By Erika Anderson, Staff Writer

ATLANTA—From the Olympics to the Atlanta visit of Mother Teresa, Msgr. Stephen Churchwell has witnessed events as a pastor which few priests get to experience.

As a canon lawyer, the 51-year-old priest has used his expertise and knowledge to help couples through the annulment process and to advise in cases where church teaching on end-of-life issues comes into play.

But the quiet priest, who has always enjoyed academic settings, prefers to think of himself as a minister.

“It’s hard to live in an intellectual world only, unless you are doing things for people,” he said. “If you deal with (annulment) cases just as ideas, you’re not dealing with people.”

“I’ve always had a need for an intellectual outlet and (canon law) is one way to find that and to also be doing something helpful for people,” he continued.

A native of Carmi, Ill., who celebrated his 25th anniversary of priesthood this year, Msgr. Churchwell was inspired by the professors from St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana who aided in his religious instruction when he was converting to the Catholic faith at 17.

Young Stephen Churchwell, the oldest of five children, entered the seminary right out of high school. His parents were less than thrilled at first.

“I think they thought that this would pass and they would come and get me when I wanted to leave,” he said. “But of course, I kept them waiting.”

It was during this time that Msgr. Churchwell began “diocese shopping,” deciding which to serve. He considered the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., and the Diocese of Phoenix, but it was during his three-day visit to the Archdiocese of Atlanta that the young seminarian felt the most welcome.

“I remember staying at St. John (the Evangelist Church) in Hapeville and not sleeping much because of the planes flying overhead,” he said. “But it was (the archdiocese) that showed the most interest in me and at the end of my three days, I signed up.”

It was while at St. Meinrad that Msgr. Churchwell had a class with Msgr. Charles Koster, officialis or chief judge of the Indianapolis Tribunal, who taught canon law and who was to change the direction of ministry for Msgr. Churchwell.

“Without trying very hard, he was an excellent teacher,” Msgr. Churchwell recalled.

The young seminarian immediately became interested in canon law and the workings of diocesan tribunals.

He began serving one day a week at the Metropolitan Tribunal in Atlanta in 1975 while a deacon assigned to Holy Cross Church. Following his May 1, 1976 ordination to the priesthood, Msgr. Churchwell continued to serve the Tribunal one day a week, while a parochial vicar at Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Decatur. In 1977, he became a parochial vicar at Sacred Heart Church in Atlanta and began serving at the Tribunal two days a week.

From 1979-82, Msgr. Churchwell studied for and received his doctorate in canon law at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. The year before he left for graduate studies, he served as a parochial vicar at St. Anthony’s Church in Atlanta.

He was extremely involved at Catholic University, serving in student government and as a chaplain for the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. He celebrated Sunday Mass and put on two retreats a year there, as well as two annual penance services.

He served as a parochial vicar at St. Andrew’s Church in Roswell from 1982-84, continuing to serve at the Tribunal.

His positions with the Tribunal included vice officialis, or assistant chief judge, from 1982-88 and officialis, or chief judge, from 1988-91. He continued serving at the Tribunal until December 2000, when he was appointed a judge in the provincial Court of Appeals, a position he still maintains. He has also served on the priests’ retirement committee since 1998.

In 1984, Msgr. Churchwell began again serving as a parochial vicar at Sacred Heart until he was named pastor in 1994. Sacred Heart Church, which celebrated its centennial in 1998, Msgr. Churchwell said, is a unique parish.

“It existed not only when it was easy to be a Catholic, but when it was hard to be a Catholic,” he said. “One needs to respect the tradition that goes with that.”

But Sacred Heart has changed in the years that Msgr. Churchwell has been there, he said. In 1977, when he first served at the church, there were four priests at the parish and four daily Masses were celebrated. Msgr. Churchwell will be the only priest at Sacred Heart come Oct. 1. However, Msgr. Churchwell believes that the migration that occurred from downtown to the suburbs in the last 23 or 24 years will be reversed.

“There is going to be a movement of people back to downtown. We have to be ready,” he said.

And, Msgr. Churchwell added, some of that change is already occurring. The parish hosted 90 weddings in 2000 and over 400 baptisms.

“It is very interesting to watch people move back,” he said. “But it’s distressing to see what will happen to the marginalized. The street poor shouldn’t be forgotten.”

Because of his parish’s location, Msgr. Churchwell said that he knows many of the homeless in the area and that he knows their stories and he respects them.

The avid science-fiction reader said that as pastor of Sacred Heart, he has learned to deal with “new things at a moment’s notice.”

One of those new things was Mother Teresa’s visit in 1995.

“I remember the archbishop called and said, ‘Mother Teresa is coming to town and we would like to have a Mass for her at Sacred Heart,’” Msgr. Churchwell recalled. “I told him, ‘Wonderful. I’ll form a committee to plan it. When is she coming?’ He said ‘six days.’ Needless to say, we didn’t get a lot of time to plan.”

Nearly 1,300 people showed up for the Mass in honor of the foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, held June 12, 1995. The quiet nun had come to Atlanta for the blessing of her order’s Gift of Grace House, a hospice that serves indigent women with AIDS.

“She brought a lot of calm to the chaos,” Msgr. Churchwell recalled.

Another experience that presented itself at Sacred Heart was the 1996 Olympic Games.

“That literally happened at our door,” Msgr. Churchwell said. “We formed a lot of committees and a lot of ideas turned out very well. Some of our ideas didn’t work as well.”

Msgr. Churchwell said that a large number of Sacred Heart parishioners stayed away from the parish during the Olympics, for fear of traffic snarls and huge crowds. During that time, Mass was celebrated in French, German and Spanish as well as English, at different times of the day.

“It was definitely something to remember,” he said, noting that the parish began planning for the Olympics a year in advance.

This May, Msgr. Churchwell was among 11 archdiocesan priests named a monsignor by Archbishop John F. Donoghue. The humble priest said that he has never ministered with the hopes of receiving an honor, but that he was grateful.

“I had never really thought about that happening and I certainly never expected it,” he said. “It’s really more of an honor for the parish than for me.”

Also in May, the parish honored his silver jubilee with a special Mass and parish celebration.

Indeed Msgr. Churchwell is proud of Sacred Heart and its 1,300 families, who have established strong outreach ministries, including a twinning program with a parish in Haiti.

Many seminarians also pass through Sacred Heart and the pastor said he enjoys having a part in their formation.

“Many of them are really new to the clerical world,” he said. “But I tend to expect the best with people and try to help them to achieve it.”

Having served so long at one church is rare, but Msgr. Churchwell said that he would welcome the chance to serve at a parish outside of the downtown or metro area.

“I wouldn’t mind having a rural experience again,” he said. “In essence, that’s how I became a Catholic. If the circumstances warranted, I would like to try.”

Msgr. Churchwell