BY PRISCILLA GREEAR

Staff Writer

ATLANTA--Reflecting on his 25 years as a priest-educator, Msgr. Terry Young recalls the Holy Spirit as an active source of consolation who provided comfort and grace in times of turbulence and pain.

Looking back on his ministry, Msgr. Young describes certain periods of his tenure as principal of both St. Joseph High School and of St. Pius X High School as "experiences of profound pain." St. Joseph was closing and St. Pius was restructuring the curriculum during his terms of service and Msgr. Young recalls both events as "difficult and troubling experiences in education."

However, he said, "They were both situations in which there was darkness before light."

He now has a new appreciation of these difficult times and said, "God was working through them." He praises the active presence of the Holy Spirit for granting him the grace to manage the situations. He also sees other positive things which emerged from those trials.

"Some very deep friendships were developed," Msgr. Young said. "When you struggle with other people there's a bond that takes place."

Msgr. Young was named principal of St. Pius in 1976 and guided the school through a period of restructuring. He reorganized a program that had been developed around the open classroom. During his 15-year tenure as principal he introduced programs designed to meet the needs of underachieving students and students with learning problems. He was also the guiding force behind a pastoral ministry program which was begun to meet the spiritual needs of students.

While principal of St. Pius, this man of faith also recalls a particularly strong divine presence while ministering to students struggling with problems of drug and alcohol abuse. He expanded the services of the guidance department, creating a staff position specifically to work with students with emotional and substance abuse problems.

Because of his strong belief in the value of a fine arts curriculum to students, Msgr. Young expanded the school's offerings in drama, dance, instrumental music, creative writing and art. Students in creative classes participated in performances and exhibited their original works; members of the band had the opportunity to develop their musical potential without the requirement to travel and march at sporting events.

"We tried to have a more integrated experience of (the arts). . .giving students that creative outlet of self-discovery along with discovery of the world," he said.

Msgr. Young, who left his position at St. Pius in 1991, was honored for his years of leadership this March when the school's Center for the Performing Arts was named in his honor. St. Pius also endowed a scholarship in his name to be awarded annually.

Msgr. Young's appreciation of the arts is reflected in his personal life; he enjoys attending the theater, reading classic and contemporary novels, traveling, especially to England, and has a real love of English language and literature.

The son of Jean Smith and Roland Young, Msgr. Young was born in Baltimore. He was raised as a Lutheran and was active in Sunday school and a youth group, yet began attending Catholic Mass in high school. When he left home to attend college he found himself less influenced by the opinions of others and more free to choose his faith; it was at this time that he converted to Catholicism. However, he recalls his religious upbringing positively, saying that when he became Catholic he further enriched his Christian faith.

He studied history and philosophy at Towson State College and later attended St. Mary's College, Baltimore, from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1965. Prior to entering seminary he worked as a special education teacher in the Baltimore public schools; he also taught for a year and a half in London. He earned a master of divinity from St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore in 1971.

Following his ordination in June 1972, Msgr. Young began his 25 years of priestly ministry as a parochial vicar and director of religious education at Holy Spirit Church in Atlanta. He became assistant principal at St. Joseph High School and taught religion and history there from 1973 to 1976; he became principal of the school in 1975 and served in that capacity for 18 months before the school's closing.

While at St. Joseph, Msgr. Young also served as a priest in residence at St. Thomas More Church, Decatur, and priest-in-charge at a Buford mission and as a temporary chaplain at Atlanta University. He earned a master of education in school administration from Georgia State University in 1975. He served as president of the Georgia Independent School Association from 1985-86 and for nine years on the archdiocesan Board of Education. He was distinguished as a Knight of the Holy Sepulcher in 1993.

Msgr. Young followed his tenure at St. Pius with a one-year educational sabbatical in Great Britain where he studied spirituality and spiritual counseling at the Institute of St. Anselm. Upon returning to Atlanta in 1992 he became pastor of the Church of St. Benedict, Duluth, where he currently serves. On Feb. 1, 1993 he was appointed Secretary for Education for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, a post he held until his resignation Feb. 1, 1996. He was elevated to the rank of monsignor Dec. 20, 1994.

As a pastor he enjoys working with parishioners; his goals are to help them grow spiritually and assist them to understand church history more deeply. "There is a desire on the part of people to develop some kind of a program of spiritual growth," he said.

He has also discovered that the sacrament of reconciliation is the time he witnesses conversion. "I don't ever hear confessions without the sense of miracles taking place," he said.

An evening Mass and reception were held at the parish May 6 to honor the pastor's 25-year ministry as a distinguished priest-educator of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.