The Catholic approach to life as being sacred from conception until natural death plays an especially central role in the ministry of Father Neil Pezzulo. Since his ordination in 1999, “most of my priesthood has been accompanying to dying,” said Father Neil.
Caring for those at end of life “was something I never really thought about until I saw the need. I had one moment in my first assignment when I visited someone who was quite ill. They weren’t able to take care of themselves, and no one was taking care of them. That was the genesis of it all,” Father Neil explained.
A scarcity of jobs in our mission area forces adults to leave the area for employment. “That’s pretty common in Appalachia and there’s nobody left to take care of the older people. So, I sit with them, help them, and pray with them if they want. Most of the English-speaking population in our missions is elderly,” he continued.
In serving the elderly, “I’ve cleaned their toilets. I do whatever needs to be done. Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of finding someone else to help. You find them in a certain situation that needs immediate attention,” the priest noted. “I’ve talked with people, made them lunch, did laundry, mowed lawns, drove them through the country, and wrote letters/cards.”
While serving in Tennessee, Father Neil encountered an elderly man whose wife, daughter, and son-in-law had all died. “There was no other family in the area,” he stated. He tries to connect such individuals with available resources and assistance. However, “a lot of the people are unchurched so they don’t usually have a pastor I can refer them to.”
Throughout assignments in Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and now Georgia, Father Neil said, “I’ve received more confessions and anointed more non-Catholics than Catholics. Somehow, they instinctively know that these are healing to both mind and soul.”
On and off over the years, Father Neil has worked with a Hospice organization. “In Arkansas, I served as a respite sitter and part-time chaplain for Hospice. Sometimes I served a Hospice chaplain.”
Now serving in Blakely, Georgia, Father Neil said the nearest Hospice offices are 75 miles away. “We’re very much isolated here. In spite of many requests, Hospice simply doesn’t serve the counties I serve. They don’t have the staff or funding to serve in these rural counties,” he related.
Despite the challenges, Father Neil said, being able to meet the needs is rewarding. “You build relationships and people become your friends. I don’t want to live in a community where people are hurting and suffering. If I can do anything to alleviate that, I want to be part of the solution. We do what we can with what we’ve got. We make it happen as best we can. I take seriously Father Bishop’s comments about reaching out to the lost and forgotten.”
– Mary Ellen Pellegrini
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