By Rita McInerney

Father Philibert O'Hara, parochial vicar at St. Ann in Marietta, is celebrating 50 years as a LaSalette priest this spring.

The parish will honor him on June 6 at the 12:15 p.m. Liturgy and at a reception to follow. He will be among several senior LaSalettes celebrating June 21 at provincial headquarters at the Shrine of Our Lady of Seven Colors in Ipswich, MA.

He is one of two men celebrating 50 years as ordained priests of the congregation. His ordination, by Bishop Edmund F. Gibbons, took place at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, NY, on June 7, 1941.

His has been a vocation of variety, assignments in Rome sandwiched in between parish and teaching assignments in New England and North Georgia.

He was vicar general (second in command worldwide) of the congregation from 1964 until 1970. It was an exciting time to be in Rome with the Second Vatican council dominating the mid-60s. Over the Council years several bishops stayed at the LaSalette headquarters located on a hillside within walking distance of St. Peter's.

"We were sharing in the spirit of the council," he says of the exhilarating time in his priestly life.

With a constant flow of visitors from around the world coming to the headquarters, all eager for tours around the Eternal City, Father O'Hara had frequent opportunity to polish his skills in Italian and French.

His second assignment to Rome came in 1982-84, when he served as treasurer general while Father Eugene Barrette, also at St. Ann's was superior general.

He first came to Georgia in October, 1975, and was stationed at Immaculate Heart of Mary until June, 1976. From there he moved to residence at Blessed Sacrament in southwest Atlanta while serving as Marriage Encounter priest for two years.

In 1978 he headed for north Georgia and a four-year assignment at St. Francis of Assisi in Cartersville. Two years after returning from his second stint in Rome he returned to Georgia and served successively at St. Andrew's in Roswell; All Saints in Dunwoody, and St. John's in Hapeville, before going to St. Ann's in January, 1989. When admitted to the seminary in 1928 he was 13 years old. "We entered early in those days." He had come to know the LaSalettes from their weekend ministry at his parish in Bristol, CT.

His parents, Peter and Alice O'Hara, were happy when he told them we wanted to become a LaSalette priest. "It was depression days and there was no hope for any kind of an education," the jubilarian recalls.

Seminary life was fun for him, "always something going on." He was considered scholarly and life was competitive. His biggest competition came from a boy from his own parish. "Between the two of us we carried off all the prizes."

He was born May 1, 1915 in Torrington, CT, and his mother, a French Canadian, named him Philibert after her father. His family called him Bobby. He was the only son. Two of the three daughters survive, Mary of Bowie, MD, and Peggy, of Bristol, CT.

In 1928 he was one of about 20 boys entering the LaSalette high school in Hartford to prepare for the priesthood. Four were ordained in 1941 after four years of high school, a novitiate year, four years of college and four at the major seminary.

After ordination he studied at Catholic University for one year then spent 11 years teaching at the seminary in Hartford. He later moved to the Albany seminary and then served as rector of the major seminary in Ipswich until going to Rome in 1964.

Returning from abroad, he served as pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Hartford for several years. This Hartford landmark, connected with the LaSalette seminary, is noted for its Gothic architecture and beautiful steeple.

The 50-year jubilarian looks back on the two years he spent working with the Marriage Encounter groups as "very happy. It was just beginning then and there was a lot of enthusiasm."

His prayer life is highlighted by his devotion to Our Lady of LaSalette. He regrets that his preaching skills are not what they used to be. There was a time, he mentions, when he would give a lengthy homily with just a few scribbled words on an index card. Now, when he celebrates Mass, a permanent deacon preaches the homily.

He has a favorite way to relax and expects to enjoy it when he travels to New England for the June celebration. There are some good spots for dry fly-fishing near LaSalette houses in New York state and Connecticut.