In the spring of 1973, we found out that Margaret was pregnant. Immediately, I thought that my new child should not be born in an apartment. We needed a house. My boss at Montgomery Ward, Dale Hoffman, wanted us to move into the north Chicago suburbs. He showed us around a couple of places, but they all seemed so expensive, nearly $100,000, the cheapest around $70,000. I figured out that we could not make that work. We would be down to one salary. A couple of weeks later, he told me that Montgomery Wards was building a new store in the south suburbs on Route 57 and Route 30, Lincoln Highway, called Lincoln Mall. Margaret and I decided to take a trip down I-57 to see this new Montgomery Ward store. Just as we got close, a big sign said new homes for sale. I decided to take a look at them. Kaufman and Broad were building acres of houses just outside Matteson on Vollmer Road. They had sample showcase houses. All the houses were in the $30,000 range. We looked at a couple of these model houses, all with furniture. I liked the fact that we would not have to do any remodeling, since all these homes were brand new homes with some kind of warranty. We talked to one of the salesmen. Before you know it, we had bought a new house on a cul-de-sac for $33,000 with 5% down, $1,500.00. Margaret and I were both pleased. We saw the house and the lot. We could move in July. It worked out perfect, a new neighborhood, with mostly young people there. We had our Hyde Park friends help us move in. I was able to get our furniture and appliances at a good price from Montgomery Ward. We would be all set to go. We had a huge lawn in the back yard that ran into a wetland area behind the house with a big tree, so that no one could build there. We only had a one car garage, but we could build another one later. Little did we know then that we would spend 33 years there and sell it in 2006 for $165,000, with a paid off mortgage. We learned to live in the south suburb town of Matteson, Illinois, for over thirty years, longer than I have lived at any other place. What is the longest that you have ever stated in one place?
My father Eugene Finnegan died in 1972 at the age of 74
Meanwhile, my father had developed thyroid throat cancer. He had worked as a welder at GATX for over twenty years. As a teenager, he had been an IRA volunteer for Ireland from County Monaghan. He never got over the five counties of Northern Ireland as a separate country. My dad was the youngest of nine children, as his father died when he was two. Thus, my grandfather was born in 1839 and died in 1900 at the age of 61. My father came to New York City in the early 1920s. He immediately became an American citizen and then married my mother who was from the same town in Ireland and was a Finnegan in 1931. They had a few children that died in childbirth, until I came along. My foster brother Jerry Mingin took my father for chemotherapy treatments, but then he would lit up his pipe afterwards. He was asked if he wanted medicine for the pain or alcohol, and he chose alcohol. He may have been an alcoholic, but he never missed a day of work, since he walked to work every day. On his way home, he would pick up a pitcher of beer. On weekends, he had a fifth of rye whiskey. My father never spoke much, but I always remember his admonition, “Do not get your mother angry.” We visited him once before his death and then later for his funeral in Carteret, NJ. One of my father’s friends said that I had caused his death. However, I did not let that bother me. I always remember my father, sitting in the living room on his chair, listening to the radio and smoking his pipe. He was a quiet man but enjoyed a drink and a chat with his old IRA friends when they would come by. Our vacations were to visit his brothers and sisters, as well as my mother’s brothers and sisters, who lived in the Bronx, New York. Thus, I got to know a little bit about the Bronx and New York City life from my cousins, aunts, and uncles there. Do you remember your father?
