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Meet Father Frank O’Brien
by Maureen O’Grady Condon

Father Frank O’Brien celebrates 10 years at St. George this July, and what a decade it’s been – many ups and downs and now a huge change for the parish as it transitions into a new community with St. Jeremiah’s and St. Anselm. Through it all, Father Frank says he’s counted on the open, sincere nature of the St. George parishioners as a source of support and encouragement.

“One example that truly illustrates our parishioners' compassion for others,” says Father O”Brien, “is the constant encouragement they gave us during the sex abuse crisis. As the headlines continued on and on with bad news, the number of people who walked up to me after Mass and simply asked ‘How're you doing?’ was phenomenal. While every parish has people like that, I sincerely think that everybody here is like that...I can’t thank them enough.”

Born and raised in Natick, Father Frank studied at St. John’s Seminary in Brighton. He served in several other parishes before coming to St. George, including Christ the King in Hudson, St. Mary’s in Quincy, and Immaculate in Everett. He spent 16 years at St. Patrick’s in Watertown, where he also served as the parish high school’s guidance counselor. Before becoming pastor at St. George, he was pastor at St. Francis in Medford.

Reflecting on his parish experience and the St. George community in particular, Father Frank says, “Every parish has its own personality – in fact, every Mass has its own. The people of St. George are absolutely open in manner, with no facades.

“Many of them have lived here all their lives and remember their parents working at Roxbury Carpet, Dennison, GM, and many other places. They’ve grown up in the Catholic faith, and have made it their own. Now they eagerly live it and pass it on to their kids. They are involved in all aspects of our parish life, and we absolutely couldn't get along without them.”

When asked what he enjoys most about the priesthood, Father O’Brien quickly says “the people.” He also likes the fact that every day is different. “We laugh, we cry, we hope – and we’re never alone. We live our life and there are always surprises.”

Father Frank says the most important thing that priests can do is simply what Jesus did – be with people wherever they are in their lives and genuinely care about them. “Rules and traditions and rituals really shouldn’t matter all that much – people matter,” he says. “Sometimes the most sensible and helpful thing we can say to people is ‘I don’t know what to say to you.’ As long as someone really cares, you don’t have to say anything profound.”

During this time of parish transition, Father O’Brien hopes that everyone involved feels confident that their feelings are respected. “We come from proud histories, all of us, regardless of our parish. No one has to give up who they are or what’s important to them. We may have different ways of doing things, so we'll enrich each other. I’m confident that we'll all be better than we were before.”

Father Frank at a Glance
Family Only child; about 1,000 cousins!
Favorite Food Whatever the specialty is – sometimes pasta, sometimes fish, sometimes steak. Sometimes even liver!
Favorite Books Mysteries, reading a lot of James Patterson lately.
Favorite Music It used to be called “modern.” It isn’t anymore!
Favorite 2004 Movie The Aviator.
TV Show “Law & Order” and all its spin offs.
Activities Reading, movies, walking, swimming – used to ski, but not much lately.
Favorite Vacation Anywhere there’s water and warm weather.