Good parish priests inspire others to follow in their footsteps. At least that is the experience of two men who marked the 60th anniversary of their ordination to the priesthood this year.
Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien and Monsignor Richard Tillman were ordained in 1965. They, and several other priests marking milestone jubilees, were honored at the annual Priests Fall Day of Prayer, Mass for Deceased Priests, and Celebration of Service, Nov. 17 at Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City.
Together, the eight jubilarians cover 310 years of service to the people of God.
Cardinal O’Brien, archbishop emeritus of Baltimore and grand master emeritus of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher, grew up in the Bronx, N.Y., where everything seemed to revolve around the parish, he said. “The whole air was Catholic, and the priests were the center of that, very much a part of our lives. … Instinctively, I responded to that positively.”
For Monsignor Tillman, whose home parish was Immaculate Conception in Towson, both seminarians and priests became early inspirations. As a student at Towson High School, seminarians came to teach religion classes for Catholics in the public school. “Somewhere between my first and second year at Towson, I got serious about praying,” he said.
Eventually, the young man went to see then-Father Marty Schwalenberg, later a monsignor, one of the priests at Immaculate Conception. The priest encouraged him to attend what is now Loyola University Maryland for two years before going to St. Mary’s Seminary on Paca Street.
“I said to myself, I really want to do this, but I’m not sure that it’s what God wants me to do. And then I realized that if God really wanted me to do this, he would probably make me want to do it,” Monsignor Tillman recalled. “OK, I’m here. I’m gonna give it my best shot.”
In his time as a priest, Cardinal O’Brien served as secretary to Cardinal John O’Connor, and as rector of the Archdiocese of New York’s seminary in Dunwoodie, N.Y.
He served as a civilian chaplain at West Point, the Army training school, and later joined the Army as a chaplain, so he could better serve the soldiers. He asked specifically to go to Vietnam and be in the Airborne service “because that’s what all my young cadets were doing after their graduation. … I’ve never asked for an assignment except that one.”
He later became an auxiliary bishop for New York and then archbishop for the Military Services USA before being named archbishop of Baltimore.
He adapted to changes in life and new assignments with “God’s grace, I guess, and each one came along and at the time I was not expecting. Apparently, I was ready for it,” the cardinal said. He noted that he has had great support in his priestly and spiritual life from priest and lay friends.
Monsignor Tillman, who was encouraged by Monsignor Schwalenberg to attend daily Mass, said he would advise young men considering priesthood or seminary to “pray, pray, pray. … That’s a key ingredient.” Strong role models are important, too.
Priests can “enhance people’s lives and make them aware of their goodness,” he said.
Cardinal O’Brien said the most inspiring thing about his 60 years in the priesthood and episcopacy is “the presence of Christ in my life. Whatever I’ve been in, (whatever) pastoral work, I could turn to prayer and be assured of positive response. And that has come in many different ways and God shows himself in every situation I found myself in. The spiritual life is the core of the Mass,” he said.
60 Years of Service
Cardinal Edwin F. O’Brien
Monsignor Richard H. Tillman
50 Years of Service
Father William A. Au
Father Michael T. Buttner
Monsignor Carl F. Cummings
Father Martin H. Demek
25 Years of Service
Bishop Adam J. Parker
Father John A. Williamson
Email Christopher Gunty at editor@CatholicReview.org
Read More Vocations
Copyright © 2025 Catholic Review Media
