priesthood is a gift given to him by Jesus the eternal High Prest and indeed when one listens to Fr. Ken it is evident his life has been filled with gratitude and generosity: gratitude because of the immense appreciation he has for everyone who supported him in the priesthood, particularly during his health crisis, and his generosity because of his willingness to serve God and his people wherever he was called to go.”

He said his brother priests were grateful to have him over the years, even though he sometimes got his Irish up.

Family Important

Fr. Ken’s brother, Matt, spoke on behalf of the family and told of how his parents had a Sunday tradition of welcoming his uncle, Father J.K. O’Brien to the farm every Sunday, a tradition that continues today with brother Gerard and wife Colleen welcoming Fr. Ken.

“That part of the story, back to Fr. Ken Sr., is very, very important because when he would come, virtually every Sunday, there was an eager young boy observing his every move and after he would leave, our sister Marie remembers five or six-year-old Ken walking through our yard with a book above his head pretending to do his daily breviary like his Uncle Ken did,” he said. “To say that Ken received his priestly vocation early is absolutely an understatement when you are talking about five, six years of age.

“But maybe those of us who observed the family should not have been surprised as we were because our mother and father were very community oriented, very compassionate and we all remember as soon as mom would hear about a grieving family in the community, she would immediately start baking, send dad out to town to get some fresh loaves of sandwich bread and we’d all sit around making sandwiches to deliver to the family in grief so they had one less thing to worry about. And certainly, Ken saw that compassion inside our parents ... and so that is actually bred in us.”

Mr. O’Brien said Fr. Ken’s anniversary was a milestone for the family and one that each and every family member will remember for the rest of their lives. He said it was appropriate the celebration was taking place on Mother’s Day weekend because no one took more pride in his vocation than their mother.

“We your family wish you much love, much happiness and much good health in your well-earned and deserved retirement,” he said.

Presentations were made on behalf of all three parishes with Tom Holly, Ann McIntyre, Anne Goodwin, Bardella Kelly and Moses Martin presenting a painting of the shrine of St. Ann at Cormac; Sandy Nash and Irvin and Carrie Sarazin presenting a gift of moccasins on behalf of Our Lady of Nativity and Ray and Debbie McGrath presenting him with an Irish lap quilt on behalf of St. James.

In addition to the above-mentioned people, the anniversary committee was also comprised of Gerald and Wanda Tracey, Karen McKibbon, Michael Kelly, Colleen Prince and Howard Bernard. Mr. Tracey emceed the event.

Fr. O’Brien was gracious in his thanks to everyone who played a role in his celebration and also to those who supported him over the last 50 years in his vocation.

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you. It’s been wonderful to see so many people here.”

A native of the Opeongo Road, Fr. O’Brien attended the one-room school at Clontarf and then the Catholic high school in Eganville before entering the seminary. A son of the late Clifford and Loretta O’Brien, they were members of St. Joseph’s Parish on the Opeongo. There were four children in the family: Marie (Vernon Swant), Ken, Matt and Gerard. Also attending the celebration were nieces Julie (and Peter Connelly), Lisa (and John Torkos), Mike and Kay O’Brien, and Cliff O’Brien.

Debbi Christinck, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eganville Leader