Bishop Patrick Neary's Journey From La Porte To Leading St. Cloud Diocese

St. Cloud Catholic Diocese Bishop Patrick Neary is my latest guest on WJON's My Life series. Patrick was born and grew up in La Porte, Indiana, in the northwest corner of the state near Chicago. His parents met when his father was stationed at an Air Force Base in Cottonwood, Idaho. The two moved back to where his father was from in northwestern Indiana.

Early Years

Patrick is the oldest of 6 children in the family. He has 5 younger sisters. Patrick grew up in a religious family as his mother sang in the choir and participated in a rosary group and his father was a lector at church and the President of the Parish council for a period of time. They belonged to St. Joseph Catholic Church in La Porte. Patrick got his start at the Catholic Church as an alter server at his hometown church starting in 3rd grade and he continued doing that through his senior year.

Early Interests

Patrick was interested in sports as a kid but says he wasn't really good at them. He did participate in wrestling for a period of time. He got into scouting and became an eagle scout before participating on the high school debate team. Patrick had a job as a paper boy starting in 7th grade in what he calls the largest paper route in La Porte. He had 190 customers. Patrick recalls learning work ethic and how to manage money with the paper route. The newspaper was the La Porte Herald Argot, a paper his mother also worked for for 32 years.

Debate Team

Patrick was very involved in debate team in high school where he and another debater would participate with other kids throughout the area. He says he learned a lot and made a lot of friends with the other people he debated with. Patrick believes his time with debate helped prepare him for public appearances as a Bishop.

Visiting a Seminary

While in high school, Patrick had a girl friend, who wasn't Catholic but the idea of the Priesthood was still in his head. He recalls trying to figure out if he wanted to pursue a law degree in college or enter the seminary. Patrick says his parents didn't push him one way or another but rather wanted him to make the decision himself. While in high school he accepted an invitation to visit Holy Cross at Notre Dame on a retreat. Patrick recalls entering the seminary at Notre Dame and felt like he was meant to be there. He told his girlfriend, Tracy, who understood his calling and the two parted ways.

Pursuing the Priesthood

After high school graduation he did 4-years of college seminary at Notre Dame, went on a mission retreat to Colorado along with spending time in Chili and Mexico. From when he started it took him 10 years to become a Priest. His first assignment was to become the Priest at a Catholic Church in Goodyear, Arizona. While in Goodyear, he worked with youth ministry, and performed marriages and baptisms in Spanish. He spent 4 years in Arizona before returning to Notre Dame to work in campus ministry and ROTC. He stayed at Notre Dame from 1994-2010. Patrick was named Assistant Rector of the seminary before being name Rector while at Notre Dame.

Time in Africa

In 2010 Patrick was asked to train at the seminary in Nairobi, Kenya. He agreed to the assignment and became the director of the seminary there for 2 years. In February 2012 his was elected as District Superior in east Africa. That's a position he held for 6 years.

Becoming a Bishop

After finishing his 6-year term he returned to the United States and went on a 6-month sabbatical before relocating to Portland, Oregon, where he served as Pastor at Holy Redeemer Church. He was there for 4 1/2 years before he got a call from the Papal Nuncio inviting him to be a Bishop in 2022. He was offered to become the Bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud. Patrick says he never envisioned himself as a bishop but he's enjoyed his time in St. Cloud.

If you'd like to listen to my 4-part conversation with Bishop Neary, click below.