Celebrating 1,100 years of ministry: Golden jubilarian priests

On April 25, 1961, Cardinal James Francis McIntyre — in the 13th of his 23 years as archbishop of the four-county (Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and Santa Barbara) Archdiocese of Los Angeles — ordained the members of St. John’s 1961 class in St. Vibiana Cathedral. Fifty years later, six of the priests from St. John’s are among 22 in the archdiocese celebrating their Golden Jubilees, including religious order and extern priests. Collectively, they represent 1,100 years of active ministry. Following are brief profiles of the 2011 archdiocesan golden jubilarian priests. (Note: Cardinal William Levada was ordained in December 1961 in Rome for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; his jubilee will be celebrated with the class of 1962.)Msgr. John Barry A native of County Cork, Ireland, Msgr. Barry was ordained at All Hallows College June 18, 1961. His associate assignments in the archdiocese include St. Bernard, Bellflower; St. Basil, L.A.; and Holy Family, South Pasadena. He received a master’s degree from Fordham University and was named director of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine in 1973. As director he expanded the program to include youth, detention ministry, master catechist and Hispanic programs, and is the author of several educational books. Msgr. Barry was named Protonotary Apostolic in 2005 and has been pastor of American Martyrs, Manhattan Beach since 1983.Father Pedro Ciordia Born in Spain, Father Ciordia was ordained July 23, 1961 at Navarra as an Augustinian Recollect priest. He came to Los Angeles in 1969 and his pastoral assignments here were Divine Saviour, L.A.; pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, El Monte; St. Sebastian and pastor of San Antonio de Padua, L.A. In retirement he resides at Holy Family, Wilmington. Father Ciordia was incardinated in 1974 and has educational degrees from the Philippines where he was a seminary instructor and high school principal.Father Joseph Duc Minh Father Duc Minh was born in Vietnam and ordained at the Ninh Seminary May 27, 1961. He was a prisoner of the Communists for a time and later ministered in the Diocese of Vinh. He came to Los Angeles in 1991 and served as a chaplain for Vietnam students and at several parishes in L.A. He was on the faculty at St. John’s Seminary, has a Ph.D. and M.A. in philosophy and was an associate at St. Mary Magdalen, Camarillo; St. Julie Billiart, Newbury Park; and a senior priest at St. Catherine Laboure, Torrance before his retirement in 2008 and lives privately in Santa Ana.Father Don Kribs A native Angeleno, he is a member of St. John’s 1961 class. Father Kribs attended Loyola High School and Loyola University and has served as an associate at St. John of God, Norwalk; St. Joachim, Costa Mesa; St. Didacus, Sylmar; and Precious Blood, L.A. As a chaplain he has ministered at Rancho Los Amigos, Downey, USC County Hospital and was pastor at St. Camillus, which serves the hospital. He also directed St. Vincent Center on skid row and was the vice-chairman of the co-workers of Mother Teresa for the West Coast. He retired in 2000 and is now living at Nazareth House in Los Angeles.Msgr. James Loughnane Born in County Galway, he attended All Hallows College and was ordained June 18, 1961. In the archdiocese he served as associate at St. John Baptist de la Salle, Granada Hills; St. Cornelius, St. Bonaventure and St. Barnabas, all in Long Beach; associate and pastor at St. Joseph the Worker, Winnetka; and named pastor at St. Denis, Diamond Bar in 1993, his current ministry. He was named a prelate of Honor in 1988 and Protonotary Apostolic in 2005. Msgr. Loughnane has also served on the Personnel Board and as a judge with the matrimonial Tribunal.Father Gerald Meisel A member of the 1961 class of St. John’s, he was born in Los Angeles where his parents were members of St. Michael Church. His associate positions were at St. John the Baptist, Costa Mesa; St. Martin of Tours and St. Frances X. Cabrini, L.A.; Nativity, Torrance; and Cathedral Chapel, L.A. He served as an associate, then administrator and in 1984 was named pastor at St. Matthew, Long Beach, serving for 21 years. Father Meisel retired in 2005 as pastor emeritus and currently lives at the parish.Msgr. John O’Byrne Born in County Tipperary, Ireland, he was ordained June 18, 1961 at St. John’s Seminary in Ireland. As an associate, Msgr. O’Byrne served at St. Jane Frances de Chantal, North Hollywood; St. Lawrence Martyr, Redondo Beach; Mission San Juan Capistrano; Nativity, Torrance; St. Anthony of Padua, Gardena; and St. Catherine Laboure, Torrance. He was also a faculty member at Junipero Serra High School, Gardena. He was named pastor at St. Catherine in 1987 and will serve there until his retirement. Msgr. O’Byrne was named a chaplain to His Holiness in 2005.Msgr. Peter O’Reilly Born in County Longford, Ireland, Msgr. O’Reilly was ordained June 18, 1961 at All Hallows College, Dublin. As associate he served at St. John the Evangelist, L.A.; Good Shepherd, Beverly Hills; Holy Spirit, L.A.; American Martyrs, Manhattan Beach; Our Lady of the Assumption, Claremont; and St. Brendan, L.A. He served as pastor at Nativity, El Monte, for eight years, and also was on the Council of Priests for five years. He was the founding pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Westlake Village, serving 13 years until retiring as pastor emeritus in 2005. He lives privately in Claremont.Msgr. William O’Toole A native of County Mayo, Ireland, he attended Mungret College, Limerick, before completing his studies with St. John’s 1961 class. His associate terms were at Nativity, Torrance; St. Martha, Valinda; Sacred Heart, L.A.; and St. Boniface, Anaheim. First as administrator and then as pastor for 15 years, Msgr. O’Toole ministered at St. Philomena, Carson. He was pastor at All Souls, Alhambra for 11 years and retired as pastor emeritus in 2004.Cardinal Justin Rigali A member of St. John’s 1961 class, he was born in Los Angeles and attended elementary school at Holy Cross and Transfiguration. Cardinal Rigali served as associate at Ascension, L.A., and St. Raymond, Downey, before attending North American College in Rome. He was a member of the Diplomatic Corps and named bishop in 1985. He served in the Roman Curia for five years and named president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, besides several other Vatican appointments. In 1994 he was named archbishop of St. Louis, and in 2003 became cardinal archbishop of Philadelphia. He recently retired. Father Gilbert Romero Father Romero, a member of St. John’s class, was born in New Mexico. He served as associate at San Antonio de Padua, L.A.; Sagrado Corazon, Compton; St. Thomas More, Alhambra; and several years as pastor at Our Lady of the Assumption, El Paso, Texas. He directed the office of campus ministry and taught Scripture in the seminary of the Diocese of Trujillo in Peru. In Los Angeles, Father Romero headed the Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Office in L.A. for two years. Now retired and living in Seal Beach, his brother is Father Juan Romero (now retired) and his deceased widowed dad was Claretian Father Tobias Romero. Father Thomas Stehly Father Stehly, a native of Orange, attended Loyola High School and Loyola University and is a member of St. John’s 1961 class. As associate he served at Our Lady of the Valley, Canoga Park; Holy Angels, Arcadia; and American Martyrs, Manhattan Beach. For more than 20 years Father Stehly was on active leave serving at Resurrection, Escondido, and Mission San Luis Rey, Oceanside. He retired in 1997 and lives in Cypress. His brother, Father Mark Stehly, is a retired priest in Seattle.{gallery width=100 height=100}gallery/2011/0930/goldenjubs/{/gallery}