By Gretchen Keiser

The new rector of the Cathedral of Christ the King, Father Tom Kenny, has been pastor of Corpus Christi parish, Stone Mountain, for 13 years, but began his priesthood at the cathedral.

Ordained in Ireland 25 years ago, on June 20, 1965, Father Kenny was assigned to the cathedral for two years as an assistant and returned there for six months in the 1970s.

His first pastorate was St. Michael’s in Gainesville where he spent six years and oversaw the building of the church twice, as the structure was hit by a tornado and destroyed when nearly completed. “We had to build it from the basement up again,” Father Kenny said.

He was also an assistant pastor at Holy Cross parish under then pastor, now Bishop Eusebius Beltran, and oversaw a Norcross mission, one of two that blossomed under the wing of Holy Cross in the post-Second Vatican Council days of the late 1960s.

A native of Easkey, County Sligo, Father Kenny studied and was ordained at All Hallows Seminary, Dublin, and also received a bachelor of arts degree from University College, Dublin.

Of his departure from Corpus Christi, Father Kenny said that after so many years he has seen an entire generation grow up. “You form very many and very close relationships at all levels of sacramental life. It’s difficult to pull up roots,” he said. “But then the Lord calls and you pull up roots and that’s what it is all about.”

However, his first years at the cathedral generated friendships with families that lasted through the years, Father Kenny said, “and I feel really like it’s going home to these people.”

He will celebrate his 25th anniversary as a priest in a June 3 celebration at Corpus Christi parish. A Mass of thanksgiving at 1 p.m. will be followed by a reception in the parish hall. The silver anniversary will be both a celebration of his 25 years as a priest and a farewell from Corpus Christi parish.