April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
YEAR FOR CONSECRATED LIFE
Campus minister and Adirondack 46er takes on new challenge: being a pastor
"The Bishop assigned me [to The College of Saint Rose in Albany] and said I would only be there for a couple of years," Father DeGiovine recalled. He ended up serving at Saint Rose from 1989-2014, originally as campus minister and later as the dean of spiritual life. He also taught as an adjunct professor in the religious studies department.
The priest was proud to support the college's interfaith community. He helped create the Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary on the campus in 1997, a chapel that honors the Catholic heritage of Saint Rose and is a "sanctuary out of the business and hectic nature of college, but also out of the business and hectic nature of a city," he said.
Father DeGiovine often talked with the students about their opinions on that sacred space, and on faith.
"Young people ask questions about faith. They really are searching and want to know," he told The Evangelist. "I think it kept me honest. It kept me thinking. I'm very grateful for the students for that.
Reminiscing
"I miss the classroom and the students," he added. Father DeGiovine retired from the college last fall after 25 years of service and became pastor of St. Matthew's parish in Voorheesville.
"The students were very, very kind to me. First, they treated me like a father; and then, in the later years, they treated me like a grandfather, which was lovely, and I appreciated that."
His move to parish ministry was carefully planned. When Father DeGiovine had come to CSR, he'd vowed that he would move on when he turned 65. The priest shortage in the Albany Diocese added to his willingness to transition.
"I thought [St. Matthew's in Voorheesville] is really a parish I would like to be in, so I applied for it. By the grace of God, I was asked to be the pastor," he remarked.
Parish schedule
Parish life has been a "different busy. It's not quite as structured," said the new pastor, who's been at St. Matthew's since September. He's constantly on call, visiting people in their homes or in the hospital; in fact, he said the biggest change from campus ministry to pastoral life is that death is "a much bigger part of my life than it used to be.
"I'd do a funeral every once in a great while at the college, but not regularly," he explained. Now, he regularly comforts families who have lost loved ones.
At Saint Rose, Father DeGiovine taught theology to college students. At St. Matthew's, he prepares children for First Reconciliation and First Communion. He hopes to work more with the confirmation students in the coming months, as well.
Living in Voorheesville allows the avid athlete to be close to the people he met at Saint Rose while also enjoying rural life.
"Even as a child, I always enjoyed walking," said Father DeGiovine. Today, he participates in about three 100-mile or "century" bike rides each summer, as well as snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter.
Up the ADKs
The pastor is also an Adirondack 46er, meaning that he has hiked all 46 of the high peaks in the Adirondack Mountains.
"I think it started accidentally," he said: In the mid-1970s, after befriending Rev. Philip Keane, SS, who had already done a few high peaks himself, the duo decided to take on the 46 high peaks together. "That's when I really fell in love with the mountains," said Father DeGiovine.
After hitting his goal the first time, Father DeGiovine started a second time, and then a third. "I'm probably about two-thirds of the way through" that, he said. "But it isn't as compulsive" as it once was.
"For me, absolutely nature is a strong vehicle into the heart and mind of God," he added. "So many of the lessons I learn in nature apply to the mystery of life, and therefore the mystery of God. There's something so consoling for me.
"As I get older, I find that the body is capable of amazing things if you can psychologically prepare yourself," he continued. "It's more the mind that is telling you that you can't do that. I combat physical challenges by telling my mind to just go and do it."
Father DeGiovine believes that the same mental perseverance can be applied to the soul, as well: "Many people think they are not 'spiritually capable' of accepting total love from God. We just have to get our ego out of the way, get our mind out of the way. God wants to love us through it all, but our mind keeps telling us we're not worthy."[[In-content Ad]]
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