Over this past weekend, it was a great honor to witness, along with many other friends, not only the Priestly Ordination of another long time friend, Fr. Bede Clark, OSB but also his Mass of Thanksgiving the following day. The ordination took place on Saturday, July 8 at Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, California through the apostolic authority of Bishop Steven J. Lopes, the college roommate of Fr. Bede, and our mutual friend. Bishop Lopes is the first Bishop of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Here is Bishop Lopes’ Ordination to the Priesthood Homily.
Laying on of Hands
I have known Fr. Bede since 1994 (we graduated in 1997), when we were students in the Saint Ignatius Institute at the University of San Francisco. Along with others, many who attended this weekend quickly became friends over twenty years ago because of our mutual interest in Catholic culture, philosophy, literature, theology, sports, and the overall love of being university students in a city as beautiful as San Francisco.
These friendships were planted in such rich soil, that even now, over 20 years later, many returned this past weekend to witness Fr. Bede ordained to the Catholic Priesthood. As one friend said, we all have skin in this game. It was a long journey filled with many pitfalls and sufferings for not only Fr. Bede, but for many of us who accompanied him along the way. In his toast to Fr. Bede during Friday night’s dinner, Bishop Lopes quoting Fr. Joseph Fessio said that Fr. Bede is the glue that has kept us all together. Although some friends were not able to make it due to difficult circumstances, they were there with us in spirit.
With Fr. Bede after he blessed me during his first blessings.
Personally, the weekend was a token into the past, into the city, and into the friendships, where I truly learned about Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church for the first time, just as I experienced in June 2015. It was in the Saint Ignatius Institute where my heart was spiritually awakened and my mind began to understand my Catholic faith intellectually, the beginning of my true conversion to Christ and his Church. The three years I spent in the Saint Ignatius Institute was the best three years of my twenties.
I can remember spending many nights in the library, in the dorms, and in the classroom with Fr. Bede and many of the friends who attended this weekend. Some of my most memorable laughter comes from the words and actions of Fr. Bede, like when he threw a book out the window or when he called the aforementioned order that was educating us a bunch of crackpots.
The weekend was not only a look into the past, but an apparition of the present and the future. When friendships are planted, watered, and pruned as these friendships have been for over 20 years, you may not see them frequently, but when you do, you can pick up right where you left off. Since these friendships are rooted in virtue, goodness, and beauty, they are rightly true friendships [bold is mine], as the Greek philosopher Aristotle says.
For me, this weekend was needed. It seems to be a pattern that when I need to see these true friends, they are there to spend time with, laugh with, and reminisce about the past and talk about our present lives. The ability to see another long time friend ordained as a priest forever, as well as seeing many true friends and the religious and laypeople who taught us and guided us was needed and appreciated. It was a blessed weekend!
Fr. Bede blessing Sister Ignatius.
As I conclude this article, I ask you to pray for four things –
1. Please pray for Fr. Bede Clark as he begins his priestly ministry among his Benedictine brothers and to the people the monastery serves in San Diego.
2. Pray for vocations to the Catholic Priesthood especially for the Order of St. Benedict.
3. Pray for the rise and continued growth of good Catholic universities and institutions, like the once-great Saint Ignatius Institute.
4. Pray for good, selfless, self-sacrificial friendships rooted in virtue, goodness, and beauty. As St. Thomas Aquinas said, “there is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.”
This blog post is dedicated to not only Fr. Bede Clark, but to all the administrators, students, and professors of the St. Ignatius Institute between the years of 1976-2001.
Newly ordained Fr. Bede with Bishop Steven J. Lopes behind him.
Categories: Catholic Priesthood, Catholicism
TOM PERNA 
Congratulations to Fr Bede, and having been ordained by our bishop in the Ordinariate, Bp Steven Lopes! May I add that the Anglican Ordinariate now has its own chapter of Benedictine Oblates, here: https://stbenetoblates.wordpress.com/ should anyone be interested.
Fr. Bede and I were Novitiate classmates with the Dominicans of the Western Province of the Holy Name …and we both came to the Order from St. Dominic’s Church, San Francisco. There have been many twists and turns in our journeys, but his friendship has been constant. I have prayed for him, his vocation, and his ordination. And his prayers for me, and my parents, have seen me through so much. I was able to attend his solemn vows, but my parents’ health prevented me from attending his ordination. I now pray God bless him, and his endeavors, abundantly.
Thank you so much for your sharing. I have been a Benedictine Oblate for over 20 years, so I have a love affair with the Benedictines. It was so nice to read of truly beautiful friendships, and the ordination of a beloved friend into the Sacramental Ministry of Jesus Christ. I wish Fr. Bede many graces & blessings as he begins this new chapter in his life. I pray that all of the people who come to the Monastery in San Diego be blessed by his pastoral presence and preaching. I am curious… what happened to the St. Ignatius Institute in a day when we are so sorely in need of truth?
Hi Janey – it’s a rather long story, but someone is writing a book about the history of the SII from 1976-2001. Follow my blog and once it is released, I will write about it.