With sadness we announce the news of the death this morning, 6th July, of Fr Mark James Leenane. Fr Mark was at home, in the presbytery at Osterley, and was anointed by Fr Frans Azzopardi who was in the parish to celebrate the morning Mass. Despite the efforts of the ambulance crew Fr Mark was called to the Lord.
Fr Mark was born in Dublin on 10th January 1964 and ordained at All Hallows Seminary, Dublin in December 1998.
Condolences are extended to Fr Mark's family, friends, colleagues and parishioners of St Vincent de Paul, Osterley where he had been Parish Priest since 2004.
Fr Mark’s mortal remains will be received at St Vincent de Paul church, Osterley at 3pm on Monday 31st July. The church will remain open until 10pm. The Funeral Mass will be on Tuesday 1st August at 12noon. The Cardinal will preside and the homily will be given by Bishop John Sherrington.
Fr Mark’s mortal remains will be taken to Dublin for a Requiem Mass on Friday, 4th August at 11am in the Leenane family’s local church, Saint Jude the Apostle Church, Rossmore Road, Templeogue, Dublin 6W, County Dublin, followed by burial.
We pray for the repose of his soul, assisted by words from Journal of a Soul, the autobiography of Pope St John XXIII:
Death is the future for everyone.
It is the Last Post of this life and the Reveille of the next.
Death is the end of our present life, it is the parting from loved ones;
it is the setting out into the unknown…
Death, like birth, is only a transformation, another birth.
When we die we shall change our state, that is all.
And with faith in God,
it is a easy and natural as going to sleep here and waking up there.
Grant, we pray, O Lord,
that the soul of Fr Mark, your servant and priest,
whom you honoured with sacred office
may exult forever in the glorious home of heaven.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen
Obituary
Andrei Rublev’s icon depicting the Holy Trinity dates from the early fifteenth century and is familiar to many as one of the greatest examples of Russian art. It is also known as ‘The Hospitality of Abraham’, with the three angels who visited Abraham at the Oak of Mamre as described in the Book of Genesis, chapter 18. There seems to be a place for another person at the table, perhaps an invitation to share the hospitality and in the life of the Trinity?
On 12th July at Archbishop’s House, Westminster there was a spare place at the table when the Cardinal extended hospitality to priests celebrating their Jubilee of Ordination. Fr Mark Leenane had written to accept the invitation but he was absent having been called to share the hospitality of Heaven on 6th July in the twenty-fifth year of priesthood. He was missed at the Mass of Thanksgiving in the Private Chapel before the celebratory lunch and remembered in the prayers offered by the Cardinal.
Fr Mark’s sudden death, at home in the presbytery, came as a shock to his family, friends and parishioners of St Vincent de Paul parish, Osterley. A few days earlier he had been discharged from hospital having been treated for a heart attack and he was convalescing. It was thought he was recovering well. Family, friends and parishioners have been consoled in the knowledge that Fr Mark was a faithful and devoted priest: devoted to them and, above all, to the Lord.
Mark Leenane was born in Dublin on 10th January 1964 and baptised nine days later at Mary Help of Christians church on Navan Road, Dublin 7. At the age of twelve he was confirmed at the church of Pius X in Templeogue. He attended Templeogue College from 1976 to 1981, then Bolton Street College of Technology, Dublin 2.
He was particularly good at maths and physics and went on to study successfully for a diploma in construction economics and a BSc in surveying. He came to London for employment as a quantity surveyor in 1985 and by 1990 was a senior qs, before returning to Dublin to study for the priesthood at All Hallows, Dublin 9. While there he gained further academic qualifications.
His time in London prompted him to request to be accepted as a student for the Diocese of Westminster and this was granted in the autumn of 1991.
There were times when he questioned his vocation, whether it was to priesthood or to married life. He took time out for vocational discernment and returned to resume formation for priesthood.
From January to July 1996 he was placed at Our Lady Help of Christians, Kentish Town for pastoral experience. He then continued studies at All Hallows and returned to London for further pastoral experience in 1998, based at Ss Sebastian and Pancras parish, Kingsbury Green and was ordained as a deacon at St George’s Catholic Secondary School, Maida Vale where he had been doing pastoral work, in June 1998. On 5th December 1998 he was ordained to the priesthood in the chapel at All Hallows by Bishop James Moriarty.
Fr Mark’s first appointment was to St Gabriel’s, Archway where he served as Assistant Priest from 1998 to 2002. He then took up his appointment as Assistant Priest at The Most Precious Blood and St Edmund, Edmonton and part-time Chaplain at the North Middlesex Hospital where he remained until March 2004.
He was then appointed Parochial Administrator at St Vincent de Paul, Osterley and in November 2005 he was appointed Parish Priest. Fr Mark’s experience of building construction stood him in good stead in Osterley with its newly built church.
The foundation stone was laid on 9th May 2004 after Mass celebrated by Bishop Alan Hopes. Parishioners had been gathering for Mass in the parish hall, a temporary arrangement since 1937! Fr Mark commented that as the foundation stone was blessed ‘there was an impromptu drumroll from a child in the folk group. It lent a sense of drama to the occasion and brought a smile to people’s faces.’
The £900,000 building was designed with special sound insulation, the church being under the flight path to nearby Heathrow Airport. Fr Mark was able to oversee the completion of the church later that year.
During twenty-five years of priestly ministry Fr Mark was a hard-working and conscientious priest. He related well with parishioners of all ages and backgrounds. He included people in the life and work of the Church, trusting people with responsibilities whether paid or as volunteers. He ensured that the liturgy was well prepared and celebrated with reverence, including the use of the thurible at the three Sunday Masses.
He paid attention to the fabric of the parish property and was adept at carrying out maintenance and repairs. His background in surveying made him a natural choice for service as a member of the diocesan Art and Architecture Committee. He took people seriously, and expected to be taken seriously by others.
A kind man and priest, he reached out to the poor and vulnerable. He had, and could express, strong opinions. He often ‘thought out loud’ as he would consider decisions that needed to be taken. On the occasions that he said or did something he regretted he would always ponder and apologise when necessary.
He achieved a good work-life balance, taking time off to be with family and friends and for leisure pursuits including cycling, walking and holidays. His childhood passion for rugby continued into adulthood; he played for the Old Actonians, based in west London, and remained a loyal supporter. Fr Mark appreciated the arts, especially art, music, poetry and architecture. Visiting art galleries, museums and historic buildings in London, Paris and Madrid were activities he enjoyed, and he was a regularly in the audience at Wigmore Hall. Current affairs, especially politics, interested him, as did care for creation and the environment. He was committed to working, fundraising and praying for greater justice and peace locally and globally.
Fr Mark made time for people and enjoyed the company of others and is sorely missed by his parents, Michael and Eileen, his siblings and their families, and by friends and parishioners. He prayed with and for people, and now we pray in thanksgiving for Fr Mark’s life and ministry. May this faithful priest rest in peace and rise in glory.