Our Hyde Park married days 1971-1973
Margaret and I lived for two years at 5300 Hyde Park Boulevard across from Lake Michigan and Promontory Point. 53rd Street was Hyde Park’s oldest shopping district, lined with many small businesses and restaurants offering various dining options. Harper Court was the center of Hyde Park where you could buy Baskin-Robert’s ice cream. My favorite store to shop was Walgreens. I would read their Sunday sales and get everything on sale. We could walk along the Lake. It was lovely in the spring, summer, and fall, but really cold and icy in the winter. We were on the third floor. Margaret got a job teaching at Our Lady, Gate of Heaven grade school on 99thStreet, that is now closed. She also bought a new Fiat car on credit. We were becoming consumers with our own credit cards. There was good access to transportation with Lake Shore Drive to the east, and the 55th Street Metra line to take us downtown. The 57th Street shopping and Art Fair was a pleasure. We went to St. Thomas Catholic Church on Kimbark. The University of Chicago dominated the west side of Hype Park. Then in the 21st century, Hype Park became the home of President Barak Obama, where his presidential library is. We met some new friends in Hype Park, including a local newscaster, Jim Ruddle. I realized that the travel from Hyde Park to O’Hare and Franklin Park, was not as easy as it looked on paper. Traffic jams downtown and around O’Hare made it more difficult and time consuming at times. Otherwise, everything went well. Margaret’s parents came to visit us. We went out to South Dakota for the wedding of Margaret’s brother, where I got to meet a lot of her family. Over the years, we would go out to South Dakota a lot, because of Margaret’s family. We were becoming like any other young married couple in their thirties. Do you remember you first apartment as a young married couple?
Getting married in 1971
Wow! This was going pretty fast, once I made my decision. I had to get all my paperwork about my resignation from the Servites, CTU, and the Catholic priesthood. I had to write letters and be interviewed. However, I was able to rent an apartment in Hyde Park with another seminarian, just a few blocks from CTU. I also got a job as a salesman at the Montgomery Ward Outlet Center in Franklin Park, Il. My parents sent me a couple thousand dollars, so I bought a car. Margaret came to Chicago for the summer. She split a rental with some University of Chicago students, where she smelt the sweet smell of marijuana. She got a job as a teller at a local bank, as she began looking for a grade school teaching job for the fall. We had a fun time exploring the Lake Michigan Shore, the Museum of Science and Industry, plus all the local restaurants and pubs. Margaret had few friends, since most of her friends were friends of mine. We decided on an October 9, 1971, wedding, the weekend of Columbus Day. I did all the planning for the wedding, including writing the vows and the whole program, not Margaret, the bride. It would be in our apartment. Father Dave Gallegos, a classmate of mine, would preside, Jude, a friend of Margaret’s would provide the singing. They sang the popular songs, “Both Sides Now” and “We’ve only just Begun.” My roommate, Charlie Rufner would be the best man. Margaret’s new friend, Carole Thorne would be the Maid of Honor. We were not going to invite any relatives to our wedding. I think that this was harder on Margaret than me. We invited people from our new workplaces, and some male and female Servites. Charlie was in charge of cleaning up the apartment. Margaret and I went for our honeymoon to a Holiday Inn in downtown Chicago on Lake Shore Drive. Thus, we began our over 55 years of married life, Margaret and me. It is amazing where the various twists and turns of life take us. What kind of wedding did you have?
The big decision of 1971
Thus, the early part of 1971, I was haunted about the big decision of that year. Was Margaret Klein a reality or an illusion? Was I willing to give up everything that I had been working on for the last fifteen years for an adventure with someone I hardly knew. What if she never really cared about me? For the last months of 1970, my only communication with her was by letters. By chance, the Provincial asked me to go to Ladysmith for the Christmas break. I said yes to the disappointment of my mother, who wanted me back in Carteret, NJ, for Christmas. However, Margaret never went to Ladysmith that Christmas time. Everything was in flux. One of the first Servites that I mentioned about Margaret was John Dowd who came for my Doctorate presentation from Louvain to Trier. He got mad at me. We could never be the same kind of friends again. I was not getting much positive feedback. Was this just a fascination, so that I should let it wear off. The nun who had been Margaret’s novice master told me that Margaret was thinking of leaving the Servites, after her simple vows ran out in June 1971. I, on the hand, had made no decision. I put it off until I was asked to sign my CTU contract for the school year 1971-1972. It was time to make a decision. I could not live in ambiguity forever. I decided to put my faith in Margaret. I would terminate my life with the Servites in June of 1971. Then, I had to tell people. Most people seemed surprised but understood. My parents were upset. Other Servites said that they were sorry. The Provincial offered to send me to Europe every year if I stayed. Thus, in June, 1971, I presided over my last Mass as a Roman Catholic priest. At least, I had made a decision. Was it right or wrong? Only time would tell. I would have to leave my former life of fifteen years behind with all the consequences. I felt it was like retiring from the military. I would have no more military role, but I was not opposed to the military. Have you ever made a big decision about your life?
