Msgr. Richard Murray, St. Bernardine of Siena Church's founding pastor, celebrating his 65th anniversary as a priest this weekend at the Woodland Hills parish, is still "on the move" serving the people of God and enjoying the great outdoors at age 92.
Among the first seminarian class to graduate from St. John's Seminary after attending St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park and Los Angeles College, the Louisiana native who moved with his family to L.A. as a child --- the ninth of 11 siblings --- was ordained in St. Vibiana's Cathedral on April 27, 1943.
"He's been a priest longer than I've been alive," quipped St. Bernardine's current pastor, Father Robert McNamara, before Msgr. Murray came strolling in for his Tidings interview from his apartment on the parish campus.
Though retired since 1989, Msgr. Murray continues celebrating Sunday and twice-weekly Masses, visiting each grade in the parish school at least once a month, and making weekly sick calls with the help of parishioner-drivers. When he voluntarily gave up his driver's license at age 90, four parishioners stepped forward to drive the active senior to his appointments and recreational pursuits that include golf, deep sea fishing and hunting.
"I've always been outdoors," noted Msgr. Murray. "My dad hunted squirrels in Louisiana. I used to admire him."
After he left the seminary, he started playing golf with close seminary classmates (now deceased) Msgr. James O'Callaghan and Msgr. Emmett McCarthy. The pastor emeritus is looking forward to May 5, when he will play in the eighth annual "Msgr. Murray Golf Tournament" parish school fundraiser at the Calabasas Country Club.
He got hooked on deep sea fishing while serving his first assignment as an associate priest at All Souls, Alhambra, where he ministered from 1943-49. A parishioner mentioned her husband was fishing in Acapulco and would be happy to take the young priest along on a future trip. "I caught four sailfish, then the [fishing] bug bit," said Msgr. Murray, who took a fishing trip to Cabo San Lucas last year, where he fishes for blue and black marlin and tuna.
In 1999, Msgr. Murray and "a couple of buddies" went to Trinidad, Colorado, during elk-hunting season. A self-taught marksman, Msgr. Murray has been gifted over the years by parishioners with sports equipment to pursue his hobbies.
"If you're involved in sports, all kinds of things can happen," said Msgr. Murray. Many people, he explains, connect with sports, and he remembers reeling in a prospective parishioner who said he liked the idea of having a pastor who fished.
'The call'
It was on one of his weeklong Baja fishing trips in 1962 --- in fact, taking a break from serving for 13 years as an assistant pastor at St. Paul's in Los Angeles --- that he was called on a Monday morning at the parish by the late Msgr. Benjamin Hawkes, archdiocesan chancellor, telling him Cardinal James McIntyre had named him pastor of a brand new parish, St. Bernardine of Siena, in Woodland Hills. Decades before cell phones, he got the message the following Saturday when he returned to L.A.
His first question to archdiocesan officials was, "Where's Woodland Hills?" He knew it was somewhere in the western San Fernando Valley. The site of the new parish encompassing approximately eight square miles was a vacant lot next to a dirt road. He celebrated the first parish Mass in the Chaminade High School Library on Aug. 26, 1962.
As the number of parishioners increased, Mass was moved to Canoga Park High School auditorium and later to Hale Junior High School auditorium. During this parish formation period, the administration of all the sacraments by Father Murray and his associate, Father Havel, was held at neighboring Our Lady of the Valley, Canoga Park, through the courtesy of its late pastor, Msgr. John Hurley.
Part of getting the church established was working with the city to pave surrounding parish streets, Calvert and Valley Circle. This started a long relationship with city planners, as the hillside next to the parish had to be shored up three different times over the years.
"The first thing we did was take a [parish] census," said Msgr. Murray. He divided the 1,700-family parish into 18 guilds, where parishioners got to know each other. Many of them were families headed by engineers moving into the area to work at aerospace companies such as Rocketdyne. "They were young and multiplying," said the pastor emeritus.
Attending the monthly home guild meetings, Msgr. Murray learned the parishioners wanted the parish school built first, the church second. He organized a building fund campaign committee to spearhead fund-raising, and groundbreaking for St. Bernardine's church and school was held March 1, 1964. The primary grade school, staffed by Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, was opened the following September with the church opening its doors in late fall.
"I immediately had to build the next eight [double] classrooms [of 50 students each], so the fourth graders could go on to fifth grade," said Msgr. Murray. The second school building, which included facilities for St. Bernardine's religious education program, opened in the spring of 1966. In October that year, Cardinal McIntyre dedicated the school and church.
Being present
The secret of Msgr. Murray's ministry, he says, is being present to parishioners. Besides guild meetings, he attended parish clubs, RENEW meetings (begun in the '80s along with the RCIA), social concerns group meetings and parish events. He made a point of always being out in front of the church after Mass to greet the people.
In 1983, the year of his 40th anniversary of his priesthood, he was honored by Pope John Paul II by being named Prelate of Honor. Two years before his retirement, he oversaw the renovation of the church in 1987 for the 25th anniversary celebration of the parish founding.
As he approaches his 65th ordination anniversary, he says he feels "great." He described the priesthood as "reaching out and helping people and trying to bring joy and security in their lives."
His advice to young priests? "Be involved with the people. If they call, you go. That's what the Lord did." |