Following where God leads him

Fr. John O’Neill retires from active diocesan ministry, accepts Conception assignment

By Bill Brewer

Father John O’Neill, a longtime priest of the dioceses of Knoxville and Nashville, has retired from active diocesan ministry and accepted a position as coordinator of spiritual formation at Conception Seminary College in Conception, Mo.

Father O’Neill most recently served as pastor of St. Cecilia Parish in Waynesboro, Tenn., Holy Trinity Parish in Hohenwald, Tenn., and Christ the Redeemer Parish in Centerville, Tenn. He was incardinated into the Diocese of Nashville from the Diocese of Knoxville on Oct. 1, 2012, after switching his service from East Tennessee to Middle Tennessee in 2005 to become chaplain for the campus of Overbrook School, St. Cecilia Academy, and Aquinas College in Nashville. The schools are operated by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation.

His first assignment in the Diocese of Nashville was as priest-in-residence at Holy Rosary Parish in Donelson and St. Joseph Parish in Madison. He also served as chaplain to the Sisters of Mercy convent and as part-time chaplain for Ascension St. Thomas Midtown and St. Thomas West hospitals.

The native of Dublin, Ireland, in 2018 was appointed pastor of the Waynesboro, Hohenwald, and Centerville parishes, his next pastoral assignment for the Diocese of Nashville.

Father O’Neill reported to Conception Seminary in early August, ahead of seminary students arriving on campus for the fall semester on Aug. 13. While serving at Conception, Father O’Neill will continue to be a Diocese of Nashville priest.

The Irish priest who became a U.S. citizen on Jan. 18, 2023, in Nashville “at the ripe age of 66” explained that he became ill in March and was instructed by doctors to take a medical leave of absence. He battled COVID last year following the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, which was July 3, 2024.

“One doctor and then another doctor said I was in acute need of medical leave for what turned out to be long COVID. I had many symptoms,” Father O’Neill said. “I had to stand down from the three parishes in four counties where I was. The parishes served Lewis County, Perry County, Wayne County, and Hickman County.”

Father O’Neill was confident he would bounce back from his bout with COVID, but the illness had longer-range implications.

Concurrently, Father O’Neill was being called by God in another direction.

“I had not been feeling well, and I decided not to take my spring trip home (to Dublin). I went to Conception Abbey instead. When I was there on retreat, the abbot suddenly asked if I would consider being a spiritual director for the seminary. I was surprised and delighted. He asked me why I hadn’t mentioned it before, and I said I felt that it was something one should be asked to do rather than petition for it,” Father O’Neill said. “I was very excited. I let Bishop Mark Spalding (of Nashville) know, and he asked me to get in touch with Father Andrew Bulso, who is the vicar for priests for the Diocese of Nashville.”

Father O’Neill said he and Bishop Spalding agreed that he would retire from active ministry in the Diocese of Nashville, which enabled him to accept the position at Conception Seminary.

In the meantime, the one-time Diocese of Knoxville priest spent four months recuperating in Knoxville, where he slowly regained his strength and shed the symptoms of COVID. Diocese of Knoxville Bishop Mark Beckman gave his blessing to Father O’Neill to temporarily reside in Knoxville and celebrate Mass as he was able.

“What a treat. In the Diocese of Knoxville, my old home, a very kind, gracious family was able to offer me their home for peace and quiet very close to Holy Ghost Parish (in Knoxville), where I had served from 2002 to 2005. It was an amazing time. The first month was almost totally care and rest. I celebrated Mass at home and was given rides by attentive parishioners. The second month I began to pick up. I began to say more Masses and give homilies and check into things. I then realized that my time as an active priest was at an end and my time for retirement had arrived,” he explained.

He entered into the decision cautiously and deliberately and with full understanding of the impact on the three parishes in Middle Tennessee that he was pastoring.

“I’m terribly grateful to so many people. I’m grateful to Bishop Spalding for giving me his blessing; for the vicar general for the Diocese of Nashville, Father John Hammond, for arranging and writing the letter to the abbot about my transfer. Father Bulso was very attentive. And I will never forget the kindness of the priests who took it upon themselves to call me out of the blue. Their kindness I will remember for the rest of my life. Also, the Nashville Dominican Sisters, who are praying incessantly. And what a lovely sendoff from the three parishes and four counties,” Father O’Neill said.

Excited ‘to live the monastic routine’

He is looking forward to staying in the Conception monastery at the invitation of Abbot Benedict Neenan, OSB, who is chancellor of Conception and a professor. Father Victor Schinstock, OSB, is president and rector of Conception Seminary College.

“It is a very exciting idea to live the monastic routine and to enjoy their hospitality,” Father O’Neill noted.

He will be serving as coordinator of spiritual formation for more than 60 seminarians at Conception, more than half of whom are new arrivals. In his new role, he will be coordinating students as they meet with their spiritual directors and overseeing retreats.

