Rev. Seamus D. Genovese
1946 - 2015
 |
Rev. Seamus Domenic Genovese passed away peacefully at UCSF Parnassus
on March 11 after a heroic two year battle against pancreatic cancer.
He was born in Ireland, on the 25th of December, 1946, the first of
four sons of James Domenic Genovese and Kathleen Patricia (Mitchell)
Genovese. He was ordained at the Cathedral of St. Francis de Sales by
Bishop Floyd Begin, first bishop of Oakland, on May 2, 1975 and after
several assignments in the diocese was appointed pastor of Our Lady of
Lourdes in 1988 where he remained until his death. His radiant smile,
bright spirit and message of hope and inclusion attracted a very large
and devoted following. He restored and remodeled the church and related
buildings and more importantly the faith of so many who came in contact
with him. He is survived by his three brothers, Dennis (David) from Los
Angeles, Raymond (Laurie) and their three children from Mission Viejo
and Brian (Mary) and their four children from San Diego and countless
relatives living in Ireland. -Published in the San Francisco Chronicle on Mar. 15, 2015
The quote below is from an interview of Richard Lane, a noted Street Preacher reported in the National Catholic Reporter. "...It was not until around 1990 when I wound up in Oakland, Calif., that I really started to get somewhat serious about my Catholic faith. I began attending this wonderful church called Our Lady of Lourdes in Lake Merritt and there was a wonderful Irish-Catholic priest, Father Seamus Genovese, who is still there, who played such a huge part in my formation." Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/site/article/7132 ".... I was living in San Lorenzo and was a parishioner at St Joachim's when Seamus was there. He baptized my youngest daughter. And he was always very kind and humble, yet forthright and outspoken. I often wondered if it was his unwavering honesty, even in criticizing the Church's hierarchy's dealings with, and apparent cover-ups of, cases of sexual misconduct on the part of clergy that got him transferred about the diocese. Not that he got transferred all that much more than some others, but the timing seemed questionable to me. I didn't follow him after he left St Joachim's, due to my own "moving on", but was very pleased to hear he ended up pastor of one of the best parishes in the diocese. A very dedicated, committed, steadfast man. That may sound redundant, but sometimes redundancy gives emphasis!" -Bill Valladon |
(Feel free to send me your thoughts and memories about Seamus to be posted here if you so desire.)
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