Father Begley marks 40 years of priesthood
If you have attended a Mass celebrated by Father James Begley in the last 40 years, you have probably been greeted by the priest as he walked through the church aisles greeting people prior to the opening procession.
“Msgr. Mike McCarron did it when I was a deacon with him, and I just went, ‘Yes,’” said the priest, who celebrated his 40th anniversary on May 8. “Especially people before Mass. They come to get their seats and everything, but they also come here because they want to talk. They know you’re going to come around, and they’ll just talk to you about their son or husband or wife, that little bit, you know, and that’s just invaluable time. You can’t find that time otherwise.”
Father Begley said that he has 21 years of Catholic training, which began as a child when he attended St. Bridget School and later St. Mary School, both in Richmond, for his elementary education. His family were members of St. Bridget Parish and later became members of St. Mary when it opened.
“I would walk to school every day once we got to St. Mary’s,” said Father Begley, adding that he became an altar server at age 10, just when the Mass changed from Latin to English.
He attended St. John Vianney Minor Seminary, Richmond, for high school.
“I went there in August of ’70 and never looked back,” he said.
Father Begley described the atmosphere at St. John as “probably the best morale – that’s what we call the spirit in the house” of all three seminaries he attended.
After high school, Father Begley attended St. Meinrad in Indiana for his undergraduate studies, graduating in 1978.
Drawn to parish work
It was during his sophomore year of college that he began to seriously consider a vocation to the priesthood.
“I asked the vocation director at the time, ‘Can I do parish work?’ It was well ahead of its time,” Father Begley recalled. He spent three summers in Bristol at a shelter workshop working with special needs adults.
“I lived in the rectory and got the experience that I was looking for,” he said, “so after that point, I was ready. The thing was knowing that I could do it.”
In 1981, he received his Master of Divinity from St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore, and the following year Father Begley and his classmates were ordained by Bishop Walter F. Sullivan at The Mosque in downtown Richmond, which is now the Altria Theater.
“We asked Bishop Sullivan if we could have the ordination there because we had nine in our class. That year, I think it was the biggest class in the country, and the cathedral was way too small,” Father Begley recalled. “So we asked, and he agreed. Of course, we had the reception in Monroe Park like he did when he became bishop. We served hotdogs to the homeless in Monroe Park, we served hotdogs to VCU students. We had about 2,000 at the ordination, so the Knights of Columbus cooked hotdogs for everybody.”
His first assignment after ordination was as parochial vicar of Church of the Holy Family, Virginia Beach, until 1983. He also served in that role at St. Andrew, Roanoke (1983-1986), and Church of the Epiphany, Richmond (1986-1988).
Father Begley received his first pastorate at Holy Name of Mary, Bedford, in 1988, where he served for nearly a decade. He was pastor of Church of the Redeemer, Mechanicsville, from 1997-2013, also serving in that role at St. Elizabeth, Richmond (2004-2005), and Our Lady of Lourdes, Henrico (2005-2007), during that time.
In 2013, Father Begley returned as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes in Henrico. He has been pastor of St. Paul, Richmond, since 2021.
Sacraments and more
Father Begley said he finds joy in celebrating all of the sacraments.
“Baptisms are exciting, but also the sacrament of the sick is very humbling, especially if it really is at the last moment,” he said. “First Communions are always exciting. First reconciliation is hysterical, it’s precious.”
In addition to parish work, Father Begley has been involved in domestic violence prevention, Christian formation and Catholic schools. He served on domestic violence boards in Bedford and Hanover counties, and he also served five years on the Diocesan School Board and the Christian Formation Committee.
The priest said he was “lucky” to have completed a summer internship at St. Mary’s Hospital and two semesters at Johns Hopkins, which provided a “good background” for the hospital work required of him as a priest.
“That has been sad, but also, it’s a very good ministry,” he said.
‘Don’t judge’
Although Father Begley said “you get surprises” in priesthood, like people approaching in the middle of Mass to ask for money or food, but “you handle it. You don’t get upset or anything like that. You say, ‘Okay, sit down, I’ll talk to you right afterwards.’ I find that if you’re nice to people, they are so nice back to you.”
He identified Matthew 7:5, “the splinter in the eye,” as his favorite Scripture passage.
“I think it’s just great wisdom,” he said. “When you work with people in families, don’t judge. In fact, the best thing we learned, especially in situations with hospitals or emergency rooms or funerals – follow their lead. You don’t come in there and try to fix it right away or make it right, because you can’t. Just follow their lead and don’t judge.”
Support from clergy, laity
Father Begley noted that “a good support group of priests” and “a good core group of parishioners and people that I work with” have helped sustain him in his vocation.
“I did 25 years of Engage Encounter, and the people that were on the team with me, we’re still pretty close,” he said. “So, I have a good crew around me. I kind of call it my support group, both lay and clergy. That’s been very important.”
He also mentioned that Msgr. Thomas Shreve, Father Ray Barton and the priests at St. John Vianney and St. Meinrad had a positive impact on his vocation.
The jubilarian celebrated his 40th anniversary the same way he celebrated his ordination: with hotdogs, this time with a potluck meal at St. Paul.
“Any food left over, we got it down to different agencies, food pantries, the same way we did 40 years ago,” he said. “It was, ‘Let’s do hotdogs, and whatever we have left over, let’s give it to the homeless.’ It was great.”
Reflecting on his anniversary, Father Begley said he loves what he does.
“I’m happy being a priest. I wouldn’t change a thing,” he said. “I’m looking forward to more years. Retirement is in four years, and we’ll see how it goes. If my health is good, I’ll continue on. If not, I’ll work someplace with priests.”
“You know, I have a great example,” he continued. “Tom Shreve, 86 years old and still going… 61 years a priest. A good example.”