Redemptorist Father Kevin Milton, former Baltimore and Annapolis parish leader, dies at 81

Redemptorist Father Kevin Milton, a former pastor of Our Lady of Fatima in East Baltimore and rector at St. Mary in Annapolis, died Aug. 9 in New Smyrna Beach, Fla. He was 81.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Father Milton attended St. Mary’s Preparatory Seminary in North East, Pa. He was ordained to the priesthood June 18, 1967, at Mount St. Alphonsus Seminary in New York.

Father Milton’s first assignment after his ordination was at St. Wenceslaus in East Baltimore in 1969. The following year, he went to St. Gerard in Lima, Ohio. In 1977, he returned to Maryland when he was assigned to St. Mary in Annapolis, serving as rector from 1981 to 1985 and again from 2011 to 2017. He was pastor of Our Lady of Fatima in East Baltimore from 2005 to 2011.

Elsewhere, Father Milton served as rector of St. Clement in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and the Basilica and Shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (the Mission Church) in Boston.

“He was a very good man and a fine priest,” said School Sister of Notre Dame Iris Marie McGann, who worked with Father Milton at Our Lady of Fatima. “He was approachable and available, and he truly had a shepherd’s heart.”

According to Sister Iris Marie, who currently ministers at Villa Assumpta in Towson, Father Milton was a man of deep prayer, which influenced his treatment of people and his homilies.

“He was Gospel-oriented and often talked about how to live a spiritual life in today’s world,” she said.

School Sister of Notre Dame Patricia Maxa had experience working with Father Milton both during his early years at St. Mary and later at Our Lady of Fatima. 

“Father Kevin was always for the people,” said Sister Patricia, who ministers at Mother Seton Academy in Baltimore. “He was a very good shepherd. He faithfully ministered to the school community and the sisters in the convent.”

In a 2005 interview with The Catholic Review, Father Milton described Our Lady of Fatima as a “very active, friendly parish.”

“The liturgies are upbeat and have active participation, and the worship space provides a comfortable, intimate setting for Mass,” he said. “There is so much to like about Fatima.”

Father Milton worked with the St. Mary’s Marriage Encounter group and the parish prayer group. He held master’s degrees in religious education and counseling/education.

“St. Mary’s had a very vibrant prayer group all because of Father Kevin,” Sister Patricia said. “He was very involved and dedicated to his ministry to the people. He did so many weddings and funerals. He was a well-loved priest.”

Ileen McFarland, a longtime parishioner of St. Mary who now lives in Dallas, Texas, echoed that sentiment.

“Father Kevin was very special to us,” said McFarland, who lost her first husband Terry to a very rare neurological disease.

“Father Kevin was there for me,” she said. “After caring for my husband for several years as his disease progressed, I was at a loss after his death. It was Father Kevin who was by my side at the hospital when Terry died and he facilitated the funeral Mass.” 

McFarland said that after her husband’s death, Father Milton introduced her to hospital and in-home eucharistic ministry, and she continues to serve in this capacity. Years later, Father Milton married McFarland and her second husband. They moved away but kept in touch with Father Milton, visiting him whenever they were in Maryland. 

While at St. Mary’s, Father Milton suffered a stroke and needed additional care, and he joined the community at the St. John Neumann Residence at Stella Maris in Timonium in 2017. In 2021, he moved to St. Alphonsus Villa assisted living community in New Smyrna Beach, and McFarland continued to stay in touch.

“We will miss his wonderful laugh, his kind heart and the impression he made in our lives,” she said. We both look forward to bringing closure to his life here on earth and know in our hearts that Jesus has welcomed him with open arms into his heaven.” 

A funeral liturgy for Father Milton will be held at St. Mary in Annapolis Aug. 17 at 10:30 a.m. followed by burial at St. Mary’s. Redemptorist Father Richard Bennett will serve as the homilist.

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