Father Gregory Rapisarda to continue healthcare ministry in retirement

When parishioners describe Father Gregory Rapisarda, the same words pop up: compassionate, present, available.

“He’s an extraordinary man of tremendous insight; he’s a magnificent individual and very compassionate with the folks,” said Mike Forehand, the business manager for the pastorate of Our Lady of Hope in Dundalk and St. Luke in Edgemere, where Father Rapisarda is associate pastor.

“He’s present to everyone,” said School Sister of Notre Dame Irene Pryle, longtime principal of Our Lady of Hope/St. Luke School. “His availability is without question. He’s just been a wonderful example of Catholic faith in action.”

Father Rapisarda, who prefers to be called “Father Greg,” is retiring at 75, but he plans to be plenty present. He will continue – part time – his ministry as a chaplain and member of the ethics committee at Johns Hopkins Bayview, the first Catholic priest to serve on the committee.

“I will still see patients and walk with the family through the end of life,” he said, adding he will continue to celebrate Mass and preside at funerals. “I’m retiring to continue to work.”

But retirement as such will give him a bit more time for music – he plays guitar nightly and loves rock music – and spending time with his 10 grandchildren, ranging in age from 18 months to 24 years old. Before he became a priest, Father Rapisarda was a father of four children, practiced law for 38 years, and had his own practice.

After his wife died from cancer, Father Rapisarda, who was a permanent deacon at the time, began to ask himself what was next. During her chemotherapy, his wife had commented on his love of ministry.

Then-Archbishop Edwin O’Brien, who is now a cardinal, called him to his office and asked him if he was ready to be a priest.

“I was afraid,” Father Rapisarda recalled.

The hardest thing for him was giving up his house, but “you don’t take the easy way out – you seek to do what is right. I always felt like it was the right thing to do: ‘Well, this is the next step.’” That step involved making sure his children were OK with it, including one son who just happens to be a priest, Father John Rapisarda.

It was, indeed, the right step. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2010 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.

He served as associate pastor of St. Louis in Clarksville (2010-12). He was associate pastor of Our Lady of Hope, Dundalk; St. Luke, Edgemere; Our Lady of Fatima, Baltimore; Sacred Heart of Mary, Graceland Park, beginning in 2012, before later serving as associate pastor of Our Lady of Hope, Dundalk and St. Luke, Edgemere, until 2023. He was administrator of Our Lady of Hope and St. Luke 2021-22,  and then associate pastor of Our Lady of Hope and St. Luke 2022-23. He has been a chaplain at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Bayview, since 2012.

“I love people and I enjoy being with them,” he said. “I enjoy every aspect of ministry; I don’t think of it as ministry, I think of it as the natural way to respond to a relationship with Christ.”

Father Rapisarda, who felt blessed to be born and raised a Catholic, grew up in St. Matthew Parish in northeast Baltimore, attending school there and then at Loyola Blakefield. He later was a parishioner of St. Margaret in Bel Air, where he served as a permanent deacon.

“I like talking to (people) about religion, about Christ and about understanding the Catholic faith,” he said. His legal acumen has been particularly helpful in articulating the church’s medical ethical teachings.

Although it can be difficult work, he is on call 24/7 to the hospital. He’s simply present, often just visiting patients and watching TV with them.

“I’ve watched baseball, Super Bowls, all the major sports,” he said. When end-of-life ministry is needed, he also ministers to the nurses and staff, too, understanding how hard it is for them to lose a patient.

“I find fulfilling every aspect of ministry, and I think that’s a blessing,” he said.

So, retirement?

“I do feel like the life Christ wants us to lead is full of life. I want to work as hard as I can,” he said, as he was driving back to the hospital for yet another visit.

For nearly a year in 2009, the Catholic Review followed Father Gregory Rapisarda and two others who were preparing for the priesthood at St. Mary’s Seminary in Roland Park for a multi-part series on life in the seminary. Read the series below:

Part One: Seminarians embark on journey to the priesthood

Part Two: Seminarians face challenges in academics and pastoral work

Part Three: Sulpician formation guides future priests

Also see

Father Pete Literal will retire after ministering for decades in prisons, parishes and cultural outreach

Cardinal O’Malley devotes decades to making ‘present the merciful face of God’

Father William Au, pastor of the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, is set to retire

Father Demek retires after nearly 50 years as a priest

Father Gills retires after a ministry that took him around the world and around the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Father Foley, pastor to retired priests, set to retire himself

Copyright © 2023 Catholic Review Media

 Print