On the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, May 31, 2026 – forty years to the day after his ordination – Fr. Patrick J. McDevitt, CM, PhD, President & CEO of Saint Luke Institute (SLI), returned to St. Vincent de Paul Church in Chicago for a Mass of Thanksgiving marking the 40th anniversary of his priesthood.
He did so surrounded by family, new colleagues and friends of long standing, and parishioners at the historic Catholic Church founded by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians) in the 19th century, which now sits in the heart of the DePaul University campus.
The setting was deeply personal. Born a mile from the church and ordained before its altar in 1986, Fr. Pat told the assembly of his local roots, invoking the memory of his parents and grandparents.
“It is good to be home,” he said, returning to the phrase throughout the celebration.
He recognized those present in-person and others watching via the parish’s livestream from as far away as Kenya, where he served a rector of the Vincentian’s seminary for several years. As he put it, “This Mass is bigger than just us here.”
Mass Recording
Mass recording and program provided courtesy of St. Vincent de Paul Church, Chicago.
Preaching from the readings from Mass and the mystery of the Trinity, Fr. Pat reminded everyone in his homily that mystery is not something beyond our reach; rather, it is an invitation. “Mystery is not something we can’t understand,” he said. “It is something that we will always and infinitely be in pursuit of understanding.”
Drawing on the readings from Exodus, Paul’s Second Letter to the Corintians, the Gospel of John and the medieval mystical text The Cloud of Unknowing, he noted that God is encountered not only through intellect but first and foremost, through relationship and love – and that a culture obsessed with limiting and dividing people to get easy “answers,” is losing the sense of the deep mystery of God, which unites all of us.
The healing thread that has defined his ministry surfaced near the conclusion of the liturgy. Reflecting on his work at SLI – where he leads a team that accompanies priests, deacons, and religious facing mental health and spiritual challenges – he returned to a conviction at the heart of the organization’s mission: “Healing is not a solitary effort. It takes a community.” He spoke of serving clergy and religious from around the world “no matter if they can afford us or not,” adding, “That’s why, as a Vincentian, committed to the poor and to the needs of ministers, I find a home there.”
A very affecting tribute came from Deacon Bill Smyser, who has known Fr. Pat since 1981. Surveying the packed church, he told the jubilarian, “This room could never hold everyone you have touched” – recalling the seminarians who became priests because Fr. Pat believed in them, and the priests he “caught before they fell.” Quoting from the Gospel of John read earlier, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,” Smyser called it “the finest summary I know of priesthood,” and said Fr. Pat “answered in 1986 by giving himself away – and he has been giving himself away ever since.”
Those present had an opportunity after Mass to learn more about SLI and become members of the organization’s Partners in Healing Giving Society, focused on sustaining monthly and quarterly donors. All received a special prayer card to mark the celebration.
Make a Gift in Honor of Fr. Pat
Visit SLI.org/donate to give online or by mail-in form. Consider becoming part of SLI’s Partners in Healing Society through a recurring monthly or quarterly gift. Your tax-deductible contribution will go to support the mental health and spiritual care of clergy, religious and others who serve the church. Together you help us fulfill SLI’s mission established 50 years ago – to ‘heal the healers.’ Gifts may be offered in memory or in honor of anyone at the time of offering.
Over the past three months, SLI has welcomed close to 40 new Partners in Healing to our monthly giving society. We are grateful for the many new friends and supporters in Dallas, St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Missouri and Chicago who support our mission of “healing the healers.”
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