The Priest
By Felix Winternitz
Bridget Tierney
Bachelor of General Studies, 1988
Priest Associate, Trinity Episcopal Church-Highland Park, and Chaplain, Elmhurst Memorial Hospital and the NorthShore University HealthSystem
Chicago
Called to Serve | Bridget Tierney doesn’t remember a particular moment when she decided to join the clergy. “I grew up Roman Catholic and always knew I was called to be a priest. I was sure of it and couldn’t figure out why God would call me to something that it wasn’t possible to do. It took me awhile to figure out that God has God’s own ways around things.”
Memorable Moment | “Once when I asked a 7-year-old girl who was about to be baptized, ‘Do you want to be baptized?’ She replied, ‘Oh, yes!’ So I asked her if she would do her best to follow Jesus as her Lord and Savior (a Prayer Book question that I thought she was old enough to answer). She answered at the top of her lungs, ‘YES! Don’t you know that He is more famous than Miley Cyrus?’ I turned to the congregation and said, ‘She knows all she needs to know.’ ”
Lessons in Laughter | “You learn quickly that this is a calling that is absolutely impossible without a good sense of humor.”
Lessons in Language | “I am a huge soccer fan and saw a couple of young parishioners and their friends at a game. They were yelling and drinking beer, their chests painted brightly in team colors. When my parishioner introduced me to his friends and said I was his priest, they became embarrassed and horrified that they had used some, shall we say, ‘colorful’ language. I assured them that I had raised three teenagers, and I didn’t think there were many words I didn’t know.”
Lessons Learned | “I learned more about scripture from [professors of theology Art] Dewey and Sr. Ruth Graf than anyone else, even from seminary at Seabury-Western.”
Learning Process | “Xavier taught me to think, to ‘ask better questions’ and to enjoy the whole learning process. [Professor emeritus of theology] Paul Knitter taught me an appreciation for other religions, which has served me well in my hospital ministry.”
Diverse Congregations | “The North Shore of Chicago has a large Jewish population, and I have really enjoyed working with them as patients, as well as working with fellow chaplains who are rabbis and cantors. I just attended to my second Muslim death and appreciated the deep faith of that family. I have learned to ask what it is they need. I have learned that loving and being steeped in my own tradition does not mean that I cannot be enriched by someone else’s.”
A Joyful Road | “I have never taken for granted what a privilege it is to accompany people on a particular part of their journey, whether that part is joyful or sorrowful, funny or sad.”
On the Personal Side | “I am married to Jack Nicastro, have three grown children—two sons in Cincinnati and a daughter in New Orleans—seven grandchildren and two black-and-white cats named Beasley and Beckham because they look like soccer balls. I told you I am a soccer fan. Amongst us all we have 22 years of Jesuit education."
