| Date of Birth: | 18/06/1933 |
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| Date of Death: | 20/01/2001 |
| Date of Ordination: | 27/06/1964 |
Fr Kevin Thomas McLennan
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Biography:
Kevin, the son of William John and Mary Marjorie McLennan was born in Westbourne Park on June 18, 1933. He had one brother, Brian, born June 22, 1931, who was married to Barbara and whose children Louisa, Christopher and Mark gave great delight to Kevin. Kevin and his brother went to Cabra College for the first three years of primary school, then to St Anthony’s at Edwardstown, then they completed their schooling at Sacred Heart College, Somerton. Both Kevin and Brian attended daily Mass with their mother while at Edwardstown and at Sacred Heart College. Kevin loved sports, either playing or watching. He played cricket and football for Sacred Heart and also held the record for the 100 yards hurdles for a number of years. One of his memories from Sacred Heart College was that he enjoyed some of the detentions handed out by the Brothers when they involved the rolling of the cricket pitches. Upon leaving school, he played football for the Goodwood Saints and later for South Adelaide Colts Football club. He also loved tennis and for a number of years was Captain of St Anthony’s Parish Club. He continued to play tennis in his later years, mostly on Sundays with his family. He joined the Shell Company in January 1950 and worked there till December 1957. Meanwhile he undertook Tertiary studies in Accountancy and achieved his A.S.A by 1957. His initial work at Shell was as a Mailing Boy and experience then led him to junior and later senior clerical positions before resigning late 1957 to enter St Francis Xavier Seminary to study for the priesthood. Shell annecdote By late 1957 Kevin had intrigued his young colleagues by being very coy/reserved about the existence of a girlfriend! Most of them, in their early 20’s were courting, and they assumed that Kevin must be doing the same – though he probably never openly discussed this topic. Ultimately it became a contest or a “dare” between one chap who all his mates guessed was about to announce his engagement and Kevin who, as part of the “dare” promised to make his “romantic” announcement at the same time in the Boss’ office. Expectation filled the office as everyone present waited for the revelation of the mysterious Miss X – but Kevin’s said: “In a week or so time I intend to tender my resignation from Shell and enter St Francis Xavier Seminary to study for the priesthood!” Utter astonishment and disbelief on the faces of those present followed these momentous words which quickly changed to expressions of congratulations and best wishes. It was far from what they had been expecting. Kevin was ordained in St Francis Xavier's Cathedral by Archbishop Matthew Beovich on Saturday June 27, 1964. Kevin’s first appointment was to Mount Gambier. After a short time his next appointment was to the Cathedral parish. In his early years Mgr Harry Skehan was a great mentor to him. He was first appointed Acting Chancellor on April 9, 1970 (during Mgr Bowler’s absence overseas) and then eventually to the position of Chancellor of the Archdiocese, succeeding Mgr Brendan Bowler on May 1, 1971. He was also Spiritual Director of the Legion of Mary and Diocesan Director of the Guild of St Stephen. Diocesan Chancellor Kevin was really committed to his role as Chancellor and worked long hours at his desk. He worked very closely with Archbishop Gleeson, and later with Archbishop Faulkner. He was seen as a messy worker with books and papers all over his office floor, but he always knew exactly where things were. Kevin always showed great respect to those he encountered, but he was not a “soft touch” – if he felt something was wrong or unfair he would argue his point assertively, yet never hold a grudge. He strongly believed in principles of social justice and this was reflected in many of the tasks he undertook. Fr McLennan reformed the financial structure of Catholic Church Endowment Society (CCES) and in doing so turned his attention to the remuneration and benefits for the Diocesan Clergy, some of whom were inadequately sustained through the dated system of allocating funds received through the Parishes Collections. It was an inequitable system whereby priests in well-to-do parishes became rather wealthy while others struggled. Kevin was the driving force in the endeavour to change this. Thus the Diocesan Presbytery Fund came into existence to restore equity to the remuneration of the clergy. He was elected to the Board of the Fund on July 30, 1976, and served as its Chairman for many years. For more than 30 years Kevin made a great contribution to the success of this Fund. At a Council of Priests meeting Archbishop Gleeson was invited to pay tribute to Kevin’s outstanding work. He recalled how, following an initiative from the Sick Priests Benefit Fund, a proposal was put to the Senate of Priests in November 1967, and a committee comprising Mgr RMI Redden, Fr Leo Cronin and Fr Kevin was appointed to study and make proposals regarding the provision of an equitable system for the support of priests. After much consultation the final report was presented to a meeting of priests on June 18, 1970. The new system proposed was adopted by a 76% affirmative vote. Archbishop Gleeson said the genius of Fr McLennan as Executive Officer ensured that the system worked well. Launching the Development Fund During the late 1960s and early 1970s there was a great need to build new schools and Churches to accommodate the influx of Catholics through Immigration. Consequently many Parish Priests were obliged to borrow from the commercial banks to achieve this building program. Fr Kevin, with the support of Archbishop Gleeson encouraged all parishes, colleges and schools to invest any surplus funds with CCES which then enabled it to take over these loans from the banks. Struggling parishes were then able to pay back the loans with time extensions and also at a reduced rate of interest. By 1978, having experienced what other Dioceses were doing to engage loyal parishioners in investing any surplus funds they had, Fr Kevin, once again with the enthusiastic support of the Archbishop, launched the Archdiocesan Development Fund (now CDF) on August 15. The laity responded by placing their savings with CDF and soon Fr Kevin was able to pay out all bank loans and the CCES virtually became the “Church Bank”, self-sufficient in providing funds for authorised capital development in the Archdiocese. Many responsibilities Fr Kevin was also very involved with the construction of Catholic Diocesan Centre and the consequent move of Church administration from West Terrace to 39 Wakefield Street. Apart from managing the day to day affairs of the Finance Office, Fr Kevin also chaired or sat on many Boards and Trusts e.g.: Throughout this time Kevin was Resident Chaplain at Cabra Convent, providing regular Mass for the Sisters and showing particular concern for the elderly sisters in the community. Fr Kevin was a keen gardener (particularly of roses) and also an enthusiastic social tennis player. He was Chaplain to the YCW Football club for many years. Family Kevin always had a strong belief in the importance of family and he was very attached to his own, especially his mother, and had regular involvement with his parents until their deaths. He was also devoted to his brother’s family and they played an active and prominent role in his day to day life. He was a frequent visitor to their home and often went on holidays with them. Kevin was a quiet, thoughtful and generous man, he was slow to anger and non-judgemental. He was accepting of people of all walks of life, and was a great supporter of the Adelaide Day Centre. He was known to often procure large boxes of groceries for them. He had a strong concern for the wellbeing of his fellow priests, as reflected in many of the undertakings listed above. On January 19, 1992, Kevin was appointed Parish Priest of Goodwood for a term of six years. While very committed to the pastoral care of the people in his parish he continued to serve as a Consultant to the Finance and Property Office and to the Diocesan Presbytery Fund. He was also elected Regional Delegate to the Council of Priests. He was re-appointed Parish Priest February 27, 1998 for a further term of six years. Last illness and death However, Kevin suffered a serious heart attack on January 16, 2001 and was admitted to the high dependency ward at St Andrew’s Hospital and he died there peacefully at 8.10pm on January 20. His Funeral Mass was held in St Francis Xavier’s Cathedral and presided over by his longstanding friend, Mgr Robert Aitken. Among many tributes to him was the acknowledgment of his enormous contribution to the life of the Archdiocese and its priests. May he rest in peace. |