Over the holiday break, Catholic Outlook is showcasing some of its most viewed, inspiring and thought-provoking articles from 2021.
This year, the Diocese of Parramatta said an emotional farewell to four members of our clergy family. We invite you to read their obituaries, and we continue to pray for the repose of their souls.
Vale Fr Michael ‘Mick’ O’Callaghan
22 April 1942 – 5 March 2021
Fr Michael “Mick” O’Callaghan, Emeritus Parish Priest of Our Lady of the Way Parish, Emu Plains has died, 5 March 2021, aged 78. Funeral details will be announced in due course.
Born on 22 April 1942 and ordained to the priesthood on 27 August 1976, Fr Mick was a priest for 45 years.
Fr Mick was born in Coleraine, Victoria – a town in the Diocese of Ballarat.
The son of Leonard and Mary (nee McDonnell), Fr Mick attended Christian Brothers Business College, North Melbourne, the Prahran Institute of Technology and Yarra Theological Union and St Paul’s National Seminary.
In his 20s, Fr Mick studied accountancy and worked in banking. His hobbies included lawn tennis, volunteering in the Young Christian Workers, reading, and classical music.
In the 1970s, Fr Mick discerned a vocation to the Carmelites.
Studying for the priesthood at Yarra Theological Union and St Paul’s national seminary, Fr Mick was ordained to the diaconate on 24 November 1975 at St Paul’s national seminary chapel, Kensington.
Mick attained a diploma of accountancy, a diploma of theology and a diploma of counselling.
He was ordained to the priesthood on the Feast of St Monica, 27 August 1976 by Bishop John Kelly, the then Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne.
He was the vocation and youth retreat director for the Carmelite order. He was the prior and parish priest of Middle Park Victoria from 1980 through to mid-1982.
He arrived in the Diocese of Parramatta on 10 September 1987 and was Incardinated into the Diocese in 1988.
In addition to ministry at Leura, Fr Mick ministered at parishes in Seven Hills, Richmond, and Baulkham Hills. His last appointment, as parish priest, was at Our Lady of the Way Emu Plains. He was also the Dean of the Mountains Deanery.
In retirement, Fr Mick supplied for parishes including St Patrick’s at Guildford.
Parishioners and fellow clergy will remember Fr Mick’s warm smile and natural laugh. “I have always considered myself a bit radical,” he said cheekily in an interview with Catholic Outlook.
“Parish ministry is the greatest joy of my life as it enables me to touch and be touched by people from all walks of life,” he said.
In your charity, please pray for the Repose of the Soul of Fr Mick and remember his family in your prayers.
RELATED: A ‘wonderful man’ – Fr Mick remembered
RELATED: Homily at the Mass of Christian Burial for Fr Mick
RELATED: Images from the funeral Mass of Fr Mick can be accessed here
