Former Protestant’s remarkable invitation to the Faith

By NADIA POZO
CS&T Staff Writer

Msgr. Herbert Bevard has had some great friends throughout his priesthood, friends who have helped him excel in one of the Church’s most needed apostolates: that of bringing non-Catholics into the Faith.
Who are these friends? Well first, there’s the Blessed Mother, to whom this former Protestant attributes his vocation.
Then, there’s St. Katharine Drexel whose great devotion to the Eucharist and life of service has been such an inspiration. Msgr. Bevard got to experience firsthand her great influence after spending five years as the chaplain for her order, the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Finally, there’s the Infant of Prague. It was the Infant of Prague who gave Msgr. Bevard great comfort as a child, when his parents refused to allow him to become Catholic.
Msgr. Bevard was in fifth grade when he asked his Presbyterian parents if he could take catechetical instructions from the pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oxford, Penn, where Msgr. Bevard grew up.
At first, his parents didn’t think much of it and allowed him to do so. But after 10 classes, Msgr. Bevard began talking about becoming a priest. That was that.
He was pulled from the classes and from his school, and sent to a military boarding school in Baltimore. He was forbidden by his parents to step inside another Catholic church.
Since he was only 11 years old, there wasn’t much Msgr. Bevard could do, except turn to Mary.
“It was seven years that I wasn’t allowed to go to a Catholic church, but I did have the rosary and I prayed it every day,” said the 59-year-old pastor of St. Athanasius Parish in South Philadelphia. “From the very beginning, I felt a great devotion to the Blessed Mother and I relied heavily on her for my spiritual well being.”
What had his pastor taught Msgr. Bevard that made him want to become a priest?
“He explained ... the Mass, the consecration and the true Presence of Christ in the Eucharist,” Msgr. Bevard recalled. “I felt a calling to become a priest, and I never thought of anything else from then on.”
Every so often, Msgr. Bevard would “cheat” — as he put it — and go into St. Aloysius Church, despite his parents’ prohibition. The church, where St. John Neumann had once been a pastor, was a couple of blocks from the train station in Baltimore, where he’d have to wait to catch the bus home to visit his family on weekends.
“The Blessed Sacrament was exposed, especially on First Fridays, so I would spend time with our Lord,” he said.
It was in this church that he also came to develop a special love for the Infant of Prague.
“As a very small child, I was paging through my mother’s Bible and I found a holy card of the Infant of Prague. I asked her who He was, but she said she didn’t know. She had been given the card at a funeral.”
At St. Aloysius, he would come to know the Infant of Prague intimately, spending time at a side altar dedicated to the Child Jesus, and asking for His intercession in the years to come.
With such friends on his side, it was only a matter of time before his parents would give in.
When he graduated from high school, his parents gave him permission to become a Catholic. After two years of college, his father permitted him to enter St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
He received the sacrament of holy orders in 1972. Two years after he became a priest, his mother became Catholic. And on his deathbed, his father too accepted the Catholic faith.
Thirty-three years later, Msgr. Bevard says he couldn’t be happier with his vocation and his parish, where he has been pastor for the past 11 years.
“My parish is very cooperative and very faith-filled,” Msgr. Bevard said. “It’s a wonderful parish and it has brought a special joy to me. I like them very much and I think they like me.”
St. Athanasius is an active parish centered on the Eucharist and Mary, like its pastor. Located in a heavily non Catholic part of Philadelphia, the church has welcomed many converts. A convert himself, Msgr. Bevard understands the importance of extending an invitation to the Catholic faith.
“I’m aware of how people phrase things to me that suggests they want to be Catholic, but because they are afraid or don’t know how to ask or what to do, they aren’t,” Msgr. Bevard said. He recalled a time he went to visit a parishioner but instead encountered her husband, who wasn’t a Catholic. Msgr. Bevard asked the man if he’d like to be a Catholic. The husband responded that he very much wanted to become a Catholic — but he didn’t know how.
Another time, Msgr. Bevard accidentally went to the wrong house, and met an elderly woman who invited him in. He blessed her home and, on his way out, he asked her if she’d ever considered becoming a Catholic. She had considered it, but she didn’t know how to go about it — and would probably never have become Catholic if he hadn’t gone to the “wrong” apartment that day.
Msgr. Bevard’s ability to welcome people has been a recurring theme throughout his years in ministry. Recently, he opened the doors of St. Athanasius to a Protestant pastor and his congregation, who were flooded out of their church building.
“The pastor is a very nice man, and he is very sincere in his love of God, so I’m happy to extend my hospitality,” Msgr. Bevard said.
He will be extending his hospitality to all the faithful of the Archdiocese during the Reconciliation Weekend, Feb. 25 and 26, when St. Athanasius will be one of the host sites.
As a convert, he can understand how intimidating confession can be, but he also knows there isn’t anything else like it.
“It’s a great source of strength and grace,” he said.
As in everything he does, Msgr. Bevard invites, and leaves the rest up to God.

CS&T Staff Writer Nadia Pozo can be reached at npozo@adphila.org.