Jubilarians
by Paul Ritter

Father Gus prompts yet another smile before Mass at Fontana Village.

Poets have often compared the American landscape to a patchwork quilt, painstakingly pieced with a myriad of swatches, that reflects the efforts of the laborers. The service of eight Glenmarians who are celebrating silver jubilees this year may be compared to the colorful patches in many of the handmade quilts crafted in the areas in which they have labored.

On May 1, 1961, Brothers William Early, Charles Kennedy, Christopher Miller, Terence O'Rourke, and Kenneth Woods professed their perpetual oaths to serve God and Glenmary. Twenty-seven days later Fathers August Guppenberger, Donald Levernier, and Leslie Schmidt were ordained Glenmary priests.

From Batavia, New York, FATHER GUS GUPPENBERGER is pastor of Holy Redeemer Church in Andrews, North Carolina. He has also served as a regional director in the promotion department, but it has been his work in the mission field that is dearest to his heart.

Father Gus's outgoing love for people, warmed by his sense of humor, has been his pastoral trademark throughout a Glenmary career which has also included assignments in our Georgia, Texas, and Kentucky missions.

He quotes the title of a Frank Sinatra song to describe his years as a Glenmary priest: "Life's Been Good to Me; I've had some great times - not always rosy - but some great times. By that I mean God and Glenmary have been good to me!" Father Gus added: "The Spirit has led me through so many different situations. I could see that things happened with a very special purpose. Even when things weren't rosy, I could still tell that it was God leading me through them."

Over a thirteen-month period in the late 1970s, Father Gus underwent five different surgeries which, he says, "gave me a better understanding and appreciation for the sick.” Now, ministering to the ailing and aged is among the joys of his pastoral duties.