Fr. Gregory McGivern’s journey

How ‘the troubles’ of Ireland shaped a USD spiritual leader

ALYSSA HAAS CONTRIBUTOR

Father Gregory McGivern was born and raised Catholic amidst “The Troubles” of Ireland, a time of chaos and revolution. This violent and disorderly period of war and unrest was just the beginning of McGivern’s ministry journey, starting in Northern Ireland and continuing to the University of San Diego.

Gregory McGivern was raised in Northern Ireland, not far from Belfast. He is the oldest child in his family and has two younger sisters and two younger brothers. He described his life in Ireland to be good until the emergence of “The Troubles” when he was eight years old. He recalled the unsettling and traumatic events that were unfolding around him as he was growing up, including arriving at school and seeing friends missing from their seats who were later found to be victims of sectarian violence.

Through the violence and difficulties during his formative years, McGivern found comfort and security in the church. McGivern found a natural gravitation to God through his family and his school. At age 18, McGivern began a six-year seminary, a university curriculum with a seminary formation. He remembered being curious about studies and theology and began to see faith in a broader sense, since he was more grown-up. McGivern was guided by his curiosity about his faith and his questions about God and wanted to understand what the faith that had been given to him, truly meant in his own life in the world unfolding around him.

“I was open to the new learnings and the new questions, which were received with openness. That was a period of learning and growing,” McGivern said.

McGivern was ordained as a priest in 1985 after completing seminary. He returned to his community in the North of Ireland where he began his ministry journey for the next seven years. McGivern reflected on the tragic events that he experienced in the community that influenced his ministry journey, including a bombing of a school where he worked.

“The church was almost demolished. There was a lot of trauma and a lot of fallout there in terms of the violence,” he recalled.

Through these tragedies, he found light in the formation of his youth group.

After his ministry journey with his community at home, McGivern was transferred to a different cathedral in another town where he spent seven more years. After his time there, he transferred to a “picturesque” parish for three years. Through connections in his parish, he was blessed to work with a nonprofit organization called Concern Worldwide which held projects in Third World countries.

“This had a tremendous impact in terms of being exposed to the famine, being around people that were dying…women were starving to feed their children and there was anarchy everywhere,” he remembered.

McGivern strove to look for God despite the tragedy.

“The people were so beautiful and it reminded me of the interconnectedness of all in terms of a war community. And their needs were just like my needs and they were victims of awful structures of oppression and marginalization and that changed me forevermore.”

After going back to Ireland in the month of December after his experience in Africa, he recalled his experience that “people were going crazy, shopping. And I couldn’t have any of it, I kept thinking of these people that would be having none of this.”

McGivern felt the impacts of this long after.

“After that, I realized that all the things that I had been preoccupied with in terms of what was important on the journey just completely didn’t make sense,” McGivern said. “But it was also an invitation to relive life through a different lens and examine my value system and pay attention to what it is we really need for the journey and life. Most of those things I realized were those that money can’t buy.”

Just be present with people. Be compassionate, be welcoming, just share the resources.” A fundamental moment for him was a conversation with a priest on a retreat where he was told, ‘There is also a mission at home.” This inspired him to pursue a sabbatical opportunity back home in Ireland.

“A whole world opened up in terms of possibilities. I realized that I was tired of the impacts of all of the troubles and this work had taken its toll. I needed my self-care. I needed to become what I was advising others in my pastoral care,” he said.

After he traveled in Vietnam and Australia, he made his way to America for another sabbatical opportunity and settled in Northern California at Saint Patrick’s Seminary in the heart of Silicon Valley, at the peak of opportunity and investment.

Coming to the end of his Sabbatical year with four months left, McGivern had an interesting experience that inspired his next course of action. This Bishop of his diocese, who was also a graduate of his seminary, asked if he had ever thought of coming to the states to work for a while.

He remembers feeling hesitant at first and was curious if it was an invitation from God to serve.

