Monsignor Paul D. Gleason almost didn’t become a priest.

For a time, he pondered the idea of going into business with his father at the car dealership. He gave some thought to banking. It wasn’t until his junior year at the College of the Holy Cross that Gleason made the decision that would change so many lives in the Lewiston-Auburn area and elsewhere.

Gleason, leader of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church for two decades, died this week. He was 91. According to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, Gleason died early Wednesday morning in New Hampshire.

“I’m sure he died with dignity,” former church organist Mike Parkin said, “because he certainly lived that way.”

It was an opinion shared by many. The people who knew him described Gleason as an “old-time” priest who was always there for church services and wherever else he was needed.

“He was a gentleman,” said Richard Mercier, whose mother-in-law used to work for the monsignor. “He was an old-fashioned type of priest who really believed in what he was doing.”

Gleason took over at St. Patrick’s in 1971. In the years that followed, Mercier, a police officer at the time, often needed to call on a priest during the course of his duties. Gleason made himself available.

“Sometimes, we needed a priest for things like last rites,” Mercier said. “I could always call on him if I had an unattended death or something of that nature. He never refused.”

Gleason’s work with the church spanned nearly a half century.

In 1947, he was ordained to the priesthood and assigned to a bishop at St. Joseph’s in Lewiston. He remained there until 1961, when he was sent to St. Ambrose Parish in Richmond. In 1964, he was assigned to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland as rector. In 1969, he was named an Honorary Prelate of His Holiness Pope Paul VI, and, three years later, returned to Lewiston at the helm of St. Patrick’s.

“He really did a lot to keep St. Patrick’s going,” Mercier said.

Former parishioner Bob Stone described Gleason as a sophisticated and classy man and a priest through and through.

“If you met Monsignor Gleason, you knew he was a priest,” Stone said. “He had that aura. He was always very pious, very staid and formal. He was respected by the parishioners as a man with a lot of class.”

And not just class, but knowledge as well. Although Gleason grew up in Bangor, he knew Lewiston’s history and, in particular, the nuances of the Irish immigration in the mid-1800s.

“His sermons were often historical in nature,” Stone said. “They would be very well-researched, not just abstract liturgical concepts.”

In 1971, recognizing a need to help the poor of the community, Gleason spearheaded the creation of St. Vincent de Paul Society thrift store, which remains in operation.

He was a stickler about church maintenance — some friends and former parishioners suspect Gleason occasionally used his own money to pay for improvements or special touches at the church.

“He was not just a holy man, but a man who just exuded class and sophistication,” Stone said. “Everything he did, he did first class.”

Parkin, an organist at the church for decades starting in 1975, drew on some of the same memories as Stone. He remembered Gleason as a man who walked gracefully, spoke in a measured way and who enjoyed an occasional cigar.

“He was very articulate, and he spoke very deliberately,” Parkin said. “At the same time, he had a very kind heart. He had a strong faith and strong compassion for people in need. He was just a terrific, wonderful guy.”

Occasionally, the downtrodden and indigent would come by the church seeking help. Gleason, Parkin said, “always had something to hand to them with a big smile and a soft touch.”

Friends said Gleason had moved to Manchester, N.H., after retiring in 1991, although he made frequent trips back to Lewiston to mark occasions, such as the recent closings of St. Patrick’s and St. Joseph’s.

Gleason was, said Gerald Burpee of Lewiston “as much a part of our church life as the stained glass and fish on Fridays.

“His portrait hung in the church hall for years, overseeing Christmas fairs and potluck dinners for years after his retirement,” Burpee said. “It hangs in my office now, a constant reminder that you don’t have to be loud to be heard, that slow and steady does indeed win the race.”

“Monsignor Gleason was truly a gentleman,” Father Greg Dube, also of Lewiston, said, “a man possessing great integrity, holiness and compassion which was directed to all those he met.

“He baptized me as an infant, heard my first confession and gave me my first communion,” Dube said. “What an honor to receive those sacraments from such a holy priest. What I will always remember about Monsignor Gleason was the example that he provided about being a good, caring and faith-filled priest. As I was preparing for the priesthood I always remembered his example and continue to do so today.”

In 1987, a few years before he retired, Gleason was interviewed by a reporter at the Lewiston Evening Journal. During the interview he reflected on how, as a young man, he pondered what he might do with his life. 

It was the example of other priests, Gleason said, that nudged him toward the church. There came a point, he said, “When I finally felt that I wouldn’t be doing my conscience fair if I didn’t go on to the priesthood.”

He never wished to go back and do something else, he told the reporter. Like so many others, Gleason understood that the priesthood had been his calling.

“I’ve never once thought of leaving — never once regretted being a priest. I can honestly say I’ve found happiness in serving as a priest.”

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Gerald Burpee, of Lewiston, reflects on the life and times of Monsignor Paul D. Gleason.

“He was my pastor for 20 years, and in many ways he was St. Patrick’s Parish. He was patrician in the best sense of the word: Tall, thin, reserved but always appearing slightly amused, extremely well read and educated. He had a knack for finance and enjoyed giving parishioners investment advice. This knack also allowed him to shrewdly manage St. Pat’s finances, keeping the parish in the black during his stewardship.

“A few years into his tenure there he raised the funds to renovate the church, painting the pink interior white, laying parquet flooring and new carpeting, and redoing the chapel. … Prior to the renovation of the Basilica, we had by far the best-looking church in Lewiston-Auburn.

“During my childhood we had a bunch of assistant priests come and go, some, like Father Ron Schmitt, making a bigger impression than others on the parish, but Monsignor Gleason was the constant, as much a part of our church life as the stained glass and fish on Fridays.

“My family and I went to the final Mass at St. Pat’s. It was at night, and it felt like a memorial Mass for our parish, complete with a meal afterwards. The parishioners ran the gamut from angry to sad to resigned, but the one common emotion was relief that Monsignor Gleason had been too frail to make the trip up from the retirement home in Manchester. As sad as the final Mass at St. Pat’s made us, we knew it would have broken his heart.

“His portrait hung in the church hall for years, overseeing Christmas fairs and potluck dinners for years after his retirement. It hangs in my office now, a constant reminder that you don’t have to be loud to be heard, that slow and steady does indeed win the race.”

During his active years of ministry, Monsignor Paul D. Gleason served in these parishes:

* St. Joseph Parish, Lewiston, parochial vicar, 1947-1961

* St. Ambrose Parish, Richmond, pastor, 1961-1964

* Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, rector, 1964-1971

* St. Patrick Parish, Lewiston, pastor, 1971-1991

Funeral arrangements

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 5, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Portland

 Committal/burial will be at Mount Pleasant Catholic Cemetery, Bangor, with departure for Bangor immediately following funeral Mass.

Source: Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland