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By Priscilla Greear, Staff Writer
DULUTH—From Milledgeville, to the West End of Atlanta, to the
suburb of Duluth, Irish-born Msgr. Hugh Marren has shown equal commitment to
each congregation he has shepherded in his 25 years of priesthood, said
Archbishop John F. Donoghue at a Mass June 30.
“Many challenging assignments and tasks have been put before
Msgr. Marren over the years of his priesthood, but never, to my knowledge, has
he responded with any other words than, ‘I will serve,’” said
Archbishop Donoghue. “His journeys have taken him from the poorest to the
wealthiest parishes, but wherever he has been, the love he has shown for
God’s people has been equally distributed, and impartially shared.”
The silver jubilee Mass held at St. Benedict Church, where Msgr.
Marren is pastor, was celebrated by Archbishop Donoghue and concelebrated by
Msgr. R. Donald Kiernan, vicar general for pastoral ministries and homilist,
and by fellow priests. The Mass also celebrated his recent investiture as a
monsignor with the title “prelate of honor.”
Ordained June 20, 1976, in his hometown of Tubbercurry, County
Sligo, Ireland, Msgr. Marren, 56, served as parochial vicar at Immaculate Heart
of Mary Church, Atlanta, St. Joseph Church, Athens, and St. Thomas More Church,
Decatur. His first pastorate was Sacred Heart Church, Milledgeville, from
1985-91, after which he served as pastor of St. Theresa Church, Douglasville,
from 1991-94. He was pastor of St. Anthony Church, Atlanta, from 1994-99 and
since 1999 has been pastor of St. Benedict. He has served several terms on the
Council of Priests, is a charter member and chaplain since 1998 of the Atlanta
branch of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a Catholic fraternity of
Irish-Americans, and just completed his third term as state chaplain of the
Knights of Columbus.
A bagpiper played outside as friends and 13 family members from
Ireland and Australia entered the celebration. Combined choirs from St. Anthony
and St. Benedict churches led the congregation in “Be Thou My
Vision.” Priests, deacons and altar servers processed through an honor
guard made up of Knights of Columbus, Knights of St. Peter Claver and
representatives of the Hibernians. As thunder rumbled outside, the choir roused
the congregation to clap, singing, “Glory, Hallelujah, Let Us Sing a Song
of Freedom.”
In his homily, Msgr. Kiernan spoke of the sacrifices of the priest
he calls “Huey,” who left family and friends to come to the United
States, and of “a commitment that has made this church of Atlanta very
proud that he is one of us.”
Jokingly he recalled how he first got wind of the new priest when
a fellow cleric called him up and asked if he had seen the young lad with a mop
of hair and sandals.
He recalled Msgr. Marren’s compassion when he served as
parochial vicar while Msgr. Kiernan was pastor at IHM. “I guarantee you
that the phone in the rectory never rang more than two times before Father
Marren answered it and was up and ready to go to the hospital to visit somebody
sick, no matter what parish the person lived in.”
One time it was Msgr. Kiernan himself who rose at night and told
Msgr. Marren he thought he might be having a heart attack. “You might well
be,” he replied. Within two minutes they were heading to the hospital,
with the windows down. “I guess he thought the wind blowing into the
automobile kind of created a respirator for me. But, as we drove along, Father
Marren was whistling ‘Happy days are here again,’” the vicar
general jokingly recalled.
He said Msgr. Marren visited IHM schoolchildren, but showed equal
attention to students in religious education, and was a counselor to the
teachers and support to the adult education coordinator. “Those days with
Father Marren were three of the happiest years of my life. His dedication to
the parish and people made my life much easier.”
The priest “has a fantastic grasp on the history of the
sacred Scriptures and how the various kings, prophets and apostles in both the
Old and New Testament play in the story of our salvation,” the homilist
said.
Mixing humor and truth, Msgr. Kiernan recalled that after becoming
pastor at the Milledgeville parish, Msgr. Marren decided it was time to build a
new education building and asked his priest friends to let him make appeals in
their parishes. “He visited an ‘inner-city parish’ in the heart
of Dunwoody and made off like a bandit,” said Msgr. Kiernan, pastor of All
Saints Church there. “He built the education building and what was thought
to be an impossible dream became a reality.”
He also spoke of the “great work” Msgr. Marren did at
St. Anthony Church, spearheading a building restoration project, and the
attention he gave to the parochial school and school of religion. “Father
Marren’s physical labor in the church, plus his talents, resulted in the
restoration of this church and a complete difference of attitude and atmosphere
in parish life.”
He closed with words of thanks. “He took a step forward and
lived his commitment and because of his commitment the church is much better
off today,” said Msgr. Kiernan. He thanked his family and told the parish
“you will never have another priest with more dedication than Msgr.
Marren. He is truly what you call a good priest.”
Archbishop Donoghue said that he has come to learn “that Hugh
Marren is a man dedicated entirely to serving the Church and her people, and to
bringing people into closer union with our Lord, through the workings of the
Church.”
“During these years of hard work, he has also found the time
to be a good and faithful friend to many of his brother priests—priests
who I know share my desire this evening to express to him our gratitude, and
our ongoing affection.”
“And so, on this day of celebration, of jubilee and of
remembrance, I promise, and I ask you to promise as well, that we will pray for
Msgr. Marren, that the next 25 years will be as good for him and for the Church
as the first 25,” he concluded, as the congregation rose to applaud.
Taking the pulpit, Msgr. Marren thanked God for calling him to the
priesthood, which is “a gift.”
“I am very privileged to be called to that ministry. It is
more a privilege than it is a sacrifice. I’ve discovered that over the
last 25 years,” he said.
After the Mass, supporters, including priests who arrived after
celebrating their own parish Masses, sipped Irish coffee and had dinner at a
reception. There was also a “roast” where Msgr. Marren was carried in
by Knights and Father John Walsh, pastor of Holy Trinity Church, Peachtree
City, Father Paul Flood, pastor of Christ Our Hope Church, Lithonia, Sal
D’Ambrosio, most recent state deputy of the Knights, Richard Martinicky of
St. Benedict, and Richard Benson of Sacred Heart told true and tall tales about
Msgr. Marren hearing confessions, handling finances and other aspects of parish
life. A mariachi band sang, friends sang a parody of “God Save the
Queen” about him and a video was shown with clips of his role as an extra
in the movie “Passing Glory.”
His brother Jackie, wearing a hunter green blazer, said that Msgr.
Marren has returned to Ireland and visited his family almost every Christmas.
His family loves him, always talks about him and feels lonesome when he leaves,
Marren said.
“He’s very generous, giving, and when he comes on
holidays, he’s very kind to us. He’s in no way selfish, always trying
to think of the other guy. He wouldn’t like to have me say that—I
don’t think he likes praises,” he said. “The best quality I can
see in him is he’s very sincere. It doesn’t make a bit of difference
what color or creed you are. I think he treats everyone the same. He’s
very Christ-like in his dealings with people . . . If he said he’d do
something for you, he’d go out of his way to do that.”
His brother Denis, who made his first trip to Atlanta from
Australia with his family, said it was a “great honor” to attend.
“The life he chose is not easy, but he made a great success
of it from what I can see tonight,” he said. “He must be one hell of
a good priest because if he wasn’t, you wouldn’t have a beautiful
gathering like this. You’ve got people from all the parishes . . .”
Kathy Crawford, a St. Benedict parishioner, appreciates Msgr.
Marren’s willingness to tell it like the church says it is. Her husband
was inspired to convert to Catholicism last year through the parish.
“He pushes us to raise our children to standards of the
church and it’s so easy not to,” Crawford said. “He challenges
all of us to live up to (high) standards. He sets the bar very high. There are
no exceptions. You examine your situation and think about what the right thing
to do is. He’s really pushed that and it’s made a difference in how I
parent and how people view their daily life.”
He’s also compassionate, Crawford continued, recalling how
she came one day to the church with no appointment to talk about a problem.
“I met him outside the office and he said, ‘Sure, come in.’ And
I probably spoke 45 minutes with him and I walked out of there feeling so much
better. He took the time to see me in a parish of 3,500 families.”
St. Anthony parishioner Genevieve Lewis recalled Msgr.
Marren’s leadership in restoring their church when she was on the building
committee.
“When he came in, he didn’t say, ‘This is what I
want you to do.’ (He said,) ‘this is what we’re going to
do’ — to get the parish to take ownership and participate in
renovation of the church. He just seems to have the type of personality (where)
if he has a vision you can clearly see that vision and accept that and you know
it’s going to happen,” she said. “He just made (us) feel like a
big family, like we can come together and work together and accomplish
things.”
Lewis said he comes back to St. Anthony’s for a senior
Christmas party and she still calls him to talk through personal struggles.
“He’s the type of person you could go to for any
problem, anything, no matter how big or small,” she said. “You just
love him. He’s very people-oriented.”
Msgr. Marren was grateful for her presence and that of other
friends at the Mass and for the welcome and hospitality he has received from
Georgians throughout his ministry.
“I think it was excellent, really great,” he said of the
celebration. “It was great to see how they came out. One couldn’t ask
for anything more.”
On reflection, he said the hardest part of the priesthood has been
seeing married couples break up and offering spiritual support to young couples
facing the death of a spouse or child, where he feels “helpless.”
Nevertheless, “I’ve never considered the priesthood as a
burden. It’s ... a privilege and a mystery,” he said.
SOCIALIZING--Msgr. Hugh Marren is congratulated by St. Anthony
Church parishioners (l-r) Theresa Rogers, Genevieve Lewis, and Richardine and
Deacon Joseph Barker. Msgr. Marren was pastor at the West End parish from
1994-99. (Photos by Michael Alexander)
STIRRING LAUGHTER--(L-r) Denis Marren, Msgr. Hugh Marren’s
brother from Australia, Msgr. Marren’s great niece Hannah Zambuni, and
Jackie Marren, another brother from Ireland, smile as Msgr. R. Donald Kiernan,
vicar general for pastoral ministries, walks down the center aisle. Msgr.
Kiernan was homilist for the June 30 Mass.
JOYFUL NOISE--(Clockwise, from right) Jackie Lieberthal and Mary
Boyle of the St. Benedict Church choir join voices with Gregory Nash, director
of music, St. Anthony Church, Atlanta. Members of the combined choirs of St.
Benedict and St. Anthony provided the music for the Mass honoring the silver
jubilarian.
FOR THE CHURCH--Msgr. Hugh Marren reads the eucharistic prayer as
he joins Archbishop John F. Donoghue and fellow clergy at the table of the
Lord.
IRISH SOUNDS--Chris Willis plays his bagpipe outside the doors of
St. Benedict Church, Duluth, prior to Mass. The music greeting those entering
the church served as a fitting tribute to the priest from Ireland. |
