When Fr Brendan Lane retired in 2023, after more than five decades of priestly ministry, he stepped into a new rhythm of life—one that is quieter but still full of purpose. ‘I have a bit more time, you know, and the time to reflect, time to read, a bit of time to pray,’ he says. ‘Every day is different.
‘I like to get a structure into my day so that I do pray. But what I love doing [is] going around to different parishes, especially where the young priests are that I had in the seminary, and I can see what they’re doing, how they’re going, and encourage them.’
This is one of the joys of retirement for Fr Brendan: to watch the next generation of priests step into their own vocations, while offering the quiet wisdom of experience. ‘They’re all doing good things. There are some wonderful parishes around,’ he says. ‘It’s a great opportunity.’
A call he tried to resist
Fr Brendan describes himself as a ‘late vocation’. After studying science at the University of Melbourne, he embarked on a career as a science teacher in government schools. But something deeper stirred.
‘I realised that my vocation was to be the priesthood. It was the last thing I wanted to do. I was like Isaiah and Jeremiah, you know. But once I recognised that, I had a great freedom. I had a sense of call, a sense of vocation, and I was happy to follow that vocation.’
Telling his parents was an important moment. ‘I think my father was always hoping for that for me and praying for that, maybe. But they were very accepting,’ he recalls. ‘It was a religious home, and there was an acceptance … and support.’
He was ordained in 1973 at St Patrick’s Cathedral alongside three other men, with Cardinal James Knox presiding and a young Fr Denis Hart as Master of Ceremonies. ‘It was such a big step. I felt terrible, actually terrible, at the start, until I was lying on the floor for the Litany of the Saints. And then suddenly, I suppose it was grace or strength or something, and a joy about being ordained.’
Parish life and a missionary heart
Fr Brendan’s first parish appointment was in Fitzroy, among the poor and working-class families of inner Melbourne. And in the years that followed, he served in parishes across Melbourne, including Glen Huntly, Cheltenham and Sunshine, where he served for 12 years. He also spent a formative period as a missionary in Zambia, where he encountered a very different way of life.
‘I suppose what struck me most of all was the wealth of values. They didn’t have much materially, but they had this wealth of community values,’ he says. ‘They were community people.’
He vividly recalls trying to explain loneliness to one African. ‘He had no idea what loneliness was, because they live in a village, everyone knows everything, and they [are] connected together.’
These lessons stayed with him back in Melbourne: the sacredness of life, the gift of community and the need to be present in the lives of parishioners. ‘We are jars. We’re nothing without the power of God in us,’ he says.
‘Sometimes you can almost touch him. I remember one night … I got called to a hospital, and I anointed someone who was dying.’ He says that dramatic moments like that can prompt conversations. ‘We were talking about really profound things, and it was a grace moment to be there and not to rush away and get back to bed. There are opportunities all the time if you see what the Spirit’s doing.’
Reflecting on the things he loved most about parish ministry, he says, ‘Of course, I love the liturgy, and I’m getting better at giving a homily.’ Describing himself as a natural introvert, he says he found preaching difficult to begin with, but over the years, he’s grown in confidence. ‘I love to soak in the Word of God and then try and share that with people,’ he says. Celebrating the liturgy and the Eucharist has been another highlight. ‘I love the presence of God with us there.’
Since retiring, he also misses the sense of belonging and connection that comes with parish ministry. ‘Belonging to a community … you have that connection with people. You might be in there living in their pockets and all that, but you’re their priest,’ he says, describing the profound sense of connection to God and to each other that can be found in a close-knit parish community.
The gift of a true vocation
As Rector of Corpus Christi College from 2009 to 2016, Fr Brendan helped guide many young men discerning the call to priesthood. He remembers being struck by the calibre and diversity of seminarians.
‘I was amazed [by] the sorts of people, the quality of people coming. It was like God was intervening and calling these guys. Some of them were very successful in other careers and other lives,’ he recalls. ‘I was just amazed at that.’
He also witnessed the transformation of the Church in Australia into a truly global community. ‘I had to grieve for the death of the old Australian Church that I grew up in … And now we’ve got people from all around the world’, he says. ‘What you have in the pews, you have in the priesthood.’
His advice to those discerning their vocation is simple but profound: ‘Spend your time discerning’ he says, and notice if you feel a sense of freedom. ‘If that’s what you’re meant to be, it’s where you’re [freest] in your life.’
‘It’s a wonderful life to follow Christ in that way,’ he says, ‘but you’ve got to know that God is calling you to it.’
That confidence in your calling—and understanding that vocation is a gift—is particularly important, he says, when things don’t go well.
‘The crucial time, I think, for any priest, is when [you] fail, when you can’t do it any longer, and when you disappoint yourself—your own limitations, your own faults. These moments, he says, can become a kind of ‘second call’.
‘When we start off, we’ve got energy; we are doing it all ourselves. Then we realise it’s all a gift … from God. This whole ministry and life as a priest is a gift. I think that’s the crucial time. And then you try to work in tune with God—What’s God doing here? What’s happening?—because there’s no good doing things that God doesn’t want. You’re wasting your time.’
A time of gratitude and hope
Now in retirement, Fr Brendan is deeply conscious of the generosity of the Catholic community, which provides for priests in their later years.
‘Well, it’s wonderful to be retired and know that you’re looked after,’ he says. ‘Because of the support of people for priests over the years, we have confidence that [we] can be looked after as long as we need it in the way that we need. And now I’m very grateful for that.’
He has also learnt that God’s providence can be counted on. ‘If we’re doing what God wants, God provides.’
Looking back on 52 years of ministry, his hope for the future—for himself and for the Church—is anchored in the truth he has preached all his life:
‘The Good News is true, that’s the thing. I could be very close to going from this world, and I’m happy to go,’ he says, ‘because I believe it’s true what I’ve been saying: God’s love, God’s mercy … Despite the darkness of terrible things that we see day after day, the love of God [is] the most powerful force in the world.’
Banner image: Fr Brendan Lane.
All photos by Melbourne Catholic.
