Father David Keegan | Holy Family Catholic Church, Jacksonville, FL
Submitted by: Diane Foley
Fr. David’s heroic efforts began immediately after the churches were closed. He was among the very first to live-stream Mass, constantly working to improve the experience for those watching at home. He offered beautiful evenings of virtual Eucharistic Adoration and found creative ways to offer Reconciliation and Adoration while maintaining social distancing, which brought enormous comfort to so many. He embodied the calm in the storm, the faithful witness of trust in Jesus Christ, our Rock. His efforts reached beyond his parish borders and so many people were able to stay tethered to our Church through his untiring efforts. He has not stopped working on new ways to “feed his sheep” throughout the ups and downs of this year. He truly was a leader in our diocese in this time of fear and anxiety. https://www.facebook.com/david.keegan.2016. https://www.holyfamilyjax.com/
He challenges me to always go deeper, to never settle for a “comfortable Catholicism”. He is incredibly creative in finding ways to reach people, and tireless in his efforts, such as putting daily homilies on Podbean, which my husband would listen to in the car. He mentors many young people and they respond to the Truth that he leads them to. When we had many deaths in our family he immediately reached out to me and his quiet presence, his wise guidance, and his beautiful homilies helped us all through our grief. He is no longer at my parish but he continues to help me grow in my faith through his digital presence.
Because what stands out most about him is his genuine love of being a priest, of expending every ounce of strength he has in bringing people to encounter Jesus Christ, and in his humility in withstanding criticism and rejection in order to speak the Truth that we so desperately need to hear.
Thank you for doing this! There are so many good and faithful priests who do so much and get so little recognition. People are always quick to complain but slow to praise, so I hope many priests will see how loved and appreciated they are.