Margaret Klein, the woman who changed my life
One young nun was among those in my class, Sister Margaret Klein. She was from South Dakota. I never knew anyone from there, but she was very talkative. Everyplace I went, she was there, as I noticed her more often. Suddenly, I would miss her when she was not there. There were plenty of young nuns. However, she was special in a way that I had never known anyone. She was delightful and friendly. I guess that I hardly noticed her until near the end of my six weeks at Ladysmith. Suddenly, she was everywhere I went. I seemed to intimidate her, but I was fascinated by her. I had never met anyone like her. She offered to show me around St. Paul and Minneapolis. I did not know what to make of her. The beauty of Margaret and upper Wisconsin blended into one. I was heading back to Chicago and then Germany. She was going to teach grade school in St. Paul. We exchanged phone numbers and addresses. In Chicago, she sounded wonderful on the phone. I wrote to her. What was happening to me? Why was this young lady so attractive to me? Or was she? Was it allusion that I had? Why did I feel this way? Who could I talk to about this sudden new obsession of mine? I tried to keep focused on my work. Every free moment I thought about her. This is not what I expected. I planned for my trip home to New Jersey and my trip to Germany. After the summer was over, it was back to CTU and then to Austria, and Germany. I wanted to visit with my parents in New Jersey, but I barely stayed a couple of days. I was to get my doctorate and then speak at an Austrian theological conference on Confirmation because Professor Fischer had invited me to talk about the close relationship between Baptism and Confirmation. Then I had my classes to prepare for in the second and third trimesters at CTU. I had a full life, but there in the background was that Margaret Klein. What to do about her? Have you ever met someone that you were madly in love with?
The summer of 1970 teaching at Mount Senario College, Ladysmith, Wisconsin
The big decision of 1970 was where to go for the summer. My mother wanted me to come back to Carteret, NJ, and be a priest at our home parish. I was looking for some place to spend my summer teaching. It was already Easter time, and I was trying to adjust to life at CTU. I was not going to stay there that summer. I finally got in contact with Mike Doyle, who had been a year ahead of me at Granville and Benburb. The only other Servite that I knew pretty well was John Pawlikoski, who was a year younger than me, but he had gone to the University of Chicago Divinity Theology school to get his doctorate in ethics. Mike Doyle was the acting President of Mount Senario College at Ladysmith, Wisconsin, where the Servite nuns, who had taught me in grade school, had their headquarters. He wanted me to come to Ladysmith to teach a daily weekday course in the summer of 1970, so that a lot of the Servite nuns could take this course. He also lined up a conference with the priests of Superior, Wisconsin, to give a talk on Confirmation. I liked both ideas. On top of that, Father Conrad Borntrager, who had been with me in Louvain, was going to be the spiritual director for the Servite nuns that summer. It all sounded like a great idea. When I got there, I was surprised to find a couple of the nuns who had taught me in Carteret, NJ. However, there were a lot of other younger nuns who were going to be taking my class every morning. The rest of my day was free, so I got invited to any number of activities. Some were discussions about the changes in the Church. Others were about the role of women and their role in the Church. I also got to see a lot of the Wisconsin scenery in northern Wisconsin. There were always a number of these young sisters, who never wore their habits. I guess I had in mind the Servite nuns who had taught me back in the early 1950s, almost twenty years earlier. I had not considered the feminine side of things, since I had no sisters, and had been studying with all male-religious people for the past twelve years. It was a new experience for me, all this femininity. Mike and Conrad were nice, but I seemed to be spending more time with these enthusiastic young sisters. The whole experience was for only six weeks. Thus, I enjoyed the change of pace. They were very interested in the role of worship and liturgy in this class. They seemed interested in finding out what was behind these changes. It all went very fast. Then it was back to Chicago, as I had to get ready to go back to Germany and Austria in the fall. Do you know much about upper Wisconsin?
