NARRAGANSETT — If you ask Father Gerald Beirne, 78, about his achievements, he’ll tell you there are three cardinal points of his life: his birth into a good Catholic family in 1936, his ordination to the priesthood in 1962 and the publishing of his book, “New England Sports Trivia,” in 1983.
Along with presiding at Mass and enjoying time in the state he grew up calling “home,” collecting bits of local sports history is one of the many passions Father Beirne has carried over with him into retirement. His home, a modest house on a quiet Narragansett street, is decorated with memorabilia from his various encounters with Rhode Island sports stars. Their signatures are kept in a well-used copy of his book, tattered and water-stained but a source of pride nevertheless.
“I don’t want to live anywhere else,” he said about Rhode Island during an interview at his home.
Father Beirne is a Rhode Island native, born and raised in the Darlington neighborhood of Pawtucket where he attended the former St. Leo Church and school and St. Raphael Academy. He recalls playing baseball with friends and family at the corner lot of his neighborhood and later in an intramural league at Our Lady of Providence Seminary. Following his ordination, he was assigned to serve as assistant pastor and later pastor at several parishes around the state, including St. Philip, Greenville, St. Rita, Warwick, and the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.
Among his most memorable assignments was his time serving as chaplain at Rhode Island and Roger Williams Hospitals, where he worked primarily with cancer patients. “I learned a lot, what people go through,” he said. “The patients taught me a lot.” Father Beirne recalled offering a blessing to a young high school student suffering from cancer who requested they pray simply that he could return to school.
Father Beirne is among the last generation of priests to have actively served prior to the Second Vatican Council. He had been ordained for only a few months when the council met in October 1962 and witnessed the profound changes it brought to the liturgical practice of the Mass. Among the reforms were the use of local languages over Latin and greater involvement of the laity in the life of the parish.
“When we were going through the changes, we didn’t know what the other side would be,” said Father Beirne. “There was a lot of camaraderie among the priests at the time. We were all in it together.”
During his years of active service as a priest, Father Beirne received a salary and had many of his food and housing needs provided for through arrangements with parishes. However, after his formal retirement in 2007, he assumed responsibility for his own needs. Unlike members of religious orders who take a vow of poverty and have their needs provided for throughout their lives, diocesan priests are expected to plan for their retirement and support themselves through a combination of Social Security, personal savings and a diocesan pension.
Father Beirne receives a small stipend for saying Masses as a visiting priest, but he depends largely on the diocesan pension to continue to make ends meet in his retirement. The pension, supported by the Senior Priest Retirement Fund, receives revenue from several sources, including an annual collection taken during the third week of September. Father Beirne and other priests who benefit from the fund are grateful for the support they receive from parishioners.“I’ve always lived within my own means,” he said. “You get older and you want less, not more.”
During his free time, Father Beirne continues to collect pieces of New England sports history, compiling his research into an annual calendar. In addition to sports trivia, he is also an avid follower of classic Broadway musicals and films. Though he no longer attends stage productions due to difficulties with hearing, he counts “My Fair Lady” and “Kiss Me, Kate” among his favorites. The films “Going My Way” and “Bells of St. Mary’s,” in which Bing Crosby stars as the unconventional but devoted Father O’Malley, were favorites of Father Beirne’s when he was a teenager and may have helped him to first realize his vocation to the priesthood.
Father Beirne lives alone, but shares ownership of the house with his brother and fellow senior priest Father Robert Beirne, who lives at St. John Vianney Residence for retired priests on Mt. Pleasant Avenue. Despite his senior priest status, Father Gerald remains active in his service to the Church, regularly saying Mass at nearby St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish and serving as chaplain for the Rhode Island State Police.
“I’ve already said four Masses this week!” he told Rhode Island Catholic last Wednesday. “I like saying Mass. It’s the highlight of my week. I would never give that up.”
He expressed concern that the term “retirement” might give the impression that priests are inactive once they give up formal parish responsibilities. In reality, many priests enjoy a greater freedom to devote themselves to the liturgy and minister to their communities after retiring from administrative work. Father Beirne is one such example of a senior priest who has taken the call to lifelong service to the Church to heart.
“We’re still priests,” he said. “We’re still focused around the Church and sacraments.”
The Senior Priest Retirement Fund collection will take place in parishes throughout the diocese on September 19 and 20. Donations to the fund can also be sent at any time in the form of a check to the Stewardship and Development Office, Diocese of Providence, 1 Cathedral Square, Providence, R.I. 02903, and made out to the Senior Priest Retirement Fund. All donations to the Senior Priest Retirement Fund remain in the Diocese of Providence to serve diocesan priests in retirement.
