Most Rev. Kilian Healy, O. Carm.

Member of Vatican II, Former Prior General, Teacher, Writer

 

Fr. Kilian J. Healy, O. Carm., Prior General of the Order from 1959 – 1971 died on Sunday, May 18, 2003. He was 90 years old.

Since 1981, he had been a member of the Carmelite Community in Peabody, Massachusetts and on the staff of St. Therese Chapel.

He was born in Worcester, Massachussetts (USA) on November 15, 1912. He made his first profession as a Carmelite on August 15, 1931 and was ordained a priest on August 11, 1937.

Sent to Sant’ Alberto International College in Rome for his theological studies, Fr. Kilian took the first steps in a long period of ministry to the whole Order. Sent home to the United States when World War II loomed, Fr. Kilian taught at Mount Carmel College in Niagara Falls, Ontario for one year and then went to Whitefriars Hall in Washington, D.C. In 1953 he returned to Rome to be the Assistant General for English-speaking Carmelite and taught at Collegio di Sant’ Alberto. In 1958 he was elected Prior General of the Order replacing Kilian Lynch.

In an interview in 1998, Fr. Kilian reflected that he was certain that the General Chapter would elect someone else as Assistant General and he would be returning home to the United States. He said "It is good that God doesn’t let a person see their future!"

A few years after Kilian’s term as Prior General began, Pope John XXIII called for a Ecumenical Council. Fr. Kilian attended each session of the Council as the representative of the Order— something that provided him with a front row seat during a key moment in the Church’s history. It also provided him with a number of stories which he would relish telling but only after a little prodding.

The years following the Council would prove to be difficult for the Church and the Order, perhaps especially for those in leadership as they tried to figure out what the Council and the subsequent renewal in the Church held for the times. It is generally acknowledged that Fr. Kilian suffered a great deal because of the number of people who left the Order. He maintained contact with many up until his death.

Fr. Kilian authored two books and numerous articles. One book, Walking With God, was reprinted in the 1990’s. Fr. Kilian was invited to speak and then sign copies of the books that people bought. He said with a laugh "When I first wrote the book, not one person asked me to sign a copy. Last time out I think I signed at least a hundred copies and I enjoyed it!"

After his term as Prior General, Fr. Kilian gave many retreats, especially to Carmelite sisters and to the Carmelite nuns. In more recent years, as age made travel impossible, he worked as a confessor and celebrated mass at the Carmelite Chapel in the Northshore Shopping Center in Peabody. He spent countless hours sitting in his room reading and praying. His love for the Order and its members never diminished. During a visit in March with the current Prior General and the General Councilor for North America, Fr. Kilian was anxious to hear the news of members of the Order around the world. He asked about many by name, including some that he had only read about. He spoke of his own visitations to the various places and his happiness that God had finally blessed some of the areas of the Order that were suffering so much during his time as Prior General.

His wake was held at the Carmelite residence in Peabody and the Mass of Christian Burial for him was held in the chapel of the Carmelite monastery in Danvers, Massachusetts. The current Prior General of the Order, Fr. Joseph Chalmers, was the main celebrant. Fr. John Malley, a former Prior General, preached. Many Carmelites from around the country concelebrated. Bishop Francis X. Irwin, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston, was also present. Many family and friends as well as former Carmelites were also present.

Fr. Kilian was buried in the Carmelite plot at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Salem, Massachusetts.