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February
6, 2006
VOL.
44, NO. 3Oakland,
CA
Father Moran assumes leadership in Danville
Father Gerald
Moran, the incoming pastor of St. Isidore Parish in Danville, has some
good plans and dreams for his new parish. They are similar to the ones
he has implemented at other assignments.
“I’m looking to build a ministry based on Bishop (Emeritus)
John Cummins’ personable collaborative style,” he said. “I
want to develop lay leadership. There are a lot of talented lay people
at St. Isidore’s.”
Father Moran, former pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Fremont, said he
is also looking forward to working with the faculty, staff and students
at the parish school. Catholic schools have always rested high atop his
priority list.
Father Moran officially changed his address from Fremont to Danville on
Feb. 1. But writing “440 LaGonda Way” on his correspondence
might take some time to become an automatic gesture, since he lived and
worked at Holy Spirit for the past 21 years. That’s a long history,
full of memories. “This was my 21st Christmas at Holy Spirit. I’ve
been there long enough to know people’s grandchildren,” he
said of the multi-generations he’s served at the parish.
He knows people’s stories as well and has been a part of them. When
one family lost four daughters to cancer, Father Moran accompanied them
throughout the long, sad journey. “You become part of people’s
lives. It’s a legacy that is hard to leave behind.”
At the practical level, he upgraded the parish plant and constructed a
pre-school and science center. He was in the midst of a major school expansion
project and the building of a religious education center when Bishop Allen
Vigneron called him to Danville.
Father Moran, a native of County Mayo, Ireland, has spent all of his priestly
life serving the Diocese of Oakland. When he was studying at St. Patrick’s
College in Carlow, he applied to Bishop Floyd Begin to continue his seminary
work in northern California, because there were too many priests in his
country. It turned out to be a good decision for the young student.
However, on the morning of his interview with Bishop Begin’s representative,
Gerry Moran was quite nervous. “I expected to be intimidated by
some tall American monsignor.”
He worried for nothing. When a car pulled up to the school, a small unassuming
man emerged, smiled and introduced himself as “Father Wade.”
“It was quite a relief,” recalls Father Moran.
Msgr. James Wade turned out to be one of the seminarian’s own countrymen.
The interview went well. The priest, known throughout the Oakland Diocese
for his saintly manner, would become a mentor for young Gerry Moran, who
took up his studies at another St. Patrick’s Seminary, this one
in Menlo Park.
He was ordained on June 15, 1971, as the first Irish-born priest ordained
specifically for the Diocese of Oakland. After ordination, Father Moran
continued his studies at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, where
he received a doctorate in pastoral theology.
He then became associate pastor at Queen of All Saints Church, Concord,
followed by St. Cornelius, Richmond, and Christ the King in Pleasant Hill.
He counts the seven years he spent at the latter parish as “the
happiest years of my life.” He shared pastoral responsibilities
there with Msgr. Wade. They built a new church and had the old church
converted into a gymnasium and a parish center.
On the 10th anniversary of his ordination, Father Moran became pastor
of St. David Parish in Richmond. It was there that the young priest made
Catholic education and the school apostolate his main priority. He initiated
a school endowment fund to help keep the school financially stable and
to keep tuition affordable.
Father Moran has also been active in ministry at the diocesan level. He
was a member of the first Diocesan Pastoral Council, representing the
pastors of Contra Costa County, and he chaired the committee which wrote
a personnel handbook for diocesan priests. He has served as a member of
the steering committee for the new cathedral and on the board of directors
of FACE (Family Aid to Catholic Education).
Father Moran said he is grateful for all the welcoming cards and letters
he has received from St. Isidore’s parishioners. He is anxious to
get to work among them.
And, he warned with good humor, “I’m not retiring until June
15, 2021 – my Golden Jubilee.” To that end, he said he is
“asking the people of St. Isidore’s to pray to God to give
me the gift of health and longevity to achieve this goal.”
Father Gerald Moran