Father O’Neill said he will be working to close the age gap between him and the seminarians, which is 35-40 years. “I’m asking everyone to please pray for that.”

He still recalls attending Conception Seminary in the 1990s with future Diocese of Knoxville priests Father John Orr, pastor of Holy Ghost Parish; Father David Carter, rector of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga; and Father Brent Shelton, who has served at Holy Ghost, St. Francis of Assisi in Townsend, and St. Mary in Oak Ridge.

He felt called to the priesthood after serving as a vascular surgeon in Ireland, England, and Pakistan.

Now, the 68-year-old priest said the four months he spent in East Tennessee recovering was an opportunity to reconnect with many people he ministered to in the Diocese of Knoxville. While a priest of the Knoxville Diocese, Father O’Neill served as an associate pastor at Holy Ghost Parish and St. Jude Parish in Chattanooga, and as interim administrator of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Townsend, Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa, and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Fairfield Glade.

“Gratitude to Holy Ghost Parish and to the Diocese of Knoxville for four extraordinary months of healing and preparation,” Father O’Neill said, noting that among those he reconnected with was Lucina Diego, who is now 30 and has known Father O’Neill since she was a child receiving her first Holy Communion. Mrs. Diego introduced Father O’Neill to her young children.

Father O’Neill continues to feel a strong connection to his former Diocese of Nashville parishioners and reflected that he served the three parishes for just under seven years, and he was ready to serve there for at least another five years.

“I’m very grateful to the parishioners of Hohenwald, Centerville, and Waynesboro because my departure from there was more sudden than expected. First, we thought it was sick leave. Then it was sick-leave-cum-retirement. I’m incredibly grateful to them for all their care,” he said.

Father O’Neill shared that his letter of appointment from the Diocese of Nashville to Conception Seminary is for three years. And at Conception, he is serving in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri, which is led by Bishop James V. Johnston Jr., a former Diocese of Knoxville priest and chancellor.

Father O’Neill recalled that he and then-Father Johnston were serving at Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Alcoa when Father Johnston was named bishop of Springfield-Cape Girardeau in Missouri in 2008.

At Conception, Father O’Neill will be reunited with Father Xavier Nacke, OSB, who serves as spiritual director at Conception. Father Nacke was Father O’Neill’s spiritual director when Father O’Neill was there in seminary.

“I have kept in touch with the monks almost continuously since I left there in 1995. It’s good to go back after 30 years,” he said. “We are still in touch, and he’s to be my guide as spiritual director now.”

Father O’Neill still carries fond memories of the Mass and reception marking the 25th anniversary of his priesthood.

“It was an amazing day. Once again, what would I have done without the parents of Overbrook and St. Cecilia schools. The Diocese of Nashville put on a huge day for me,” Father O’Neill said.

The main celebrant at the ordination anniversary Mass was Bishop Johnston. Concelebrants included Father Nacke and priests of the dioceses of Nashville and Knoxville. The Mass was celebrated at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville. Altar servers at the Mass included youth from the three parishes where Father O’Neill was pastor. Dominican Sisters from St. Cecilia made up the choir.

Grateful for years as diocesan priest

Father O’Neill’s gratitude to his former parishioners and the people of the Diocese of Nashville is apparent because they have played such a pivotal role in his formation as a diocesan priest. He cited the Legion of Mary at Overbrook School, where he met and grew to know many parents because they visited nursing homes each week.

“Some incredible friendships were formed through that,” he said, noting that he served nine and a half years as chaplain on the campus of Overbrook School, St. Cecilia Academy, and Aquinas College, including the years before he was incardinated into the Diocese of Nashville.

Father O’Neill pointed out similarities in his priestly role at Conception to that of his role at Overbrook, St. Cecilia, and Aquinas.

“It links into staying in the monastery and working in the seminary because the best part of my life there was praying for the Sisters in the early part of the morning and going back for rosary and for evening prayer every night. That was a huge part of my life: the liturgy with the Sisters every day,” Father O’Neill said.

Father O’Neill also is blessed by his family in Ireland and the United Kingdom, including brothers James, Malachi, Dominic, Desmond, Joseph, Damian, and sister Martha. A second sister, Maoliosa, has passed away, as have his parents, Jimmy and Martha O’Neill.

“I am grateful to them. And I’ve been praying to them a lot,” Father O’Neill said about his parents.

Father O’Neill is most grateful to God, His Son, and the Blessed Mother for their blessings, guidance, and comfort during this time of transition in his priesthood. And now, the Tennessee priest who will be lending his Irish brogue, his devotion to the rosary, and his love for the Legion of Mary to the Northern Plains is back to where it all began: Conception Seminary.

“The parishioners of St. Cecilia in Waynesboro, Holy Trinity Parish in Hohenwald, Christ the Redeemer in Centerville, and Holy Ghost in Knoxville—their kindness I will never forget because I was so ill I could not visualize ever working a regular life. They saw a future I did not see because I was so sick, but they said, ‘No, this is God’s plan. It will all pass,’” he said.