Ask any of the three Glenmarians celebrating a jubilee year about reaching their milestone anniversaries and you’ll hear iterations of the same sentiment, “I haven’t really thought about it.” Instead, they are focused on where the Holy Spirit is leading them, another common theme among them.

This year, Father Bob Hare celebrates 60 years since his First Oath with Glenmary. Father Dan Dorsey, president, celebrates his golden jubilee with 50 years. Father Neil Pezzulo is celebrating 30 years.

After a moment of reflection, each of the three, in separate interviews, agree again: They are most grateful for the people they’ve served and the relationships they’ve made along the way.

Freedom to serve – Father Bob Hare (60 years)

For Father Bob Hare, Cincinnati is home today. A native of the city, Father Bob came back to Cincinnati for several years between mission assignments and permanently in 2011 after becoming a senior member of Glenmary.

His career includes mission assignments in Mississippi and Alabama, directing the novitiate in Cincinnati and candidacy program in Kentucky, and finally serving as personnel director and house director in Nashville.

Father Bob vividly recalls his mission in Alabama, where he was the third of five consecutive pastors named “Father Bob.” During his time there, he led the construction of the parish’s first permanent building. This allowed them to move out of the Methodist church, where they were having Mass for the previous seven years.

The church is still thriving today, thanks to Father Bob’s part in its history. He still keeps up with news of the parish, as well as keeping in contact with the neighbors he had in Nashville while living there for 17 years.

As he reflects on 60 years in Glenmary, what he has enjoyed most is the freedom to go “where the Lord might be calling.” And he has more time to do that now in retirement. “A part of growing older is that I don’t have to do everything,” Father Bob says. Other Glenmarians can take over the workload, he says, and they are doing a fantastic job at it.

‘What the community asks’ – Father Dan Dorsey (50 years)

Father Dan Dorsey is reminded of his First Oath by a photo of the occasion that hangs in his office. “When I took my First Oath,” he says, “I thought, I will do whatever the community asks me to.” He credits the thought to the Holy Spirit, as he admits openness to change is not his natural virtue.

The community has asked a lot of him over the past 50 years, including two separate stints as Glenmary’s president. He has served in missions in Kentucky and Arkansas, completed graduate studies in Rome, been novitiate director twice, and served as first vice president before his first election as president in 2003.

Before joining Glenmary, Father Dan attended college in Memphis. As the vocation of priesthood was in the back of his mind, he visited a Glenmary mission in northern Mississippi. “I wanted to do something that has meaning,” he says.

The thought he had during his First Oath remained true through his various assignments and elections: he has been joyful to serve in each of them. “My joy is in Christ,” says Father Dan. No matter what he is doing, he says, Christ remains his focus.

At the end of the day, the word that comes to mind while reflecting on his anniversary is gratitude. “I just want to thank people,” he says. “It is a privilege and an honor to serve.”

‘They taught me mercy.’ – Father Neil Pezzulo (30 years)

If it were up to him, Father Neil would celebrate his jubilee year in a style different than most. “I would celebrate this by doing a food distribution,” he says.

His 30 years in ministry have been marked by the relationships he’s had with members of his parish and the communities he has served in.

He remembers fondly his time as pastor at a mission in Arkansas, where he began his ministry. “The whole community welcomed me,” he says, despite being the county’s first permanent Catholic priest. “They taught me mercy. And the importance of community.”

After 11 years at two missions in Arkansas, Father Neil was elected Glenmary’s first vice president in 2011. He served in that position for eight years until he became a mission pastor in Tennessee, where he currently serves.

The biggest surprise of his 30 years is how much Spanish he speaks day-to-day. “Some days I don’t even speak English,” Father Neil says. But that’s just another part of being present with his community. “Every community has something to teach me,” he says.

Community not only where he serves, but also the one he has in Glenmary too. He loves the freedom that Glenmary offers him to be the best follower of Christ he can be. “I’m proud of what I do with Glenmary,” he says. “I’m proud of what Glenmary does.”

– Theresa Nguyen-Gillen