From a young age, Br. Paul O’Brien knew that he desired two things: first, to join the Franciscans; and second, to serve Indigenous people.
both wishes would be fulfilled. Br. Paul entered religious life and would eventually serve in the Diocese of Gallup on the Navajo reservation, in Klagetoh, Greasewood, and Ganado, AZ, before finally retiring in April 2024.
“I was born and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts, which is part of Boston,” Br. Paul recalls. “My confirmation name is Francis, [after] Francis of Assisi. So from a very young age, I was always attracted to the life.”
For a time he helped coordinate retreats and programs at a Franciscan renewal center in Andover, Massachusetts.
“By 1978, 1979, I was really burnt out. So I took a leave of absence. I spoke to my provincial in New York about a house of prayer and he says, ‘well, we don’t have one now’, but he recommended Our Lady of Guadalupe Province [in the Southwest]. So that’s how I came out here.”
In 1986, Br. Paul arrived at the House of Prayer in St. Michaels, AZ. He remembers meeting, as he puts it, his first “grandma” – the elder of a Navajo family – while delivering Christmas baskets in Houck, AZ.
“I could feel her spirituality immediately. I’ve always been interested, as I said, in Indigenous culture, Native culture. And the more I got to know the Navajo the more I fell in love with them.”
But he knew that he first had to observe and learn about their culture, and not assume that he would immediately be accepted. One priest colleague, he recalls, told him to “plan on 20 years” of being at a mission on the reservation.
“I thought that was the smartest thing I heard. Because it’s true. They’re very receptive if you’re very respectful. But that has to go on for a while. I mean, you can’t be respectful one or two years and expect them to totally accept you.”
Br. Charles Schilling, who now serves as the administrator at St. Anne in Klagetoh, recalls meeting Br. Paul for the first time at Our Lady of the Rosary mission in Greasewood, AZ.
“I came to know Br. Paul as a deeply spiritual man, committed to his faith and to working to heal wounds from past misunderstandings between the church and native peoples,” he said. “To me he epitomizes a missionary who sacrificed much of himself to become immersed in Navajo culture and traditions and to demonstrate how many native traditional ways of prayer and spirituality are fully compatible with the church and the gospel message of Jesus Christ.”
Br. Paul says it was “very affirming” to be invited to Navajo ceremonies by his parishioners. “I would say I did everything I could to learn the culture and even the language.”
Because of his respect and sensitivity, Br. Paul was often asked to conduct funerals for parishioners and their family members, even if he hadn’t known the deceased well. During the Covid-19 pandemic, he estimates that he conducted nearly 90 funerals in one year.
“I would introduce myself in Navajo and the Hail Mary in Navajo usually. If you know St. Francis at all, he wrote the Canticle of the Creatures. And the last creature he prayed about was “Sister Death”. In order for me to do all those funerals, I made friends with Sister Death also.”
Now retired, Br. Paul misses his people and parishes on Navajo land, but he treasures every minute he was able to serve there.
“That’s supposed to be our mission as Franciscans. Outreach to people on the peripheries. I found a new life out here.”