Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • March 6, 2020 21 Father Kelleher From page 1 He was also an avid supporter of Resur- rection Catholic School in Pascagoula. Father Kelleher retired in 2019. He is survived by his brother John Kelleher, and his sisters Mary Kelleher and Agnes Bateman, all of Ireland. He will be bur- ied in Ireland at a later date. Former Resurrection Elementary principal Elizabeth Benefield said that when Father Kelleher came to Sacred Heart in 1997, he had not really spent much time around school children. “He was aware of the school because he had been pastor of St. Mary’s in Gautier, which is one of the school’s feeder parishes,” said Benefield. “He came not anticipating the involvement with the children. He wasn’t really happy or thrilled about all that. By the time I got here in 2000, he had already begun to warm up to them.” Benefield said she and Father Kelleher had their share of challenging moments. “We didn’t always agree on things,” she said. “I told him we have to teach the children the right way and, over time, I saw him become a real teacher to the children. He grew closer and closer to the children. He just loved their energy.” Benefield said that, after Resurrection School resur- rected its football program, Father Kelleher got even more involved. “He loved going out and watching the children prac- tice on the playground,” she said. “He would just throw himself into everything involv- ing Resurrection. He even dressed up and did the woman- less beauty pageant with the other dads. It bowled every- body over. He dressed like a granny and he did a really good job. He just got into the fun. Benefield said it was common to see Father Kelleher visiting with the children before school and after school, in classrooms and in the cafeteria where he would often have lunch with them. “He would go from table to table dropping words of wisdom, sharing stories and doing magic and whatever else he could come up with,” she said. “I remember when we had our first pet blessing. I don’t think he was quite expecting all these children with their pets, but he loved it. He loved the children’s enthusiasm about everything. I think it was almost catching to him. “When he first got here, I don’t think he had a handle on where these children on this level were at developmen- tally. He grew to understand that you have to help nurture them along, and he became their greatest cheerleader.” Benefield said Father Kelleher’s constant presence at the school made her job a lot easier. “When you’re talking to a child who’s made a bad choice, I would say, ‘Well, you really love Father Mike. What do you think Father Mike would say if you told him what choice you just made?ʼ Most of them didn’t want to have to disappoint him,” she said. “They had gotten such an affection for him. They did not want to disappoint him. He tended to gravitate to the rounders, the ones who pushed the limits. He had a way with them. He just had a way with them. He could bring them around.” When Benefield’s husband, Kevin, a beloved music teacher and choir director, was killed in an automobile accident in 2014, the county coroner went to work the wreck. After identifying Kevin, whom she knew from their time playing music together at funerals, as one of the victims, she set out to find Father Kelleher so that he could help her break the news to his wife. “She went to search for Father Mike, and she found him. It was a God thing,” said Benefield. “Her daughter called and said, ‘Mom, we wanted to invite you to dinner. We’re at a restaurant and thought you could come meet us.’ She said, ‘Sweetheart, I’m looking for Father Mike Kelleher right now. I’ve got to find him. I can’t join you.' Her daughter said, ‘Mom, he’s right across the restaurant from us.’ So she went to the restau- rant and got him. They, together, came to the house to tell me and he never left my side.” Dr. Jay Cook, former pastor of First Baptist Church in Pascagoula, is the father of two Resurrection Catholic School students. “Father Mike was always very welcoming and open. We loved to just talk when we had the opportunity,” said Cook. “It was always interesting. As a Protestant minister, he never missed the opportunity to publicly welcome me when I would join my family for a school Mass or other functions. “He also did quite a bit to break the man-made barriers between the Catholic and Protestant people in Pascagoula. He really invested himself completely and fully into the lives of the school, the parish and the community. Everyone loved Father Mike throughout the entire com- munity.” As a young seminarian far away from his home coun- try of Poland, Father Adam Urbaniak found a fast friend with Father Kelleher. “Father Mike Kelleher was a wonderful priest. I got to know him first in 2011 when I was assigned to his parish as a seminarian for an Easter break and summer assignment,” said Father Urbaniak, pastor of Our Lady of Victories Parish in Pascagoula. “It was my first year in the United States and the Diocese of Biloxi. He quickly became a friend and mentor. “With his ever-loving Irish heart, he not only welcomed me into the diocese, but invited me to Sacred Heart Parish as if it was my home parish. In my assignment report I wrote, ‘Father Mike wants to be with people and that's what I like, so I'm really happy to be assigned here. It's a perfect fit.’ This is how I am going to remember Father Mike, his heart was always with his people. He was the people's priests, always among people.” Father David Shoemaker, pastor of Holy Redeemer Parish in Eufala, Alabama, shared a similar story of Father Kelleher’s welcoming spirit. “Father Mike was the first priest I ever became friends with,” Father Shoemaker said. “I was living in Gautier, working for the Fish and Wildlife ser- vice, when we met. As soon as I mentioned my own fam- ily’s Irish roots and my love for traveling, our friendship blossomed and it was not long before we planned our first trip,” he said. “Over the years we traveled to many coun- tries and enjoyed experiencing new cultures and foods. “Father Mike was a source of guidance and inspiration in my answering the call to priesthood as well. Over the years in my seminary formation, he was always there fol- lowing my journey, and he even came to Rome when I was ordained a deacon. For nearly the past 20 years, I have enjoyed sharing with him the joys and challenges of my priesthood. He was a great friend, a brother priest and someone who enriched my life, with his faith, hope and love. I will miss his sense of humor and Irish wit.” Ted and Janet Applewhite were the second couple married by Father Kelleher when he served as pastor of Saint Peter Church in Bassfield from 1974-1985. The Applewhites lived next door to Father Kelleher in a house that formerly served as the church’s convent, and he often visited the family for dinner. “We had him when he was a young priest, and he did a great job,” said Ted Applewhite. “He was a real dandy, a down-to-earth, family-oriented, easy to talk to person. He never made you feel like he was above you. He got along with everyone so well. Our kids thought the world of him. “He started our chapter of the Knights of Columbus, and worked with our CYO (Catholic Youth Organization). He was very devoted. Everybody just thought the world of him.” St. Mary parishioner Jan Gregor will remember her friend “Father Michael” as a priest who simply cared for people, and shared a story perfectly summarizing what he was all about. “He didn’t like office work but preferred to minister to people,” said Gregor. “One parishioner told how, when she went into the unlocked church one morning, there was a man sleeping under the altar. When she brought it to Father Michael’s attention, he said, ‘What better place for him to sleep.’” Father George Kitchin touches Father Kelleher's casket as Bishop Louis F. Kihneman III begins the Prayers of Final Commendation at the conclusion of the February 17 Mass of Christian Burial.. Photo/Juliana Skelton