Francis
K O達rien was born July 11, 1913, to the late Anita Kennedy and L. Frank
O達rien in the city of Baltimore, Maryland.
He attended elementary school at Blessed Sacrament in Baltimore.
High school studies were pursued in New York City at both Xavier and
Cathedral high schools. He received
his baccalaureate and seminary training at Mount St. Mary痴 University and
Seminary, Baltimore, Maryland.
The late Archbishop Michael J. Curley, D.D., ordained Monsignor O達rien to the Priesthood on June 13, 1941, in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, Maryland. His first assignment following ordination was as assistant pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish in West Asheville, NC, effective on July 11, 1941. In May of 1945, Monsignor O達rien was assigned as assistant pastor to the Catholic Parish in Chapel Hill, NC, and as student Chaplain at the University of North Carolina.
In October 1951, His Holiness, Pope Pius XII, at the request of Bishop Waters, honored Monsignor O達rien and he was named a Domestic Prelate with the title of Right Reverend Monsignor.
In June of 1959, Monsignor O達rien was assigned as Pastor of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Burlington, NC. During his assignment there, Monsignor O達rien built the present church and rectory. During his time in Burlington, Bishop Waters first appointed Monsignor O達rien as a Consultor of the Diocese. In September 1972, he was privileged to attend the Institute of Continuing Theologizing at the North American College in Rome and the following year he was transferred to the Pastorate of the Infant of Prague Church in Jacksonville, NC.
On July 1, 1982, Monsignor O達rien retired from
active work in the priesthood at the direction of his doctors and took up
residence in Jacksonville, NC. Upon
his retirement, Monsignor O達rien was
named Pastor Emeritus of Infant of
Prague Parish.
Mass of Christian burial was celebrated at the Shrine of the Infant of Prague on September 14, 1988, with burial in New York.
