BY KATHI STEARNS

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--A Mass of thanksgiving honoring priests of the archdiocese celebrating their gold and silver jubilees was held at the Cathedral of Christ the King June 26.

Golden jubilarians Msgr. Michael J. Regan, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Carrollton, Jesuit Father James C. Babb, director of Ignatius Retreat House, Atlanta, and silver jubilarians Msgr. Louis Naughton, judicial vicar for the Metropolitan Tribunal of the archdiocese, and Father Ronald G. Gagne, MS, parochial vicar at the Church of St. Ann, Marietta, concelebrated the Mass with Archbishop John F. Donoghue.

Other silver jubilarians this year are Father John S. Adamski, pastor of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Atlanta; Father Linus DeSantis, OFM Conv., campus minister at Kennesaw State College; Father John C. K. Fallon, chaplain for the Missionaries of Charity and parochial vicar at St. Anthony's Church, Atlanta and Father Francis J. Kissel, SM, director of admissions at the Marist School, Atlanta.

Father William Calhoun, 63, who was paralyzed following a 1994 automobile accident, was brought to the cathedral by ambulance to be present to celebrate his 33rd anniversary as a priest. His bed was placed next to pews filled with 65 of his brother priests who had gathered for the jubilee Mass.

"Today we have gathered here in our cathedral church to say 'thank you' twice," the archbishop said. "First to God for the great gift he has given us in the 250 combined years of service represented by today's jubilarians. And second to thank those men themselves for the gift of their lives and their abiding commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

The archbishop said that despite their various origins, backgrounds and choice of community affiliation all were called to the same ministry.

"Here we are, nevertheless--the old, the somewhat old, and the still young, drawn together by the irresistible force of Christ's love and held together by our solemn vows to serve his Church, his people, his brothers and sisters. And though we may wonder at the mystery of so many circumstances, so many lines of choice and chance that have intersected to bring us here together, there is no mystery at all about the concern of God for his children, for his sons and daughters. And there is no mystery about the fact that whether they be ourselves or someone else, God will provide priests for his people."

The archbishop reminded the priests of God's covenant with Abraham, the faithful recipient of divine promises, including the promise of many descendants. "We too, at many moments in our life, have faced and still face the challenges and doubts that Abraham experienced. But is it not true, that like Abraham, we hear God's voice at the moment of our ordination and at every moment since; when we pause to consider our own priesthood, we hear God's voice in our ear, saying, 'Look up at the sky and count the stars if you can. Just so shall your descendants be.'"

The archbishop told the priests that they become a descendant of Abraham by following his example of faith. "Brothers, just as surely as we are the descendants of our fathers and grandfathers and cherish the blood that flows in our veins, so too, we are the descendants in the spirit of Abraham, our father in the covenant," he said.

During the Mass the jubilarians stood and renewed their commitment to the priesthood and their bishop. The archbishop asked the priests to make a special promise to help one another and asked the congregation to join him in prayers of thanksgiving for all priests ministering in the archdiocese.

During the concelebration of the Eucharist the priests filled the sanctuary to its capacity. At the sign of peace Msgr. Naughton and Father Gagne stepped from the sanctuary and went to Father Calhoun to offer him greetings and prayer.

Henrietta Calhoun Clay, his mother, and two of his sisters and two nieces were also at the Mass, which was the first time Father Calhoun has been outside a medical facility since his accident. The Atlanta Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women and Serra Clubs arranged and supported the trip, which required medical aides.

"I think he is doing better," his mother said. "He smiles when I talk to him. He says words I can understand and the nurses and his friends can understand. When I told him yesterday that 'we're going to take you to Christ the King for the silver jubilee' he said 'yes' with a big smile."

Ordained May 25, 1963 by Archbishop Paul J. Hallinan, Father Calhoun was formerly pastor of Holy Trinity Parish in Peachtree City.

Msgr. Regan and Father Babb were honored for 50 years of service in 1996.

Father Babb was born in Brockton, Mass. in 1914 and ordained a priest of the Society of Jesus in 1946 at St. Mary's College in Kansas. He established the Sri Lanka Mission Bureau and was its first full-time fund-raiser; he served as its director for 10 years. He was then appointed rector of the novitiate at St. Charles College, La., rector of the Jesuit House of Studies at Mobile, Ala., and rector at Jesuit High School, New Orleans. Since 1967 he has been working with retreat houses and as a spiritual director. In 1991 he moved to Atlanta serving as associate director of Ignatius House Retreat Center until 1993; he is currently its director.

