‘It was wonderful to be part of the new frontier’
Father Frank O’Rourke, pastor of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte for the past 12 years, will retire Oct. 15 after 44 years of priestly ministry in the Diocese of Charlotte. One of the first seminarians ordained for the Charlotte diocese which was formed in 1972, Father O’Rourke has been instrumental in serving the people of God during the explosive growth and development of the Catholic Church in western North Carolina. (SueAnn Howell | Catholic News Heral
CHARLOTTE — Father Francis “Frank” O’Rourke, 76, was among the first seminarians of the Diocese of Charlotte when it was carved out of the Raleigh diocese in the early 1970s.
Ordained by Bishop Michael J. Begley at St. Ann Church in Charlotte in 1975, Father O’Rourke has served as pastor of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte for the past 12 years. He is retiring this month after 44 years of priestly ministry.
“When I first came to the diocese (from Philadelphia, Pa.) parish councils were being formed,” Father O’Rourke recalls. “It was all new. Liturgical committees, education committees were being formed, for both Catholic schools and religious education. All those offices just started.
“It was wonderful to be part of what I used to say was the new frontier,” he says. “This Diocese of Charlotte was a new frontier. When I got here there were 40,000 Catholics. To be part of that was wonderful.”
Father O’Rourke admits he has worn many hats in the diocese over the years.
“I started out helping in the Tribunal. I accompanied the Tribunal secretary, Mary Lou Hildreth. She really knew her stuff. For many years she developed the work of the Tribunal,” he explains. “It taught me a lot about marriage. It helped me be more committed to marriage preparation. I worked for years with Catholic Engaged Encounter marriage preparation.”
Father O’Rourke explains that through that effort, which was part of Catholic Charities, he became very connected with the Trinitarians, the Missionary Servants of the Blessed Trinity in Charlotte.
“They did outreach in the community on family life, forming a community and helping people who needed counseling,” he recalls. He shared that when he was studying for a degree in social work at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., he did an internship at Catholic Charities at his parish with the Trinitarians’ guidance.
“The Trinitarian Sisters had a big impact on my life,” he says.
Also making a difference in his priesthood were the Sisters of Mercy, whose motherhouse is in Belmont. He was actually ordained a transitional deacon in the Sisters of Mercy Chapel in Belmont.
“I think I am the only one (seminarian) to be ordained in that chapel,” he recalls fondly.
In the early years of his priestly ministry, Father O’Rourke was kept very busy and he believes all the involvement he had in various offices and committees made him a better priest. He even served as diocesan vocations director for a time.
“Being the vocations director was another one of those privileged opportunities that I had that brings back many good memories,” he says. “Then, most of the men we were ordaining were older men, generally speaking. Now, to see the number of vocations growing and the diversity of the vocations across many different ethnic communities represented in our diocese is a real blessing.”
Father O’Rourke says he has always been humbled by the generosity of people, their gifts and talents. “Through the committees, councils, etc., I have met people who have inspired me. I have come to believe that for real ministry there has to be a sense of mutuality. I have to reverence people as they reverence me. It’s marvelous.”
“When I first came here as pastor I had a theme I would use when I first met the staff. It was: ‘kick it up a notch.’ It recognized that everything was good here. I tell people everything you see here now, this has all been built anew since I was first here years ago.
“By ‘kick it up a notch,’ I was saying this was a gift, St. Gabriel’s,” he explains. “It was not just a gift to me, but it was a gift to the others who were sharing this community with me. By kicking it up a notch, I just meant everything is good, but just look and see how you can make it better.”
He believes St. Gabriel Parish is a legacy that has been passed on to its members. “We have to nurture this parish. This parish has always had a sense of reaching out beyond to others, joining with others in the community in a special response to the poor and needy.”
Father Frank has a soft spot for the parish’s RespectAbility ministry, which serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. ”We have people come from all over the city from group homes for dances and bingo and an annual RespectAbility Mass,” he says.
“The community from Holy Angels comes and participates in the liturgy,” he adds. “It is very humbling to be the priest who gathers others at the table of the Lord for that liturgy.”
He remarks upon the explosion in growth of the diocese, noting that when he moved to the diocese from Philadelphia, there was only a handful of parishes in the Charlotte area.
“The growth of just the St. Gabriel community, to 3,400 families (now) and a Spanish liturgy which is thriving and growing, is wonderful. We are fortunate we have two priests, (parochial vicar) Father Gabriel Carvajal-Salazar and Father Fidel Melo (vicar of Hispanic Ministry), to help assist the growing Hispanic community at the parish,” he notes.
Of his brother priests at St. Gabriel, he says, “We have a very unique relationship, a great respect for each other. One day I suddenly realized they are taking care of ‘the old man,’ in a nice sense. Even now they check to make sure I am OK to celebrate the next Mass. I feel a great fraternity and loving care (from them). It’s nice to be a part of that.”
Shares Father Melo, “God provides for His people with generous shepherds at every time. Father Frank’s tireless love, dedication and service to the Church has been a blessing and inspiration to many in the Church’s community, among people of all backgrounds. We pray for him at this time of his retirement.”
Deacon Larry O’Toole has served St. Gabriel Parish since he and his wife Judy relocated to Charlotte in 2010.
“With Father Frank’s guidance and collaborative spirit these past 10 years at St. Gabriel’s, it has been fulfilling,” Deacon O’Toole says. “I not only found meaningful ministry but a welcoming community and a spiritual, loving, caring home.”
He adds that Father O’Rourke’s concern for all the people of Charlotte, demonstrated by his collaboration with many churches and community outreach services, has inspired him and his wife, and Father O’Rourke’s leadership in these areas has helped him grow in his ministry.
“Father Frank’s persona of welcoming, generosity, helpfulness, availability, spirituality and reverence, and his unbelievable memory of people (present and past) is remarkable,” Deacon O’Toole says.
Father O’Rourke says that at every parish where he has served, he has felt a unity with the people there.
“As I am packing up and trying to sort things out, I come across reminders of all the different parishes and offices I have served in,” he says. “I’ve had many wonderful memories that have affirmed me in my priesthood and enriched my life.
“I believe that I have always seen myself as sharing with others the journey of life in faith. The journey of life in faith is not something you do alone. It’s something you do with people who are on that same journey in faith together,” he explains.
“Father Frank often speaks of how we are ‘companions on the journey,’ and he truly walks with all of the people his life touches and has touched,” notes Libby McLaughlin, St. Gabriel parishioner and tithing committee member.
“In his 44 years as a priest, and as we reflect on his ministry at St. Gabriel’s, he has been a constant presence, sharing our joys and sorrows, encouraging and nurturing all those he encounters with a smile and a kind word, but also issuing a challenge – to stretch and share our gifts and talents, not only with each other and our parish, but in the greater Charlotte community where we live and work as well,” McLaughlin says.
“I think he lives, every day, what Pope Francis admonishes his priests to do as they lead their parishes and live their gift of priesthood… to ‘smell like the sheep’, (to be) a companion on life’s journey,” she adds.
On Oct. 15, Father O’Rourke will officially retire and turn over the reins of the parish to Father Richard Sutter.
“I feel that Father Richard appreciates what is here. I was happy when I heard he was coming. I am looking forward to passing on the torch, as they say, and hopefully he will find what I found here – a home among brothers and sisters who are working for the building up of the kingdom.”
— SueAnn Howell, Senior reporter