Testimonial Submissions
Submit Your Father Glenn Testimonial
Fr. Glenn touched so many people in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the world. We are gathering stories and testimonials about Fr. Glenn from the thousands of people that he touched over the years. Please tell us your story and provide us your contact information. Further below are examples of testimonials that we have received.
I met Fr. Glenn in 1978/79 when I was the Liturgical Music Minister for St. Barnabas School in Indianapolis, and he was assigned to that parish just prior to his ordination. I don't recall ever seeing a person that could move so fast! One day he was hurrying down a hallway in the school carrying an old-fashioned black phone with the cord dangling behind. I said, "Glenn, where are you going in such a hurry with that phone?" Without slowing down he replied, "Don't stop me now. This is my hot line to God!" I think that proved to be his mantra for life.
In August of 1987, one of our sons was arrested on a federal drug charge and for some reason, I dialed "O" for O'Connor. That was the beginning of a close friendship and his lifelong function as our family priest. Shortly after, I received a phone call from him saying his Music Minister at St. Philip Neri had left and asking if I could "Help him out for a while." I went and stayed at St. Philip's for seven years! It was quite a change for a country girl who lived on 10 acres between Avon and Danville and never locked her house or car, to begin ministering in a near east side inner city parish which Fr. Glenn operated like a Wheeler Mission. The rectory had at least 5 bedrooms and rarely was one empty. Anyone who knocked on the door was given what they needed. After midnight mass, the rectory kitchen was open for breakfast and fellowship and Fr. 'Glenn was the main cook. His door was always open, but I learned to lock my car!
Our youngest daughter, Sarah, was an altar server before girls were allowed to function in that capacity. He cautioned her to wear her long hair in a single braid if the archbishop was coming. Our daughter Melanie cantered for me a lot and for some reason he started calling her Gertrude which was always a source of laughter. The influence he had on these two daughters was profound. Sarah said that she credited serving Mass as one of the reasons she is a strong Catholic. She literally grew up on the altar, thanks to Fr. Glenn. Melanie has now been married almost 25 years and teaches Middle School Language Arts at Lourdes Academy {Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Daytona Beach, Florida). Her pastor, Fr. Phil, is very much like Fr. Glenn. Other St. Philip's special memories I have of Fr. Glenn include sitting in his office amidst stacks of papers on his desk and on the floor and him telling me that he didn't want anyone cleaning things up because he knew what each stack contained. I believe he did. He was the most disorganized, organized person I ever met. Clutter in his life was just a symbol of his life. It included everyone and everything. He took a young black teenager under his wing and paid for his education. When the boy's mother died and was scheduled to have a pauper's burial, I sat in his office with him all morning while he called in favors to "give her a proper funeral". She wasn't Catholic but that didn't matter to Fr. Glenn. He called a flutist from a black Catholic parish on the West side of Indy and the mother's minister, and we had quite a funeral. On the way over to church, he said, "I have no idea what we going to do but we'll just go with the flow". It was a joyous service and I've never enjoyed playing "Amazing Grace" as much as I did that day. That was the way Fr. Glenn approached everything in life.
Another memorable funeral that I did with Fr. Glenn at St. Philip's was that of Race Driver Jim Hurtabise. Paul Murray sang "I Did It My Way". It seemed appropriate for both he and Fr. Glenn. One of the most meaningful Christmas presents I ever received was from Fr. Glenn. It was an inked picture of a mother and baby which was mounted on a marble frame Under the picture is a plaque which reads, "Jean - Christmas 1989". It hangs in our master bathroom and the thought and planning that went into that gift brings tears to my eyes. Fr. Glenn had the uncanny ability to be "best friends" with a multitude of people.
When St. Philip Neri was deep in debt and was threatened with closure, he managed to raise over $200,000 in less than a month by calling in favors from everyone he. knew, including 500 Mile Race drivers. We had Walk-a-thons, Pray-a-thons, (for those who couldn't walk) raffles and outright donations, The other part of his bargain with the Chancery was to leave St. Philips and go to St. Joseph's on the West Side. As a result, St. Philip Neri is open and flourishing to this day and by going to St. Joseph's, so is "Seeds of Hope". Fr; Glenn planted seeds everywhere!
In the summer of 1993, Fr. Glenn paid St. Philip's a visit (Yes, I was still there!) and asked how I was doing. At the time, we were in the process of moving to Florida. My husband had already gone but I was balking about leaving my 10 acres in rural Avon. I don't remember what my response to Fr. Glenn's question was, but I remember him saying, "Girl; we need to talk because if looks could kill, I'd be dead!" Fr. Glenn always had time to talk.
In November 1999, my mother had a stroke and died while my husband and I were visiting Melanie and her family in Okinawa, Japan. Our daughter, Lynda, picked up the phone and dialed "O" for O'Connor. Fr. Glenn called me in Okinawa to see what he could do to help. When we took my mother's ashes to Indy for burial, he said a funeral mass for her at St. Joseph's and the ladies of the parish hosted a funeral meal for the family. They didn't even know us, but Fr. Glenn did and that was enough.