A faculty member of Catholic Theological Union 1969-1971
My Servite provincial wanted me back in Chicago for the start of classes in September of 1968. However, I had just started writing my doctoral thesis, so that the following school year 1969-1970, was more reasonable. They had a trimester system, so that I could teach in 1970 for sure. This new Catholic Theological Union, at the University of Chicago, was a Catholic graduate school of theology formed originally from three Catholic religious orders, the Franciscans, the Passionists, and the Servites, but has since been sponsored by over 24 institutes and Catholic faith communities. Now, it is one of the largest Catholic graduate schools of theology in the English-speaking world, training both men and women for lay and ordained ministry. However, in 2025, it gained renewed attention when alumnus Augustinian Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who earned a Master of Divinity degree in 1982, was elected Pope Leo XIV, over ten years after I had left. However, I made it back to Chicago, in early 1970 to teach my classes on sacraments and the liturgy. I was a little disappointed at the students and the general set up. There was very little structure to the religious life there, compared to my early days, ten years earlier at Granville, Wisconsin. Secondly, I assumed that the students would be more interested in their studies than they were. These new students were big into action, protests and marching, with very little emphasis in serious study. I thought that they would be more interested in what I had to say, but they wanted me to march with them. Finally, once I went on one of their marches, I was disappointed again. Nobody showed up except for a few seminarians. What was the point of that? I tried to fit in, but I had been dealing with American military people for the last few years, and these seminarians, who were exempt from the draft, kept calling for the end of the war in Vietnam. Then the Kent State Massacre took place, and they wanted to close the school down. We finally decided on a seminar on peace and war, since it was better than some kind of crazy march, but no students showed up, only faculty. The second year was not as bad. The war seemed to be dying down. We worked closer on a faculty level with the other theology schools in Hyde Park. I had to go to Austria and Germany to a meeting on Adult Baptism, where I presented my ideas about Confirmation, and finally got my doctoral degree in the fall of 1970. They asked me to renew for a third year, but by then, I was having other problems. Thus, I only spent two years as an Assistant Professor of Theology at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Have you ever spent a short time teaching at one place?
Auxiliary Military Chaplain in Trier, Germany (1967-1969)
I soon learned that Bitburg, an American Air Force Base, was about twenty miles north of Trier. The American Vincentian priest, John McKenna, would have an USA Airforce car come to pick him up to bring him to work at Bitburg. There were a lot of American priests studying in Europe who helped on Sundays without being in the military, since they were civilian auxiliary military chaplains. I helped that Christmas of 1966 with confessions and Mass the first year I was there. The weekend stipend for a priest was equivalent to my room and board for a month. Then one of the military chaplains asked me if I would help at the American Housing Unit of 100 military families that were in Trier, on the outskirts of town. They had no chaplains there but wanted me to have confessions and Mass there at the Housing Unit on Saturdays and Sundays. I was to see a USA AF Master Sargeant there who would give me all the details. They thought that they had an American priest, but he went back to the USA, so that they needed someone else. That seemed fine with me. I did not have a car, since I walked to school and back. That was no problem. I took a bus to a certain stop and then walked up the hill to the Housing area on Saturday afternoons. However, I would get a ride home from someone at the unit on Sunday afternoon or evening. People invited me to dinner on Saturday night and Sunday afternoons and evenings. I got to know a lot of people there. 80 of the units were for enlisted men, while the other building was only for officers. The officers made a habit of making sure I got home. These units were for military people with big families, so that all had some children, some with three or four. Originally, I stayed at one of these apartments, but then I switched to the MP quarters, that made more sense, if someone wanted to contact me, during the week. Some families were more insistent that I have meals with them. I heard confessions on Saturday night and had a 10:00 AM Sunday Mass in a basement next to a laundry room. I had about 25-40 people for most Masses. I got to know about three or four families very well. But then, they would move. Eventually, I was chaplain of the day on the base also, as time went by, especially when I was working on my thesis on Confirmation. They all knew what I was working on, since I called it my great work. One of the officer’s wives typed my thesis, that took longer than I expected. Thus, it was a nice little parish. Everybody knew who I was and why I was there. The most unusual case was a fourteen-year-old girl who was experiencing her second pregnancy, since she was raped the first time. This time, she wanted to kept her baby instead of giving it to her grandmother. Thus, every Saturday, I would prepare my sermon, and head out to the hill. I still remember my thirtieth birthday, since they give a little birthday party. I was mad at myself that I had not finished my thesis. I knew that the time was coming when I would have to say goodbye, like many of the original families that had already returned to the USA. It was a great pastoral experience of a small community. If I needed some help, I could call the Bitburg Catholic chaplains. I began to appreciate the importance of a good Catholic family life. Have you ever lived in a small community of less than 100 families?
