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November 9, 2008

‘Theater’ teamwork helps him energize faith

By Dolores Madlener

STAFF WRITER

Interviewee

Father Patrick Cecil, pastor of St. Patrick Church, Wadsworth, sits on the bench in the meditation garden at his parish on Oct. 31.Catholic New World/Karen Callaway

He is: Father Patrick G. Cecil, pastor of St. Patrick Church, Wadsworth. Attended Quigley North, Niles College and St. Mary of the Lake seminaries; ordained 1978.

On the move: “Our family moved from Skokie, to Niles, to Hanover Park, to Oak Park. Mostly because we needed bigger homes. There were eventually seven kids.” He attended St. John Brebeuf in Niles, then St. Joseph in Elgin. “When I started at Quigley my sister was going to Loyola, and my dad worked downtown. Three of us going into Chicago from Hanover Park. So we moved to Oak Park. We lived in Ascension Parish and I took the Congress L.”

Out of state: In 1970 when he was at Niles Seminary, “Dad was working at Texaco and got transferred to Atlanta, so the family moved down there.”

Growing up: “In grammar school we played baseball nearly every day in the summer — Little League and organized baseball, too. My aunt and uncle had a summer home in Lake Geneva; bedrooms, a kitchen and a bath, like a rooming house. We went there every summer. When it wasn’t raining, we were at the beach.”

Summer jobs: “I worked as a janitor at the Civic Center and one summer in 1971 in a gas station in Atlanta.”

Mentors? “When I was at Mundelein, probably Jack Shea was my strongest mentor. He preached at my first Mass. Before that, Father Bob McLaughlin was a great mentor at Quigley.”

Has bachelor’s in theater: “I used my theater knowledge at my first assignment at St. Angela Parish, but then life gets too busy. I have a subscription to the Goodman, because I like theater. When you live this far north, you need an excuse to make the drive.”

JPII was an actor: “Celebrating Mass is not theater, but once you’ve worked in a play you can apply the principle to a parish, working together with people in different ways to serve God.”

1991 sabbatical: “My brother Bill traveled a lot with his work and lived in Europe and Australia. In 1991 I visited him there. Our whole family, 13 of us, went to Italy this past May. My niece sang with her college chorale at St. Peter’s Basilica.” He concelebrated Mass on one of the altars at St. Peter’s. “The most unforgettable moment of my priesthood was that experience.”

Hobby: He enjoys poetry. “I try to read poetry on retreat. It helps me explore things in a little different way than you can with prose.” Favorite poet? “Maybe Yeats.”

Yearly retreat: “I make it at Stritch Retreat House at Mundelein.” Since his first directed retreat in California, he’s made one every year. “If you’d asked me about spending a week in silence when I was first ordained, I’d have thought you were crazy. But now I look forward to it. I’d like to do a 30-day directed retreat with the Jesuits in Gloucester, Mass., recommended by a couple friends.”

Leisure: “I golf or get a walk in and have dinner with friends. Father Marty Zielinski and I have auctioned a home-cooked dinner for two couples as a fund-raiser for St. Pat’s School the last several years. We get together and do the preparation a day or so ahead so we can spend more time with our guests. Father Marty’s the Iron Chef. I take direction pretty well. This year it was stuffed pasta. Filling hot manicotti by hand was messy, but fun.”

Staying connected: “Our class has gotten together every year since ordination. We generally have an evening at someone’s parish and have Mass around 4 p.m. and dinner. We’ve included the guys who were ordained with us, regardless if they’re presently active or not. We’ll have between 15 to 20 every gathering.”

Motto: “‘The work of a priest is to point out the movement of God in people’s lives.’ I think that’s what I try to do.”