Indialantic congregation celebrates retired priest's six decades of service
INDIALANTIC — Hundreds of parishioners turned out Sunday to celebrate the 90th birthday of Monsignor David Page, who guided the faithful through countless baptisms, weddings, and other life events over his six decades as a priest.
"I am overwhelmed with gratitude," Page said after taking a seat in a room packed with congregants from Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Indialantic as well as fellow priests and family members.Well-wishers and special guests surrounded him after he was led from the sanctuary to the room.
Bishop John Noonan, who oversees the Diocese of Orlando, also attended Mass at Holy Name on Sunday as part of the celebration. June marks the 64th year that Page has served as a priest.
In 1987, Page was assigned to lead Holy Name, located in the beachside town of Indialantic. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI elevated Page to the title of monsignor before Page retired from full-time duties in 2010.
He remains a regular at Holy Name, though.
"Sixty-four years as a priest ... wow! That is endurance," said the Rev. Tom Connery during the Sunday homily. He paid tribute as Page looked on, talking about his leadership, his decisiveness, and accessibility.
"His eye was always on the goal," Connery said, adding that Page welcomed criticism and never took it personally. "He's not going to give in, his mind is always on the goal. He's an incredibly humble man," he added.
"For me, he's very forward-looking. He was always looking at how to implement the best parts of Vatican II," said Bill Gent, the evangelization director for the congregation of 15,000 Catholics.
"(Page) believed in engaging the laity and encouraged them to take on roles in the work of the church," Gent said, adding that Page also helped expand the grounds of Holy Name with a $15 million building project.
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Page was born June 10, 1932, on a small farm in County Galway, Ireland. The second-youngest of eight children, Page was 8 when his father died, and everyone was forced to work the farm to survive.
"It was an awful lot of work," he said in 2010. "There was no refrigerator, there was no such thing as raiding the icebox for a bottle of Coke. It was very difficult but healthy. I like to look upon it as my boot camp for the mission fields of Florida."
Page and his siblings walked a mile-and-a-half to and from school every day and the family walked three miles to church on Sundays. He always was impressed by the stories told by the Irish missionaries who had returned from trips afar, especially in Africa.
By the time he turned 14, Page knew he wanted to follow in their footsteps.
"I thank the good Lord that I never doubted that vocation. I always felt assured that this was what the Lord wanted me to do," he said.
Page attended Jesuit boarding school for seven years. Just before being ordained, his superiors asked him where he wanted to serve. Africa was out of the question because of language barriers, so he chose the United States.
He was ordained on June 10, 1958, and arrived in Florida on Aug. 15 of that year, amazed at how much bigger everything was than in Ireland. His first assignment was teaching high school boys in St. Petersburg. His duties included daily Mass and coaching youth sports.
Page earned his master's degree in American history at Catholic University in Washington, D.C., to better serve his students, but never got to use his newly acquired knowledge. He was reassigned just as the new school year was starting.
Bishop Joseph Hurley had other ideas for Page: He would be "building" a new parish near New Smyrna Beach. Hurley also appointed him to be executive editor of the Florida Catholic newspaper.
"I guess he believed a priest could handle anything," Page said of the position he held from 1965 to 1990. Without a background in journalism, Page struggled for the first few years.
"Then I realized I had to hire some good editors," he said.
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In 1972, Page was named pastor of the historic St. James Cathedral in Orlando, and was assigned to Holy Name 15 years later.
In 2016, an addition was erected on the priest's main residence so Page could move from his condo to the house so he wouldn't have to age alone.
"He is such a special person," said Jennifer Rolison, one of Page's caregivers.
Sunday, she watched as Page smiled and laughed with celebrants and other guests during his party. "He is just overwhelmed by all of it. He is just a phenomenal man."
J.D. Gallop is a Criminal Justice/Breaking News Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Indialantic priest celebrates 90th birthday, six decades of service
