Fr. Dan Kennedy’s life

At our last meeting, Mr. Dan Kennedy spoke about his son Fr. Dan Kennedy’s life and his path to the priesthood.  He noted that he was attending on behalf of his son, to thank people like we Serrans for our prayers and sacrifices. Without people to promote vocations, his son wouldn’t have been able to persevere as a priest.

Mr. Kennedy noted that his son exuded love for people and the Lord, a trait which resonated with people.  Fr. Kennedy was an example of how the Lord can take the weak and make them strong.  He was a timid boy who had to battle with his 3 sisters for individuality, but the Lord made him into a strong priest.  He took every opportunity he could to speak out and project joy in serving the Lord, and especially loved holding babies while celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism.

Fr. Kennedy was not perfect, and could sometimes show a temper befitting his red hair.  His father recalled seeing a young man kneeling at Eucharistic Adoration, and telling Fr. Kennedy about it afterward.  Fr. Kennedy asked his father if he had asked the young man about a possible vocation to the priesthood, and when his father said he’d remained silent, he asked “What’s wrong with you?!?” and pointed out that it was everyone’s vocation to seek vocations.

Another funny anecdote showing Fr. Kennedy’s humanity came when he wrote his thank-you cards after his ordination.  He took his time to hand-write a personal message in each card, and chose to wait until they were all complete before mailing them out.  This prevented any one person from receiving a card too early, but it also meant that the cards didn’t go out till after Thanksgiving.  A friend of the family later told Mr. Kennedy that Dan had written a very nice thank-you message, though he doubted they’d be able to play golf in the summer as indicated in the letter.

When in high school, Fr. Dan served as the Silver Knight mascot for the Catholic Memorial High School team.  For one game versus Boston College High School, he asked his father if he could have $70 to rent an eagle costume.  When asked why, he said that he wanted to stage a halftime show with the Knight and the “BC Eagle,” in which the Knight would knock down and stab the eagle.  When the game came, BC High brought their own eagle, prompting a heated discussion between the real eagle and the impostor hired by Fr. Dan.  Fr. Dan walked over to the real BC Eagle dressed in full Silver Knight costume and joined the discussion, and the real Eagle challenged the Silver Knight by knocking off his silver helmet.

Mr. Kennedy did not see the fracas that ensued, but heard afterward that fans were very impressed by the realism of the halftime fracas between the CM Silver Knight and the BC Eagle.  One friend of the family noted that it was so real, that it looked like the BC Eagle was actually bleeding after the Silver Knight had pounded the daylights out of him.

Mr. Kennedy shared several other anecdotes about Fr. Kennedy’s “human side,” but stressed that Fr. Kennedy simply loved being a priest.  During his last day on earth, Fr. Dan had an appointment in Fairfield in which he’d promised to baptize a baby.  It was also his last day at Winthrop, so the parishioners who had come to know and love him wanted to say goodbye, and had decorated the church with signs and banners that said “Goodbye Father Dan.”  Fr. Kennedy finished the baptism and stopped at his brother’s house on the way back to his parish.  He told his family how good his last day in Winthrop was, and said “I love being a priest” before collapsing on the floor.  Later, at the wake, the father of the baby he baptized approach Mr. Kennedy and told him that Fr. Kennedy had held the baby during his last spiritual act on the day he died.

Mr. Kennedy noted that he thanked the Lord for ordaining his son to the priesthood, and taking Fr. Kennedy back to Him.  Mr. Kennedy continually prays that the Lord send more priests to the Archdiocese.

For more information on Fr. Dan Kennedy’s life and legacy, you can visit the following links:

• Boston Pilot: “Meet our seminarians” Q&A with Fr. Dan
• Fr. Dan Kennedy web site (set up by his family)
• Fr. Peter-Michael Preble
• Find-a-grave entry for Fr. Dan

There are also video tributes to Fr. Kennedy available online:

• Father Daniel J Kennedy:(4:04)
• In Loving Memory of Father Daniel Kennedy:(5:35)
• Good and faithful Servant:(8:42)
• Additional Memorial videos at St. Mary’s

Upcoming events

During the meeting, our chaplain Fr. Dan Hennessey reminded us of the following upcoming events in the Archdiocese.

• On Friday October 3, the seminarians from Boston, Providence, and Philadelphia will be meeting with Cardinal Sean.  Serrans are asked to keep these seminarians in prayer.
• The Altar Server Appreciation Mass will be held on Saturday, October 4 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.  Altar servers and their family and friends will attend the 11am Mass, followed by a “make your own sundae” event.  Volunteers are needed for scooping, setup, and possible ice cream sundae consumption.  To volunteer, please e-mail or call Fr. Dan Hennessey.

Other news

• The September 12th issue of the Pilot had an article on Priesthood Sunday.  Since then the Pilot has received several requests for ads supporting priests, as well as inquiries on this upcoming event.  As a reminder, Priesthood Sunday will be held on October 26.
• Serrans who can’t come to the monthly meetings can still offer prayer for vocations.  As Mr. Kennedy stressed during his talk, prayers can greatly help priests in their vocations.

Our next meeting is Saturday, October 18th in St. Mary’s Parish in Waltham.  We hope to see you there!