Father Jim O'Connor
By Joan McAteer
MADISON - Father Jim O'Connor, or "Father Jim" as he prefers to be called, was born in Wellsburg into the family of Roxana and Lawrence, and two older brothers, Dan and Tom. He now serves as pastor of St. Mary, Queen of Heaven Parish in Madison and St. Joseph, the Worker Mission in Whitesville.
While in grade school he toted about a shoe box, which contained a makeshift chalice, a book, paten and altar cloth.
"I used to open the shoe box, empty out its contents, replace the lid and then spread the cloth over the shoe box which became my altar where I practiced saying Mass." "But," he confided, "I never really felt holy enough to become a priest."
However, the childhood seeds of hope took root and began to grow.
It wasn't until serving as a Vietnamese linguist with U.S. Air Force in Okinawa that his "soul searching" began. During his second Vietnam-related tour of duty, while stationed with a reconnaissance security unit in NKP, Thailand, at the height of the war, something inside of him began to stir. "Amidst chaos, destruction and death, I felt a deep need to be more connected with God," he said. "Perhaps that's one result of war, that the need for God becomes clearer.
"While in Thailand, I experienced what I think of as the providence of God. A friend named Andre shared a book with me called, 'The Pentecostal Movement in the Catholic Church' by Father Edward O'Connor of Notre Dame. Intrigued by what I read, I vowed to pursue this phenomenon called Charismatic Renewal when I returned home." And so he did.
After enrolling at West Virginia University where he attained a degree in philosophy, he started attending weekday Masses at St. John's University Parish and was invited by a fellow student to a charismatic prayer meeting at Good Counsel Friary. It was at the friary where he sensed God was saying, "You know what you are going to do. Why don't you do it?" Soon his feelings of not being smart enough, holy enough or talented enough melted away and his vocation resurfaced. He eventually came to live at the friary.
"Because I was living at the Franciscan Friary, and belonged to a prayer group, amongst other prayerful people, it seemed only natural to follow the Franciscan path."
Father Jim looks at Charismatic Renewal as the pivotal point of his life. "It was while I was at WVU and the Good Counsel Friary, and my association with the Newman Center that my faith took hold of me," he said. "I will always be indebted to Charismatic Renewal as well as to Father Jude Mili. I don't know that I would have wanted to become a priest otherwise. I was a preteen at the time of Vatican II and remembered the old ways. But Vatican II said to me, 'Even if you are not a priest, a brother, or a sister, you are still a member of the people of God, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart.' I became aware that I was already a priestly person. So now I could have the courage to become a priestly minister not only 'for' the people of God but 'with' them."
In January 1976 Father Jim began his Franciscan training in Loretto, Pa., at St. Francis Seminary and then finished at St. Michael's College of the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto. In 1981 he was ordained a deacon by the bishop of Toronto and served as deacon to the Vietnamese Catholic Community of Toronto. He saw this assignment as an act of providence tying his earlier Vietnam War experience to his calling as a priest. He was ordained into the Roman Catholic Priesthood May 29, 1982 by Bishop James Hogan of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and assigned to St. John the Evangelist Parish on the "South Side" of Pittsburgh, as associate pastor.
In 1984 Father Jim came home to West Virginia and began his first assignment as the Catholic Chaplain to Marshall University and pastor of the Marshall Catholic Community. In 1991, after a year of pastoring St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Westover, Father Jim became pastor of St. Mary, Queen of Heaven Parish and St. Joseph, the Worker Mission in Whitesville. For five years he also served as pastor to St. Barbara Catholic Community in Chapmanville. He and his travel mate, a long-haired dachshund named Mali, are no strangers to the rural community he serves.
A lover of music from childhood, Father Jim was encouraged by his mother who played the piano as well as his grandmother, who taught piano at the Elm Grove Methodist Church. At age 7 he was told by a teacher, "Jimmy, don't sing, just mouth the words," because he sang off key and too loud.
From early on he realized he had a hearing impairment but did not learn until he was 13 that he was born with malformed ear canals. He now wears hearings aids in both ears. Not until he was forced to participate in the seminary choir was he informed by the music director, "Jim, you can sing!" This was quite an epiphany for the 26-year old seminarian.
Following his priestly ordination, Father Jim would sometimes sing an appropriate song along with his guitar playing as a substitute for his weekday homilies. It became a popular event with the faithful weekday Mass attendees. In 1994 he was asked to provide music for a healing service at Holy Trinity Parish in Nitro. He and associates John and Karen Herrmann of Wintersville, Ohio, developed a Catholic Evangelization ministry called "Rejoicing In The Spirit," and by 1997 had traveled to more than 80 parishes from Maine to Florida, including many in West Virginia. Because of family commitments, the Herrmanns and Father Jim had to stop their group travels together.
Father Jim, a baritone, has continued singing and playing keyboard on his own. To date he has written more than 50 songs, including a "Mass For Good Counsel." He has also produced six compact discs plus one with the St. Francis of Assisi Children's choir of St. Albans. His most recent discs are entitled, "On The Way," and an instrumental entitled, "Heavenly Strings." He says that the song he composed which best describes his faith journey is "Your Grace Is Enough For Me."
In 2000, Father Jim was invited to journey to the Sinai Desert in Egypt to perform and impart a message
for the Multinational Peacekeeping Force & Observers (MFO) established under the Camp David Accord in
1982 by former President Jimmy Carter. There he performed for the 10 country-battalion force focusing on
how Jesus Christ and the Gospels can guide them out of their struggles and addictions. Accompanied by
his brother Dan (a renowned drum major) they spet two weeks at the North Base near the Rafa border, the
gate which connects Egypt and Israel at the West Bank.
While there, Father Jim presented two major concerts and conducted both the Catholic Masses and
protestant Services for one weekend as well as music for the Columbian Battalion Mass. He also worked
with the all black U.S. Battalion Choir and the Fiji Battalion Choir.
While there, the U.S. commander of the base honored Father Jim's brother Dan, a decorated Vietnam Marine verteran and Purple Heart recipient, as well as Father Jim with a gold medallion for meritorious service to the MFO.
Father Jim believes that every man, woman and child are called to serve God. "At Baptism we are all anointed as priest, prophet and king," he said. "Being a priest or any other type of minister is always most valued in the context of a people who realize that they are already priestly, prophetic and royal in the sight of God - not only for God but for others. As a result of the present scandal in the Church I believe by necessity, our bishops along with the priests, religious and laity, will deal more openly with all issues, not only sexual. There will be more collaboration.
"I'm encouraged by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to become more of a national voice for our priesthood in the United States. I think we are going to see more and more emphasis where the value of the priest will not decline but will be needed even more as people realize their own calling to be church. The value of the priest will always be as a leader, sacramental minister and spiritual advisor."
The priesthood and music remain the focus of Father Jim's life. While the Boone County parish and mission remain his priority, he has managed to perform a few concerts and parish missions throughout the U.S., sharing his talents with both Catholic and Ecumenical crowds. In his opinion, life just keeps getting better.
"I would encourage any young man to consider the priesthood, especially if he is willing to be a servant of God and become the unique priestly person he was born to be." He concluded, "As a priest of 20 years I wouldn't have it any other way!"