By Judy Brazil
for The Irish Loop Post
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Trepassey celebrated Father Peter Golden’s 60th ordination anniversary.
Father Peter was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, on September 22, 1936, and shortly afterwards moved with his family to Belfast Town in Northern Ireland. At 26, he decided to become a priest, as he wanted to help others, and was ordained to the priesthood on September 29th, 1962.
This man is the most positive, down to earth person you could ever meet. His pleasant and sincere personality would bring a smile to the biggest frown and he will always help you see the light in the darkest tunnel. He is an inspiration and a shoulder to lean on. He doesn’t let anything frivolous bother him and he tells us to do the same. ‘The most important thing is to concentrate on your own family lives and your health,’ ‘Don’t let anything else bring you down,’ and ‘It’s not worth the stress or worry in this day and age,’ are all things he says to us on a regular basis. Father is a unique soul, so different from former priests we have had. He is a friend to us all and we are so comfortable with him. He is not controlling or above his parishioners, and treats everyone alike.
Father Peter loves to reminisce about his school days and how he “aced” it. He mentioned once that his priority was sports more than academics and that many times, he school to do other more “important” things instead. He joked about how he once only got 4 answers right out of 400 questions on a public exam. He said he “aced” Grade 12 by failing everything! He said he had very tolerant parents who didn’t give up on him, but instead insisted he take off to another College to make sure he repeated his final year. He did just that, and came through with great success! When his parents asked him what his ambition in life was, and when he said he wanted to be a priest, they almost died laughing at his answer. But soon they realized that he was quite serious and supported him all the way.
He was turned down several times and was once told that he could never hope to be a priest, due to his speech impediment, but he was determined to do this…and he did! Having overcome obstacles that stood in his way, we give thanks that he persevered or else we would not have been so lucky to have his presence all these years. He has called Newfoundland home since 1976 and the Trepassey Parish have become his second family.
In June 1988 Father Peter, then 52, arrived in Trepassey parish, a parish which includes St. Shotts, Biscay Bay and Portugal Cove South. He loved the people, the scenery and the peace and serenity of it all. Since then, he has witnessed many sad occasions and has had to share bad news with family members, and has also witnessed many joyous occasions including baptisms, weddings, birthdays, anniversary celebrations, and more. Former residents still come home to be married or have their babies baptized by him. This proves how much he is loved and respected. Father is a man of the people and considered by all parishioners as one of our own. Many people from other parishes he has previously worked in, including Bell Island, Freshwater, Marystown and St. Vincent’s, have also expressed their love and thanks to him as well. Several friends from St. Mary’s Bay, St. John’s and beyond came out to his special celebration.
Father Peter has never taken advantage of the parish finances to benefit himself. For the past 20 years or longer, he has used his own money from pensions and investments and the generosity of others, to pay his own expenses. Since our bank account was stripped of its money, he decided to give up his monthly pay so that we, the parish, can stay above water. We can’t ask for much better than that.
The celebration was evidence of how much he is loved and appreciated. We had a great crowd in attendance at the church as he celebrated his own special Mass of Thanksgiving. An awesome choir sang his favourite hymns and songs. From there, we proceeded to the Golden Hall (named after him on his 50th anniversary celebration 10 years ago), where there was plenty of food for everyone. All was donated. We had a wonderful video tribute with clippings of videos of his previous concerts. There were lots of laughs for sure! Following the tribute, we had some great entertainment by local musicians Father himself, who loves to sing and entertain, delighted the audience with his own rendition of “O Lord It’s Hard to be Humble.” He was overwhelmed with the whole thing and expressed his thanks and appreciation to each and everyone who participated or helped in any way, and especially to those who came from outside the community. He said that it gave him a new perspective on his thoughts of retiring— now he definitely wants to continue on! He has no intentions of giving up yet, even though he just turned 86 on September 22 and has also battled cancer, and won, for which he and us give God thanks for. He says he will continue working for the parish as long as he stays healthy and the people want him to — and I have no doubt that we all do!
He stressed he didn’t want a presentation made to him, saying “the best gift that can be given is to see all my friends and parishioners attend.” In that case, he certainly received a great gift indeed.
May God Bless you, Father Peter, with continued health and happiness in your years ahead.
We all love you dearly.
