It’s the sad end of a very happy era.
After 117 years of guiding Newman Hall, the spiritual home for Catholic students at Cal as well as the church for the townsfolk of Holy Spirit Parish, the Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle — better known as the Paulist Fathers — will relinquish their stewardship on July 1 due to a shortage of priests (bit.ly/3ResyGt), and the parishioners are torn between grief and gratitude. Some kindly shared their memories with me.
“I came to Newman as a freshman at Cal in 2004, and I was warmly welcomed by the Paulist Fathers, who helped me cultivate a deeper relationship with God, a richer understanding of the Gospel and our liturgy and an empowered sense of lay leadership,” says Amanda Wehrman. “Father Charlie Donahue used to take us out for ice cream at the end of finals, always infusing humor and hospitality into his engagement with students.”
“In November 1999 I received a sudden and unexpected diagnosis of colon cancer,” says Colleen Leonard, who has been a pastoral minister in music and liturgy at Newman since 1994. “I immediately began chemotherapy and radiation treatments prior to major surgery.
“I returned to my office one day after a long visit with my surgeon and answered a knock on the door. There was Father Mike McGarry, the pastor who had hired me, and Father Al Moeser carrying a recliner chair from the rectory and saying firmly,’You are going to need this!’
“I protested rather feebly and was quite overwhelmed by their thoughtfulness and very practical kindness. At no time during the next challenging 12 months of post-op treatments was there any discussion about how I would manage my job. They simply expected and trusted that I would find a way. This was so life-giving for me! I learned from this to do similarly for others.”
“I remember the time Father Mike helped me get my priorities straight,” says Kara Speltz, a parishioner since 1987. “We had huge baptisms every Easter, sometimes bringing in 25 or 30 people to be baptized, and Newman provides free dinners to homeless people on Saturdays, including Holy Saturday, in the church’s all-purpose room.
“I wanted to use the room for the new Christians, and I told Father Michael he should find another church for the homeless. He said, ‘Let me see if I understand this. We should tell them that there’s no room at the inn?’ ”
“My sister, who lived in St. Louis, died suddenly, and the only way we could get to the funeral on time was to take the 6 a.m. flight from SFO the next morning,” says Randy Dixon, a parishioner since 1989. “Father Steven Bell insisted on driving us to the airport, and he was waiting for us at the airport when we got back. He had no reason to do this; he just did it.”
“Father Steven was very jovial, a great preacher, and just dripped charisma,” adds Alan Roselius, a parishioner since 1989. “But my absolute favorite was Father Al Moeser. At Easter Mass he would call all the young kids up to the altar and use stuffed animals to illustrate the stories he was telling them.
“The kids were always mesmerized. We’re all heartbroken that the Paulist Fathers are leaving, but I have to thank this exceptional group of men who not only enriched us spiritually — they enriched the whole community.”“In 1974 or 1975, the visiting Broadway cast of the musical ‘Godspell’ playing at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco were invited to our 9 a.m. Sunday Mass,” recalls Terry Regan, a parishioner since 1972. “The church was filled to overflowing. The priest saying the Mass — I think it was Father Michael Hunt — wore a Superman vestment.
“Instead of a sermon, the ‘Godspell’ cast did their performance of Jesus’s parable, the Prodigal Son. The numbers attending this Mass were so great that the Eucharistic Ministers had to give out tiny pieces of the Communion hosts. What makes Holy Spirit (Parish) and Newman Hall a holy place are the people in this empty tomb. We will miss the Paulists.”
The feeling is mutual.
“This is a wonderful and amazing community, so I’m confident our patron, the Holy Spirit, will continue to guide them into an amazing new chapter of ministry and life,” says the outgoing pastor, Father Ivan Tou. “But to have to go our separate ways is very hard, like when Frodo and Sam left the Fellowship in ‘Lord of the Rings.’ ”
Martin Snapp can be reached at catman442@comcast.net.
