Former criminal prosecutor finds life's calling as Maryknoll priest

Published: 2004-07-15

MARYKNOLL, N.Y. (CNS) -- Some people might describe Maryknoll Father Edward J. McGovern as a late vocation, but he does not. To him, ordination to the priesthood and commitment to missionary service at age 48 occurred "in God's perfect timing." Father McGovern, a former criminal prosecutor in New York, was ordained at Maryknoll headquarters in New York June 12 by Korean Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, retired archbishop of Seoul and a longtime friend of the Maryknoll order. "If I had entered 20 years ago, I would have washed out," Father McGovern said in an interview at Maryknoll headquarters June 29. "I wasn't ready." He said that he sensed a mission vocation from childhood, but in his 20s he "hadn't seen enough" and "needed to be toughened up." This toughening up, he said, came through experiences such as visiting the scene of a homicide and dealing with criminals and victims at the bottom levels of society.

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