November 21, 2009

You’re a good man, Father Charlie Mallen

Redemptorist priest who has served in dioceses throughout Florida for more than 60 years is moving to New York.

KRISTIE NGUYEN | FLORIDA CATHOLIC VENICE BUREAU EDITOR

Published: 09.28.07

VENICE | After more than 60 years of ministering to the faithful throughout Florida, Father Charles Mallen, a priest of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, is saying farewell.

More than 400 people gathered Sept. 9 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat and Spirituality Center for goodbyes and blessings from the man who loves Peanuts comics, hugs nearly every person he meets, and made the diocesan retreat center a reality.

Out of the hundreds of people who visited him, Father Mallen, 88, remembered almost everyone’s name, said Sister Carmella DeCosty, Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, the retreat center’s administrator and Father Mallen’s longtime friend. The guests included laypeople of all ages, from children to grandparents, as well as priests, sisters and other religious. Retired Bishop John J. Nevins, who invited Father Mallen to join him in the Diocese of Venice when it was created in 1984, was also present. Many people left in tears after saying goodbye to Father Mallen and receiving his blessing.

“It was the fruit of his ministry in the state of Florida,” Sister DeCosty said of the attendance. “It was an expression of gratitude and appreciation for what he did.”

Father Mallen flew to Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Sept. 12, where he will live at St. John Neumann Residence, a skilled-care facility for retired Redemptorist priests. Father Mallen will join 17 other men, two of whom are his former classmates.

“We’re letting him go reluctantly,” Sister DeCosty said. “But we’re letting him go, knowing he’s going to be well cared for. I think his second career is ministering to his own confreres.”

Father Mallen’s care needs have increased since he had a stroke in 2006, Sister DeCosty said. Last year on Nov. 4, more than 300 people gathered at St. Thomas More Parish in Sarasota to celebrate the retreat center’s 10th anniversary. Father Mallen and Sister DeCosty performed a duet of “Side By Side,” a song made popular by Patsy Cline.

“We don’t know what’s coming tomorrow, maybe it’s trouble and sorrow, but we’ll travel the road, sharing our load, side by side,” the duo sang.

Four days later, Father Mallen had a stroke.

“The first thing that went was his strong voice,” Sister DeCosty recalls.

Nearly a year later, Father Mallen can speak clearly, but is unable to walk without help or stand for long periods of time. But he was often seen at retreat events this year, concelebrating Mass while sitting in a wheelchair. Sister DeCosty was by Father Mallen’s side, serving as his caregiver and companion.

Father Mallen and Sister DeCosty met in 1969 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Opa Locka, where they began working together on parish missions. The missions were series of spiritual exercises, including talks and reconciliations, which were meant to increase the spirituality of the people and clarify the faith, Father Mallen said.

Father Mallen and Sister DeCosty worked on missions that taught people about the novus ordo, or new order Mass. The novus ordo, which was celebrated in the local language, was a significant shift from the Tridentine Mass in Latin. The two traveled to people’s homes to celebrate the novus ordo Mass and teach the people about it.

Since then, they’ve been a team.

“We’re like the heart and the head,” Sister DeCosty said.

Bishop Nevins also worked with Father Mallen and Sister DeCosty in the Archdiocese of Miami. When Bishop Nevins started the Diocese of Venice in 1984, he asked Father Mallen and Sister DeCosty to come with him. In 1985, Sister DeCosty became the diocese’s first director of education. Father Mallen served as the first vicar for religious and was also charged with developing a diocesan retreat center.

The Redemptorist priests focus on retreats as well as parish missions, Father Mallen said. The congregation’s founder, St. Alphonsus, said Redemptorist houses should always include rooms for laypeople who wanted to participate in spiritual exercises directed by members of the community.

Gifted with a strong voice, Father Mallen had attracted hundreds of people to missions and retreats he had conducted throughout the state.

“He was one of the greatest priests in Florida. They used to call him the Fulton Sheen of the South,” Sister DeCosty said.

From 1985 to 1995, Father Mallen worked to get the diocesan retreat center off the ground. Based on recommendations of a fellow priest, Father Mallen selected a property along the Myakka River on the outskirts of Venice. Then he started fundraising. Father Mallen was, at the time, the spiritual adviser of the Cursillo movement in the diocese and he enlisted 40 Cursillo families to pledge $1,000 over a three-year period to cover the initial costs of the retreat center.

Sister DeCosty, who was then working as Bishop Nevins’ executive assistant, also helped recruit volunteers and people who believed in the vision and mission of the retreat center. The volunteers came to be known as “Father Charlie’s Angels.”

In 1995, ground was broken for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat and Spirituality Center. One year later, the center opened its doors thanks to the generous donations of the volunteers, other faithful and parishes throughout the diocese, Sister DeCosty said.

The “Father Charlie’s Angels” volunteer corps has grown from 30 to more than 100 and continues to serve at the retreat center.

“God has given me many gifts — most of them people who worked with me and for me,” Father Mallen said. “They’re the ones who pushed the cause. They give hundreds of hours to the retreat house.”

The number of people attending retreats at the center has also grown. In 1996, nearly 200 people came to the center for spiritual solace and growth. By the end of 2006, more than 4,000 people had attended retreats.

“I always say (the retreat center) was Bishop Nevins’ dream,” Sister DeCosty said. “Father Charlie made the dream a reality. He was the man with the vision. He knew what was needed to make the retreat center fly, and how to make it a place of peace and tranquility.”

Our Lady of Perpetual Help now includes a conference center, dining hall, villas and a chapel. Trees, the Myakka River and lakes surround the retreat center, offering quiet places for prayer and contemplation.

“And to think 10 years ago, it was only a dream,” Sister DeCosty mused.

Father Mallen named the center in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help because of his great devotion to her during his mission and retreat work.

“After every (parish) mission, I left an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to remind the people of the power of Our Lady,” Father Mallen said. Many of the icons can still be found in churches throughout Florida.

Father Mallen said he wants the people of the diocese to keep Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat and Spirituality Center alive.

“I want them to support the retreat house and make sure it continues the successful direction it’s already taken,” he said. “The people who are leading it, we need to support them to bring the benefit of our faith to many others.”

After ministering to thousands of people over a lifetime in Florida, Father Mallen points to the one whom he will miss the most.

“I’ll miss working with Sister Carmella,” he said. “She was the best co-worker I had all these years.”

But “Father Charlie’s Angels” and Bishop Nevins are also high on the miss list, Father Mallen added.

Sister DeCosty said she will visit Father Mallen in New York once a month.

“His presence will still permeate the retreat center,” she said. “He will always be present there — not physically, but in our hearts.” n

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat and Spirituality Center is at 3989 S. Moon Drive in Venice. For information, call 941-486-0233.

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