Ministering to Our Retired Clergy with Faith and Devotion
With a warm smile and eyes gleaming he says, “My happiest experience as a priest has been offering Mass every day. What a privilege!”
He is Father Cornelius (‘Connie’) O’Leary and he’s been doing just that for 54 years. For some years now a resident of Notre Dame du Lac’s assisted living facility, his priestly ministry continues even with ongoing health issues.
“Care for the sick is essential,” he adds. He is one of sixty-three retired priests, most of whom have been cared for by Sister Mary Ann Bartell, a Carmelite Sister of the Eucharist, who ministers to them with faith, devotion and her well-honed nursing skills.
“She has a real Christ-like example,” he says. “She shows us God’s love through her care - advocating for us, treating our wounds, listening to doctors’ diagnoses, giving us medication and taking us to our health appointments. She’s so compassionate and helps us to see God’s perspective.” And, adds Father Connie, “By example, she shows our priests how we should care for one another.”
“Early in my priesthood I had to go on a medical leave of absence. That’s when I learned how close God is to us, how our prayers are answered, and that God works through our suffering. In sickness, He brings us closer to Himself as well as to one another.”
The living faith of his parishioners, and their devotion to the sick in their families, strengthened his resolve to care for the sick himself.
“At St. Martin Parish in Otter River I remember when one mother became ill and all her children regularly began to pray the Rosary for her. Before you knew it, the whole parish started praying for that mother. It was such a beautiful thing.”
Having suffered four heart attacks he has limits, but each day he prepares a homily for Notre Dame’s daily Mass, in the event the assigned priest cannot show up. “I’ve got a whole stack of homilies that I’ve never given. But I’m always ready in a pinch.”
He sits at a different table at dinner each evening and encourages residents in their faith. “We have an ‘apostolic house’ here. With many sisters in residence, as well lay people, it’s a ‘treasure house of faith and goodness.’ We’ve all been through the battlefields of time.”
“I’m so grateful for the way that our Diocese cares for me and the retired priests through the Annual Partners in Charity Appeal. In addition to our salaries and benefits we enjoy the exemplary kindness of Sister Mary Ann, whose efforts are provided by the campaign.”
It’s no wonder many priests consider Sister’s ministry the most thoughtful innovation of the past decade. A native of Wisconsin, she entered religious life in 1957, and later earned a nursing degree. Each day she visits priests in area hospitals, rehab centers and nursing homes, and even those living outside the Diocese.