Fulfilling a Life-Long Vocation

Father Paul O'Connell could sit back in retirement. But he's choosing to work. He's assigned to St. Anne in Shrewsbury as a senior priest. He also serves on the Diocesan Tribunal. And, one day a week, he covers for the chaplain at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. In addition, Father O'Connell sits on two diocesan boards — The Clergy Benefit Plan Board of Trustees and the Ongoing Priestly Formation Committee. As a canon lawyer, he's in demand. He'll occasionally get called in to the Archdiocese of Boston to fill in on its tribunal as well. "It's fun," he said of his varied duties and his tightly packed schedule.

Being a senior priest allows him to serve the faithful, without the responsibilities of running a parish, he explained. In an era where all priests are sorely needed, Father O'Connell's ministry, and those of other senior and retired priests, is supported by Partners in Charity. Father O'Connell is former pastor of St. Mary Parish, also in Shrewsbury. Now, with more flexibility, he can pick and choose which duties he wants. In his present pastoral work, he spends time visiting the sick and elderly of St. Anne, either at home or in the hospital.

For anyone who reaches retirement age, and is still healthy, Father O'Connell highly recommends senor priest status. Father Frank J. Liistro is retired. But he's still working. After a successful kidney transplant last summer, he's now able to offer Mass at two different parishes. (Full recovery from this type of surgery, he notes, takes about a year.) He says a Friday morning Mass at St. Bernard at St. Camillus Church in Fitchburg. He also offers one of the weekend Masses at this parish. Father Liistro also fills in for weekend Masses at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Ann Parish in Worcester. He either celebrates the 4:30 p.m. Saturday vigil or the Sunday Mass at 11:30 a.m. "The nice thing is, in a two-week period, I've dealt with people at four different Masses," he noted.

He also spends time at the hospital, visiting patients and anointing the sick. And he brings Holy Communion to the home-bound at the housing complex where he lives. Father Liistro is sometimes spotted at the grocery store. He often runs into people he knew from his days as pastor of the former Madonna of the Holy Rosary Parish in Fitchburg. "There's a lot of ministry going on at the supermarket," he said, joking that he'll go into the store and leave 90 minutes later. "Once at the supermarket I heard someone's confession,"  he said. "Why not? Christ spent a lot of time in the marketplace."

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