10-year jubilarian Father O’Neill says he serves ‘hidden saints’

“I love being a priest and I love being a pastor,” said Father Tony O’Neill of his first 10 years as a priest.

Highlights of his ministry revolve around service to the people of God, said Father O’Neill, 57, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, but ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

“So many holy people in the parishes are kind of hidden saints,” he said. “There are just some beautiful souls in all of our parishes.”

One example: Parishioners at Our Lady of the Lake in Mound, where he served for seven years, recognized the 50th anniversary of the church building in part by conducting a “33 Days to Morning Glory” retreat to prepare for a special consecration to Mary. They invited Bishop Andrew Cozzens to be part of it. The dedication to Our Lady and having all parishioners dedicate themselves was “a beautiful, beautiful moment,” Father O’Neill said.

In addition to a brief time at Immaculate Conception in Watertown, his first assignment, in 2011, Father O’Neill was an assistant priest at St. John Neumann in Eagan. He returned there last July as pastor.

A huge part of his being a pastor is a connection with schools, Father O’Neill said. He is canonical administrator for Faithful Catholic Shepherd School in Eagan, and previously served as chaplain at Visitation School in Mendota Heights.

Before he was assigned to Our Lady of the Lake, its school was about to close. But, a group of parishioners rallied, “saved the school” and entered a rebuilding process — rebuilding a sense of ownership and community, Father O’Neill said.

“I’ll always be grateful for that experience of rebuilding and seeing people’s commitment to Catholic education,” he said.

Memorable moments since his ordination have included baptizing a woman weeks before she turned 100. But some of the most profound interactions he has had have been around loss, Father O’Neill said. “Just to be able to step in there, not as myself, but as Christ to these people and as a representative of the Church, the sacraments of the Church bring a lot of healing to people.”

He recalled being asked to anoint a man who had been away from the Church for 40 years and was dying and unable to speak. “I was saying the prayers and he was just gazing into my face, and I got done with the prayers and he died,” Father O’Neill said. “It was just a beautiful moment where God showed up and the man (who) had been gone from the Church for all those years was received back right before he went to meet the Lord.”

Now at 10 years since ordination, Father O’Neill said his advice to seminarians and young priests is that “our job is to love the people and serve the people,” and bring the people to what now-retired Pope Benedict XVI described as an authentic encounter with Christ. “And also to realize, it doesn’t rely on you; it relies on the power of the Holy Spirit and the grace of God.”

“And,” he said with a laugh, “I’d also tell them to get ready to work.”