“I had no other family in America. Everything that I knew and loved was back in Ireland, so it was weird. I was thinking about what knowing nobody here would be like,” McGivern said. So I thought about it and I realized that inner stirring and the invitation to come to America was really strong.”

After some revisiting and reflecting, McGivern’s calling only got stronger. The Bishop reluctantly approved and McGivern was transferred to a San Jose Diocese in Northern California. He worked in two parishes in Northern California which were greatly enjoyable for him. It was the second parish where he decided he would go to Graduate School at a Jesuit university in San Francisco for two years. He was inspired to pursue a new focus in school and pursued his Masters in Theology and History. While studying, he discovered a particular interest in the systems that supported people who have experienced a similar situation to “The Troubles” that he grew up in. He completed a Marriage and Family Therapy Master’s Program and became a licensed marriage and family therapist. Through this, he was able to work with migrant families in San Francisco at the Missions District of St. Peters, which served as a safe haven.

“I just got goosebumps. I got to be part of that. It was a blessing,” McGivern exclaimed. “All of the people who had been subject to such trauma and marginalization...their resilience and hope for a better future touched me at a deep level. They gave me more than I could ever give them. In terms of whom they were, helping their children get an education, and they were so hardworking but still they were so alienated just because they didn’t have paperwork. I wanted to be an advocate for that, so anything that I could do, I leaned into that. That still bothers me in terms of the issues and injustice.”

McGivern’s life experiences helped him understand and support others. Many of the students that he worked with were firstgeneration students and reminded him of the interconnectedness within his life experiences.

“It was the most beautiful and rewarding…their resilience, ambition for learning, and ambition not to repeat the cycles that were in their family. They went off to college and did well.”

That impacted his view on women’s roles in patriarchal church environments and he was inspired by the women who were able to express themselves and build a sisterhood.

“Those young women taught me so much about what it meant to be a good man,” he added. The school unfortunately closed, but McGivern continued his ministry at a trauma-informed residential facility and high school. This school was for boys who were affected by adverse childhood experiences.

“It took a lot of work and time, many of the boys came from communities filled with violence, drugs homelessness,” he said.

Although this experience was enriching, the COVID pandemic shifted the circumstances and the facility had moved in a different direction that was no longer aligned with his faith-based ministry. McGivern was presented with two new promising opportunities to consider including healthcare in Colorado or education at USD.

“The physicality of the University is just so fascinating. And then to meet the students, that was the icing on the cake. It has been a good fit.”

At USD, Father Greg is responsible for the University Ministry Scholars Program and works with the Military Connect and the Veteran, the Graduate and Law Schools, The University Commons, and the sacramental part of the university.

“I just love meeting students and I think my ministry is focused on the relational and establishing rapport and really listening to where the students are in terms of their journey and them trying to be their authentic selves, whatever that looks like.”

At the University, McGivern has been able to further develop his ministry among the university community as well as focus his personal faith and pursuits.

“Language is very important and I try to be very intentional about being restorative in my language, which is aligned with my spirituality,” he said. “Compassion, self care, forgiveness, hopefulness, not to deny the pain and suffering...I also believe that I am a lifelong learner and I step into spaces of not knowing. I am also curious and I think that is something I will always be in terms of paying attention to the flow of life and where people are.”

McGivern has high hopes for the students at the University of San Diego.

“I hope that students’ hopes and dreams come to fruition in mind, body, spirit, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually,” McGivern said.

He reminds students to “stay hopeful, continue to dream and don’t be too harsh if you make a mistake. These are moments of growth.” he said.

He encourages students to seek out support at the University in every facet.

“Be your own self-advocate. You are not just a number,” McGivern said. McGivern’s inspiring story about connecting with the world around him throughout his ministry continues to touch the USD community. He lives graciously and sees his time with the University as a gift that he wants to share.

“Students have voices, gifts and talents, and a lot of them don’t recognize it,” he added.

He urges students to be who they are and not to lose their uniqueness.

McGivern’s admirable journey continues at the university and his positive impact serves as a reminder of the ever present interconnectedness of the USD community.