Fr. Glenn baptized several of our grandchildren. Our grandson, Kyle, was also in his confirmation class.
For the past 26 years we have made an annual autumn visit to Indy to see family and friends. Each year, I dialed "O" for O'Connor, and we arranged a meeting. Sometimes it was at 10pm in his rectory office where he would often hear my confession at the end of the visit. Other times, it was sitting around his kitchen table for coffee (tea for me) between his morning mass and his busy day. Once he told us that he was in a hurry because he had a wedding and needed to pick up his tux. Thinking he was going to officiate at the ceremony, I questioned the reason for the tux. He said it was because he was walking the bride down the aisle! Another time he shared a story about an elderly couple who wanted to marry but couldn't afford to give up their SSL He took them over to church, stood them in front of the tabernacle and asked them to repeat their vows. He then told them that in the eyes of God they were married. On several occasions he told me that it was his job to bring people to God, not send them away.
The past few years we have been sharing breakfast and catching up on the news at Flap Jacks in Plainfield, IN. We last shared a meal with Fr. Glenn last October and he never mentioned being sick. When breakfast was finished, he just paid the tab, smiled, gave me a hug and said goodbye. Guess we were graced with an "Irish Goodbye".
According to my cell phone records, I last dialed "O" for O'Connor on 3/7/19 but there was no cherry, "What's up?" return call. Guess I'll keep dialing "O" but just use another prefix. I feel confident Fr. Glenn will answer.
I met Fr. Glenn in 1977 when I married Dr. Mark Doyle. The Doyles and the O’Connors were friends, and Mark’s sister was married to Fr. Glenn’s brother. Fr. Glenn went above and beyond for our family. In 1986 our infant son, James, was born prematurely at 23 weeks, and was in Riley Children’s Hospital for nine months before coming home. Fr. Glenn made frequent visits to the hospital that entire time to pray for him. Many times when I entered the NICU, I would see Fr. Glenn already there, standing by James’s incubator, arms extended over the baby, praying for him. James grew in health and strength and all through his childhood he and Fr. Glenn shared a special bond. When James died at age 18, Fr. Glenn celebrated the funeral, giving a beautiful homily about our son. We considered it a gift from God to have this holy priest conducting the funeral and it was a great comfort to us.
In 2015 our family suffered another loss. Our 32-year-old daughter, Kimberly, became ill and was put on life support. When Fr. Glenn learned of this, he went in haste to the hospital. When he asked for her room number, he was told that she wasn’t a patient there, as there had been a mix-up with the name she was admitted under. Not taking no for an answer, he went upstairs, determined to find her so that he could give her the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. He spent many hours over the next week with our family in her hospital room as we made the decision to remove her from life support. He prayed the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy with us at her bedside. At her funeral, Fr. Glenn gave an uplifting homily. We felt the comfort of God’s presence amidst our grief. Fr. Glenn had a way of making us feel that, ultimately, everything was going to be all right.
Fr. Glenn was joyful. He had a ready smile for everyone and a fun sense of humor. It seemed as though everyone’s mood lifted when he walked into a room.
Fr. Glenn O’Connor was an extraordinary priest. He was always there for us when we needed him. He loved God and he loved others. He was as Christ to them. Our family was privileged and blessed to have known him.
Fr Glenn O'Connor and myself met for the first time at the Airport International Conference in Munich in Germany around 1997, and ever since then we have ever been the best of friends and our yearly international conference conferences made it possible to meet yearly and apart from this I always spent, my long holidays with Glenn, especially when I was studying in Rome and the shocking news that got to me only few weeks after I got back to Lagos from my departure from Indianapolis the last time of our meeting. We had fun at the Lake for the last time. He totally hid his sickness from me, and I never had any clue or suspected we would never meet in this world again. At the Airport he gave his usual last words to me, the Angel Gabriel you are welcome to my house at any time. I couldn't come back for his funeral; I could only follow the online Internet funeral. Glenn was more than a friend, he was a brother, he always introduced me as his brother from Lagos even at St Patrick Parade Ground and people would always laugh aloud at this. Glenn O'Connor was Colorblind. Glenn has influenced me so much that I put my NGO. The Centre for Counseling of Deportees and Refugees under the patronage of The Seeds of Hope. I lived with him when he was the pastor St Joseph and St Ann and covered the Nursing Home, why he still covered the Male Prison and sometimes celebrated mass with him on St Patrick Parade Ground before driving in convoy for the day Parade as an adopted, Nigerian Irish brother of his. It is my aim and joy to give thanks and give back to my best friend, and that is why I dedicated Lullaby to Glenn, a book that brought some of his activities into our memory. Glenn was a great consolation for anyone who had any kind of problems, he couldn't say no to anyone who needed any help from him, be it strangers, stranded person or runaways or anyone just released from prison. He never gave up on anyone even if he was disappointed many times by that person many times, he would continue to give chances and opportunities for improvement and chances for a change, I have some examples that people have attested to because he trusted anyone even if he was disappointed many times by that person as said. I think he based his trust on divine providence from his faith and his own life history as once a distracted boy, strong and daring and stubborn from the stories. I heard from him and those around him and how God diverted all those boundless of nerves and energy into holy and positive uses like St Paul's for God's glory and salvation of all. Glenn was a joyful person with Irish sense of humor and funny jokes. One could not be with Glenn O'Connor and be sad no matter what conditions you brought to brother Glenn, my Crazy Glenn as I funnily called him, and he would respond, "you got it, you got it." I cannot talk enough about my brother Glenn and that was what I tried to capture and show and express in the book Lullaby to Glenn, a book dedicated to his memory in collaboration with Glenn's brother, Sean O'Connor and the family. Glenn my lifetime friend and brother still lives on and in me and with me thanking God for making our past to cross with each other and with others of goodwill. Rest in peace O Glenn O'Connor.
