By Father Joel Munzing

"I feel as if I can go another 25 more, the good Lord willing," says Father Neal O'Brien, OFM, readying to celebrate his 25th anniversary as a priest.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, the then Apostolic Delegate, Archbishop Amieto Cicognani ordained him in Washington's Trinity Chapel in 1950. In about a year, Father O'Brien packed his bags and headed south for his first official assignment in Asheville, NC.

And now as he counts back, it comes to nearly 24 years of energetic priestly service from place to place where he made the south his home.

During the past four years, he served as assistant Atlanta's Shrine Church of the Immaculate Conception. There, his heart went out to the elderly and sick. And, while attending to his regular duties at I.C., the clock and obstacles never discouraged his determination to offer help to the poor involved in difficulties only a lawyer could really handle.

That is why lawyer Paul Pressley from I.C. started thinking about the value a Catholic Lawyers' Guild could have for the needy in the parishes of Atlanta. "It was because Father Neal would call me up frequently in the middle of the night, inquiring how to get bond, or how to help someone in trouble but unable to afford legal counsel," says Paul Pressley.

So, collaborating with Father O'Brien, Mr. Pressley charted plans for the formation of a Lawyers' Guild, with Father Neal as the first moderator.

A major celebration of Father Neal O'Brien's 25^th anniversary will be in St. Mary of the Angels Church, SC, where he was recently assigned pastor. On June 22^nd at 2 p.m. there will be a concelebrated Mass followed by a reception in the parish hall.

Going, coming, or in between, a stock expression of Father O'Brien is, "stay loveable." With his love for people and an approach distinctively casual and friendly, that may explain his saying: "I feel as if I can go on for 25 more - the good Lord willing."