In numerous ways, Father Dan Finn is the embodiment of the parish priest who renders his spirit to the community at large, not merely to his own flock. Last Sunday, the County Cork native embraced the next step of his pastoral and personal journey as he took his leave of St. Mark’s parish after 22 years as its pastor, and 35 years overall of serving the people of Dorchester.

“As I leave Dorchester,” he told the Reporter,” I realize how much I love these neighborhoods and the people here. I’m a city guy, and Dorchester has made me not just stronger, but also grateful. I know that whatever’s coming, I can take it on.

COMMUNITY VOICES
The Father Dan Finn We Know

“As pastor of Saint Mark’s Church, a community in which seven different languages are spoken, Fr. Dan Finn is passionately committed to helping immigrants whether their origin is Ireland, Vietnam, or Uganda. He was one of the co-founders of the Irish Pastoral Centre, an organization that continues to thrive and to be a vital resource for the Irish community.
“Almost fifteen years ago, in response to Fr. Dan’s request, the Irish International Immigrant Center (IIIC) established a series of Citizenship Workshops to assist members of Saint Mark’s parish along the path to naturalization. Over five hundred people became American citizens through this program. The IIIC continues this partnership by offering bi-monthly legal clinics at the Church where Dorchester residents can obtain free immigration and citizenship advice.
“In 2011, the IIIC honored Fr. Dan with its Solas Award. At that time, former IIIC Executive Director Sister Lena Deevy described Fr. Dan as “a man who, with no fuss or ego, has been a pastor, advocate, mentor, and an inspiring friend to so many people.”
“Fr. Finn’s retirement as pastor of Saint Mark’s Parish is merely a change of course. We can expect so much more from this amazing and gifted man as he now turns his talents in a new direction.”
Ronnie Millar
Executive Director
Irish International
Immigrant Center

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“All my memories of Fr. Finn are my favorites.  “Any present you gave him, he’d give it to someone else. We always joked that you should never hang coat on coat rack in hallway at the rectory because he might give it to someone else who needed it.”
“When I started at the rectory in 1999, I did not know that singing was part of the job. We would have monthly sing-a-longs where everyone would sing their signature song. Fr. Finn would sing “The Rose” and then it was my turn. My mind went blank with only three songs in my head (that I knew all the words to), “The National Anthem,” “Happy Birthday,” and “You Are My Sunshine.” Well, I sang “You Are My Sunshine,” and have been singing it at every function since.
“Fr. Finn is a ray of sunshine. I have never met a person so filled with love for others. He truly lives the gospel on the streets, outstretching his hand in friendship and compassion to each person he meets. He makes each person feel as if they are an extended member of his family. He is one of the smartest men I have met, he is well read, well versed and well spoken.
“I remember the day we took the children from our summer Bible camp on a trip to the Duck Boats. I don’t know who was more excited sitting up on top, the kids or Fr. Finn. He was beaming, fidgeting waiting for the ride to begin. 
“Then there were the times when I came into work to find Fr. Finn up a tree with a chainsaw in his hand, or on the avenue shoveling snow late at night. There simply is no job too big or small for him, and he would never ask you to do something he would not do himself.
“ Scenes for the memory bank: Fr. Finn holding up a newly baptized child, as in the Lion King, as he introduces the newest member of his flock. … The way he sits quietly with a grieving family. His silence speaks volumes.”
Judy Greeley
Secretary, St. Mark’s Rectory

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“He has contributed so much to Dorchester over the years. There are so many places he has touched in the neighborhood and the city of Boston. He has been a pastor a long time and has seen the community change from preliminarily Irish Catholic to a diverse immigrant population.
“Father Finn has made a real effort to involve both long-term and newer parishes in the St. Mark’s community. He has shown that it’s important for people to be able to be involved with the parish despite being new to the community. And he has enabled others to be leaders, not just himself, and he has displayed that in this transition.”
“He responds to the needs of the community. He’s the go-to person for so many different people. To his credit, he’s done this across lots of immigrant groups.”
Lew Finfer ,
Massachusetts Community
Action Network.

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“Fr. Finn is one of those people who genuinely, genuinely, genuinely loves ever person he meets. He sees the good and the possibilities in every human being; it doesn’t matter who they are, where
they come from, what they have or don’t have. So when you need him, you’re just drawn to him
“He helps people feel useful, wherever they are. He knows how to ID talent, put people to work doing good things.
“He’s truly aspecial man.
Is he a saint? He is. I think he’s a saint on earth. I believe so. He always says to us, to his congregation, that we all have to be the hands and feet of Christ on earth. And he is absolutely that, and he challenges all of us to be that way.
“He is a man who is able to se that despite problems in his own life, that Christ is the way and the light, and we don’t have any problems of our own.
“I am hopeful that he will stay in the area even though he is retired from St Mark’s, because he’s a man who you want to be your friend for life, a guy who is very holy but very human.”
Alyce Lee
St. Mark’s parishioner, lector
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“Dan Finn doesn’t tell you what you need to be a good Catholic Christian; he shows you by example. For all the years that he’s been at St Mark’s he has enabled me to sustain my faith in the Catholic Church in what have obviously been pretty tough times. That’s a special gift.”
Jim Keefe
parishioner

•••

“I have been coming to St. Mark’s since 2004, which is when I met Father Finn. A good man, I have never seen better in my life.
“You know what? It’s like a miracle. When I was transferred to Boston College, my bishop asked the archbishop to find a place for me to stay. And then the archbishop introduced me to Fr. Finn, a very, very nice person, and St Marks became my second home.
“Fr. Fionn is very welcoming, accepts everybody; he has room for everybody in his heart. He listens, he understands everyone, you know, you can’t find a better man than Father Dan. I came here early this year, because I wanted to witness his leaving.
Fr. Emmanuel Mwereknnde,
visiting priest from Uganda

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“I was a pastor with Dan for eight years at St. Peter’s in Dorchester. He was as active then as he is now. The man doesn’t stop.
A good priest, a prayerful priest, a fun guy to be with, just a dynamite person
“The GAA games- that started in the seminary. He was playing GAA football in the seminary and he used to be out every Sunday and nobody knew it! He loves tennis too, I don’t know if he still plays but he played tennis for years. He came over (from Ireland) and finished high school in Lowell.
“How has he changed? I would say very little - deeper in spirituality, and stronger in his mission outlook, I would say.
“He was going all the time. He was strong even in the seminary. Dan reminds me of my father (I’m a procrastinator). At St. Peter’s Dan would ask: Should we paint that room and I would answer, maybe we should. The next thing you knew, he and three of his Irish friends were there and the paint job was done.

“The core of any story about Dan Finn is that he’s a priest, and a very good priest, a very prayerful priest. Everything else fills in on the side. Any hour of the day, any time, and he’s always available. That’s what makes him the man that he is.”
Fr. Eugene Sullivan
senior priest,
Sacred Heart, Roslindale

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In January 2015, St. Mark’s incoming pastor, Rev. Linh Nguyen, talked to the Reporter about Father Finn, whom he first met when he was a teenager going to church at St. Peter’s on Meetinghouse Hill:
“He’s a gentle soul and a great model for a pastor, really: to treat people like family and to be with them and not just as a pastor, but as friend and to journey with them at every moment of their life. He’s just kind, gentle, and a good priest.”