catholicnewsherald.com | June 19, 2015 14B CATHOLIC NEWS HERALD
Father Thomas Clements Your family at Pennybyrn at Maryfield join in celebrating with you this very special occasion of the 60th anniversary of your ordination to the priesthood.
sueann howell | catholic news herald
Father Kieran Neilson (center) is escorted into St. Patrick Cathedral by Father David Miller before the Chrism Mass in 2013. Father Kieran’s family helped found the cathedral in 1939 and he attended school there before joining the Benedictines of Belmont Abbey in 1954.
Benedictine marks 55 years of priestly service Congratulations on your anniversary and thank you for your faithful service.
Father James Ebright 10 Years
Deacon John Weisenhorn 20 Years
May God continue to bless both of you!
Saint Michael Catholic Church 708 St. Michael’s Lane Gastonia, NC 28052
SueAnn Howell Senior reporter
CHARLOTTE — Benedictine Father Kieran Neilson, 83, is everything you’d expect a priest of Irish Catholic descent to be – he’s joyful and engaging with a twinkle in his eye and an infectious grin. A native Charlottean whose family helped found St. Patrick Cathedral in Dilworth, Father Kieran’s life gives witness to a genuine love of the Catholic faith which developed over the decades just as the Diocese of Raleigh and then the Diocese of Charlotte began to grow. This unique perspective gives Father Kieran an outlook that few clergy in the diocese have today. He remembers when the announcements at the end of Mass were the particulars about families welcoming a new baby and parish meetings consisted of the few Catholic families who lived in Charlotte. He was educated at the O’Donoghue School (now St. Patrick School) adjacent to the cathedral. He entered the Benedictine monastery of Belmont Abbey just 20 miles west of Charlotte in 1954. After one year of the novitiate he made his first profession and then studied for three more years before his final profession of vows. After another year of study he was ordained a priest in 1960 by Bishop Vincent S. Waters, who had also studied at Belmont Abbey. He was ordained with three diocesan priests that year: Monsignor William Pharr (now deceased), Monsignor Lewis Morton (now deceased) and Father Frank Maloney (now retired). The four were ordained May 26 at the old Our Lady of Assumption Church in Charlotte. “I remember the members of my family being there, and the dear Sisters who taught me as I grew up (in the O’Donoghue School in Charlotte),” he says. “Sister Mary Patrick and Sister Kathleen McNamara – they were very special to me. My mother
died when I was in seventh grade and Sister Mary Patrick was my teacher. She was always a gem to me and prayed for me. And in eternal life I’m sure she has still prayed for me.” He recalls that having the opportunity to bring people who were close to him to his ordination was very special. “It was an experience. You are so overcome by emotion in many respects that there are certain things you can’t remember (in detail).” Over the past 60 years as a Benedictine monk, Father Kieran has had many experiences and positions that range from being the Guestmaster, Novicemaster and Subprior at Belmont Abbey; mail man in the Belmont Abbey College Post Office; and disciplinarian at Benedictine College Preparatory School in Richmond, Va. during the time he was assigned to St. Benedict’s Priory. He remembers that, for seven years when he served as the disciplinarian at the high school, it was “a thankless job.” “You are always punishing someone for something,” he explains. “You had to discipline them or you would be in trouble. If you didn’t make them pay the price for their actions, then you’d be guilty of it. I had to weigh the facts.” “Oh, the stories I could tell!” he adds with a laugh. “There were wonderful times and I’ve seen those young men grow up to be doctors and lawyers and many things. They have achieved great heights. It gives you a thrill to see all they’ve accomplished.” He hopes to attend the 50th anniversary of the Class of 1965. Father Kieran also worked in pastoral ministry at St. Benedict Parish in Richmond and St. Michael the Archangel Church in Gastonia. “I loved parish work. I got to minister to the people of all ages, I got to help prepare NEILSON, SEE page 23B