The great work on Confirmation during the late 1960s
My new assignment was to study for a doctorate in Theology, so that I could teach at the new seminary that was opening at the University of Chicago in the next couple of years. They needed someone who knew something about the liturgy. There was a German Liturgical Institute in Trier, Germany, just starting up, led by Professor Balthasar Fischer, a priest from the University of Trier, who was working on instituting the new baptismal reforms for adults, since he was an expert on Baptism. I got a room at a Vincentian monastery there, since there were no other Servites in Trier, a beautiful old Roman-Germanic town on the Mosel River. All the classes were in German with no translators, but there were about 15 other American priests. I also knew some German. I said Mass in German and heard Confessions in German. After I had preached at one Mass, a nun came up to me, and said she was going to pray that I might learn German a little better. I spent a year at this German Liturgical Institute, where various liturgical scholars would come for a week or two. Then we would have a small test after each series of lectures. I remember the most prestigious one was Josef Jungmann from Innsbruck, Austria, who had written the definitive work on the history of the Mass over the centuries. My favorite course was on the travels of the fourth century Egeria, a continuing seminar with Balthasar Fischer, as this fourth century pilgrim explained what she saw in Jerusalem and compared it to what was going on in Rome. However, this weekly evening session had Mosel wine to sip on as we discussed her adventures. I decided to study about Confirmation, since not too much had been written about it. Professor Fischer was pleased. He wanted me to study Confirmation at the time of Charlemagne, during the Dark Ages, around the year 800. He wanted me to work on the relationship between Baptism and Confirmation. I was excited about this and I also wrote about it for my licentiate in theology the following year. The toughest test I ever took there was a class test for the STL that I had to translate from Hebrew into German, and give a German explanation of the first three chapters of Genesis. I did okay. After that, Professor Fischer said that he was too busy with leading the Commission on the new rites for the initiation of adults who wanted to join the Catholic Church, but if I found anything interesting about the relationship of Baptism to Confirmation to let him know. I decided to write on the origins of Confirmation in the Western Church Prior to the Thirteenth Century. He wanted me to work with the Dogmatic Professor, Wilhelm Bruening. However, in the middle of my work, Bruening moved to Bonn, so that I had to go to Bonn every couple of months. Professor Bruening was very helpful with the medieval stuff, while Fischer was good at the patristic sources. I also had to do the biblical indications of Confirmation, plus the material around Charlemagne that I had already done. Anyway, it took me longer than I expected, so that my short stay in Trier became a four-year span, before I finally got my STD in 1970. I became a world expert on the history of Confirmation up to the thirteenth century, something that not that many people cared about. However, Balthasar Fischer wanted me to speak to his commission setting up Adult Baptism. He wanted me to stress the close relationship and the order of the ancient practice of Confirmation after Baptism, but before the reception of the Eucharist. I did speak to this official group. To my surprise, years later, there it was in the new RCIA. Confirmation was given to new Catholics, right after their Baptism at the Easter Vigil, but before they received Communion. Thus, I had an impact on over a billion Catholics, my little contribution to the universal Roman Catholic Church at the annual Easter Vigil. Have you done anything that effected over a billion people?
Gene Finnegan Remembers Living Eighty Wonderful Years 