Former St. John’s clergy join together at dedication > Revs. Keegan, Murray oldest, youngest

The priests who gathered to celebrate the Eucharist at the new altar at St. John’s Catholic Church truly represented the varied history of its own parish and of the Diocese of Portland.

Among those concelebrating the Mass were St. John’s oldest and youngest “native sons.”

The Rev. James Keegan, age 84, was ordained in 1934 and served as eighth pastor from 1959 to 1978. Now retired, Keegan had begun a redecoration fund for the church during his pastorate. He was honored last year when the renovated parish hall was renamed in his honor, Keegan Auditorium.

The Rev. Frank J. Murray, pastor at the Newman Center in Orono, is one of several St. John’s parishioners to have entered the priesthood – but the only one to actually have been ordained at the church itself. Bishop Edward C. O’Leary ordained Murray in 1981.

Other native sons of the parish are the Rev. James Connor, and two who were unable to participate because of illness: Monsignor Joseph Houlihan and Monsignor Paul Gleason. Also attending were several members of the Sisters of Mercy who are natives of the parish.

Several former parochial vicars attended, among them the Very Rev. Richard E. Harvey, now pastor at St. Joseph’s in Brewer. Harvey had his first assignment at St. John’s after his ordination in 1951, and served there until 1967.

Harvey was celebrant at the midnight Mass on Christmas Eve 1956, the hundredth anniversary of the church. In addition to the Mass itself, he recalls ssetting up a table with brass candlesticks in the basement of the church, to “pay tribute to where the first Mass was held.”

Also concelebrating the Mass with the bishop were: the Rev. Chris Piselli, the Rev. Jack O’Hara, the Rev. John Civiello, the Rev. Arthur Pare, the Rev. Brian Linnane, the Rev. Thomas Lequin, the rev. Robert Sullivan, the Rev. Clement Thibodeau, the Rev. Michael Seavey, the Rev. Peter Gorham, the Rev. John Spencer, the Rev. Marc Caron, the Rev. Joseph Ford, the rev. John Surette, the Rev. Paul Cote, the Rev. James Michaud, and the Rev. Timothy Nadeau.

The principal concelebrants were the Rev. Maurice Lebel, pastor, and the Rev. John Allen, parochial vicar.

Lebel, who came to Bangor in September 1986, has been pstor during all phases of the restoration – the repair of the roof, steeple and brickwork; the renovation of the parish hall and St. Jude’s Chapel; and the 1991 restoration of the church’s interior.

The restoration was a five year project costing $2.4 million. Co-chairmen of the two capital campaigns for the restoration were Edward Darling and Jack Quirk.

The Gothic Revival structure, dedicated in 1856, was designed by Patrick Charles keely, who also was architect for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland and the cathedrals in the five other New England states.

Allen, who has been at St. John’s since his ordination in mid-1990, has been the church’s liaison to the Restoration Committee. He also has researched the architectural history of the church and the liturgical requirements for the restoration.

Bishop Joseph Gerry, Lebel and Allen wore new vestments of ivory, trimmed with blue-and-gold tapestry, for the dedication. At the end of the Mass, Lebel explained that the vestments and matching antependium on the altar were an anonymous “gift dedicated to the memory of all the priests who have served at St. John’s.”

The 11 pastors who have served the parish are: the Rev. John Bapst, S.J., 1853-1859; the Rev. Henry Gillen, 1860-1867; the Rev. Eugene Vetromile, 1868-1869; the Rev. Clement Mutsaers, 1869-1874; Monsignor Edward McSweeney, 1874-1909; the Rev. Patrick Garrity, 1909-1919; Monsignor Thomas Nelligan, 1919-1959; the Rev. James Keegan, 1959-1978; the Rev. Raymond Bertrand, S.J., 1978-1984; the Rev. Thomas Fitzpatrick, S.J., 1984-1986; and the Rev. Maurice Lebel, 1986-present.