You have to run to keep up with this retiree

He is: Father Bill Gubbins, pastor emeritus of St. John Berchmans Parish, and former pastor of Queen of Martyrs in Evergreen Park. He’s been a priest 55 years, and “retired” for 10. He describes his current residency at St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Orland Hills as “having my foot in parish work, but at my own pace.”

Growing up: He was the oldest of seven children. Dad was a lawyer for the Illinois Central Railroad; mom was busy at home. Their parish was St. Philip Neri in South Shore.

Trick question: “I was planning to go to Leo High School with a buddy. The night of grade school graduation, my uncle, Msgr. Gleeson, Father Gleeson in those days, was over. He said six words: ‘Did you ever think of Quigley?’ It made me suddenly think about priesthood.” Gubbins didn’t register at Leo. “No one in my family prodded me. I have to think it was the voice of God.”

A varied resume: During some of his active years he improved his Spanish to serve at St. Sylvester and Our Lady of Mercy, two Spanish-speaking parishes, and he served four years on the Priests Placement Board.

World traveler: “When the jet-age started, a benefactor gave me money to go to Europe. But my sisters in Hong Kong were asking me to come visit them. One of my brothers said, ‘Why not go around the world?’” With plenty of priests in the rectory, his pleasant pastor gave him time off to do it.

“I saw Japan, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Thailand, India, Israel, Greece, Rome, Switzerland and Paris.”

Years later his next trip to the Holy Land was a fivemonth sabbatical. “It was life-changing. My experience got me on the travel circuit for a New World newspaper tour of Israel. I’ve since led pilgrimages to the Holy Land, as well as to shrines in Italy, France and Ireland.”

Pure enjoyment: “Ever since I had my little heart attack in 2005 during a retreat in Israel, I exercise daily. I golf once or twice a week, walk two miles a day and there’s a Sportsplex in Orland for winter.

“I’m reading James Martin’s ‘The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything — a Spirituality for Real Life.’ It’s very readable for anyone. I just finished Barbara Brown Taylor’s ‘Leaving Church: a Memoir of Faith.’ She’s one of the best Episcopal preachers in the country.”

Transition into retirement: “You decide what you want to do. Are you going to live here or move out of state? Are you going to stay in your parish, another parish, with family or live in an apartment? I went to Old St. Pat’s for a couple years right after retirement. Then Father Bill O’Mara needed someone and there’s 5,000 families in St. Elizabeth Seton. I agreed to come for a year. I’ve stayed on as a resident.”

Connecting: “One of the lasting joys of my past seven years has been involvement with a group of faithful parishioners who attend a Scripture study at St. Elizabeth Seton.” They persuaded him to lead 40 of them to the Holy Land in 2009. His next adventure is taking a group of pilgrims to Oberammergau, then on to Prague and Krakow.