Msgr. Regan, ordained for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1946, came to Georgia in 1950 to assist the Diocese of Savannah for 18 months and remained permanently in the growing Catholic area. (See accompanying article)

The six priests who celebrated their silver jubilees have served the Archdiocese of Atlanta and their respective orders in many ways during their 25 years of ministry.

Msgr. Naughton was ordained July 11, 1971 by Bishop Michael Browne in Galway, Ireland. Born there in 1937, he worked as an engineer before entering theological studies as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. He was invested as a monsignor with the rank of prelate of honor Dec. 20, 1994. He holds a licentiate in canon law and serves as judicial vicar of the Metropolitan Marriage Tribunal where annulment cases are decided for the archdiocese. Msgr. Naughton has also served on the staff of a variety of parishes while working for the archdiocese; currently he assigned to the Cathedral of Christ the King.

Father Adamski was ordained May 22, 1971 by Archbishop Thomas A. Donnellan at the Cathedral of Christ the King. He served as a parochial vicar at Holy Cross Church, Atlanta, from 1971 to 1973 and at St. John the Evangelist in Hapeville for the next three years. In 1976 Father Adamski was named campus minister at the Atlanta University Center where he served for two years. He began his first pastorate at St. Anthony's Church, Atlanta, in 1978, serving there for eight years. In 1987 Father Adamski began his present assignment as pastor of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Atlanta. In addition, Father Adamski has served as both associate director and director of the Office for Vocations of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, spiritual director of both the Serra Clubs and the Particular Council of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and as a member of the Archdiocesan Board of Consultors.

Father DeSantis was born in Baltimore, Md., and ordained a Conventual Franciscan priest May 22, 1971 by Bishop Edwin B. Broderick of Albany, N.Y. During Father DeSantis' first 17 years of priesthood he dedicated himself to the ministry of education. He served as an instructor of English and religion and later as the assistant principal and principal of Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore. He then became director of admissions, registrar and instructor of British literature at Hyacinth College and seminary in Massachusetts. In 1989 Father DeSantis was named campus minister at Western Connecticut State University. In 1991 he became guardian of St. Joseph Cupertino Friary in Ellicott City, Md., a friary of initial formation for those completing their theological studies prior to ordination. Father DeSantis also served as the dean of admissions and registrar at the Washington Theological Union. In 1994 Father DeSantis began service in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and currently is the campus minister at Kennesaw State College.

Father Fallon was ordained June 6, 1971 at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Waterford, Ireland. During his 25 years of ministry in the Archdiocese of Atlanta Father Fallon has served as a parochial vicar at St. Patrick's Church, Norcross, from 1971 to 1972; St. Peter's Church, LaGrange, from 1972 to 1973; Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Atlanta, from 1973 to 1976; the Church of the Holy Family, Marietta, from 1976 to 1977 and at the Cathedral of Christ the King from 1977 to 1982. In 1982 Father Fallon was named pastor of St. Joseph's Church, Washington, where he served for five years. Father Fallon has also served as pastor at St. Joseph's Church, Athens, from 1987 to 1989. He was named chaplain for the Missionaries of Charity in 1993 and also serves as the chaplain for the federal penitentiary and prisons in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Currently Father Fallon is a parochial vicar at St. Anthony's Church, Atlanta.

Father Gagne, a native of Hartford, Conn., was ordained to the priesthood at the National Shrine of Our Lady of LaSalette, Ipswich, Mass., on May 29, 1971. In 1984 he earned a master's degree in religious education from Fairfield University, Fairfield, Conn. That same year he co-authored the book "Introducing Dance in Christian Worship" with Thomas Kane and Robert VerEecke. Before beginning his ministry in the Archdiocese of Atlanta Father Gagne served as the pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Hartford, Conn., administrator of the LaSalette Renewal Center in Cheshire, Conn., director of development for the LaSalette National Shrine in Ipswich, Mass., and a member of the Liturgical Commission of the Archdiocese of Hartford. Since 1994 Father Gagne has been a parochial vicar at the Church of St. Ann. He is a liturgical musician and has given workshops on liturgy throughout the country. He has been a presenter on the Foundations of Liturgy for the Pastoral Ministry Formation Program of the archdiocese for the past two years.

Father Kissel was ordained a Marist priest Feb. 6, 1971, by Bishop Joseph Carroll McCormick of Scranton, Pa. Father Kissel earned his bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1965 and his master's degree in library science in 1970 from the Catholic University of America. Between 1965 and 1970 Father Kissel taught intermittently at the Marist School, Atlanta. In 1971 Father Kissel began six years of teaching and library duties at St. Peter Chanel High School in Bedford, Ohio. In 1977 Father Kissel returned to Atlanta to assume library responsibilities at Marist. He accepted his current position as director of admissions of the Marist School in 1981.