I had the pleasure of serving the residents of Seeds of Hope. Father Glenn was extremely respected by everyone associated with the ministry. I always looked forward to running into him. His attitude and demeanor was inspirational. He was the type of guy that only comes around once in a while. He was a devout priest, an effective leader, and a friend to all. When I think of how we are supposed to be Christlike in our daily lives, I think of Father Glen. He truly walked the walk.
Fr. Glenn, where to begin... What do you do when your 14 year old son takes his older sister's car for a drive, call Fr Glenn. He arranged for someone to play the ND alma mater at my father-in-laws funeral. He concelebrated all four children's weddings. One of which was during a home ND football game, he started the sermon with an updated ND score. I could go on for hours...
In 1985-1986 I was the new kid at St. Philip Neri on Indy's near east side. It just so happened that Fr. Glenn was the new kid too. I remember Mr. (Now, FR.) Clegg intruding Fr. Glenn as "much like St. Peter". Unpredictable and full of energy. Was he ever right! Fr. Glenn could often be found playing "slaps" with the kids. Our hands would be so red & stingy, but each kiddo would continue trying to "beat" Fr. At this game but fail miserably. especially the boys.
Our 8th grade play needed an artist to paint the sets. Fr. hired this young woman to paint it. She had short brown hair & looked to be of Puerta Rican descent. To me she looked down on her luck & a bit rough, but she was talented. I'd heard a rumor that she was a drug addiction but never saw anything to prove the rumor true. She was quiet, meek & painted in the background while we practiced our lines. I'm sure i knew her name once but cannot recall. I never found out anything else about her. She was gone as quickly as she'd appeared & my young mind moved on to other teen age wondering but I never forgot her & his desire to give her dignity as a child of God. In this one act of love, Fr. Glenn showed me what being Christ to others really means. In my adult life, I've often wondered if this young woman was Fr. Glenn's inspiration for Seeds of Hope.
One day after Wed. Daily mass, Fr. Glenn asked me why I didn't receive communion. I explained that my mom was a single mom & hadn't had the money for a dress when I was in 2nd grade at Little Flower so I sat out. Then as the years progressed, I'd attended public school so it just never happened. Fr. Glenn's response was classic Fr. He asked if I wanted to receive holy communion. I did. He said, good! He quizzed me on the church teachings on the Eucharist &, satisfied with my answers, told me to come to mass at the next Sunday morning service & I'd receive Jesus for the first time. I, indeed, did, before all the Parish & with great joy.
Knowing the dangers that befall youth in the inner city, especially youngsters with only one hard working parent at home, Fr. Glenn often took groups of kids to his family cabin at Lake Wawasee. He taught us to water ski and reveled in "whipping " the tube in the water as we tried desperately to hang on. One such trip nearly cost me an arm. He'd always called me "Bertha" as in fat a** as a joke because I was maybe 95 lbs. soaking wet. Bertha became funny nickname &, dare I say, a term of affection. One lake trip, while preparing to ski, & positioned for "take-off", the rope was floating in the water, roundabout my body. Attempting to move the rope & position it between my skis, I'd grabbed it and pulled it over my head. Dear Fr. Glenn mistook my arm movement as 'go' & gunned the motor. This whipped the rope round my left forearm & dragged me, helpless through the lake. Realizing I never made it up on my skis, he circled back around to pick me up, taunting me about not getting my fat a** out of the water. Very quickly, however, he realized I was hurt. His cadence immediately changed to complete concern & horror. He felt SO bad! I was fine. Nothing broken, just a bruised. He kept apologizing to my mom when he dropped me off. Lol. I think his heart was more bruised than my little arm.
Fr. Glenn was a way maker.
The summer before HS I'd informed him, I wanted to move in with my dad. My mom couldn't afford Scecina which placed me at Tech. I DID NOT want to attend Tech. Fr. Glenn asked if I'd go to Scecina if he could make it happen. Well... sure, I replied, not really knowing, or understanding HOW he could "just make" such a thing happen. Within days he had me enrolled as a Freshman at Scecina, on a work scholarship to reduce e my tuition AND hired me to be his housekeeper for $80/week to earn the remainder of my tuition which was a few thousand dollars. For two years I cleaned the rectory after school, did his laundry, prepped the church for mass &, when the cook couldn't do it, prepared dinner. Fr. Glenn stepped in as a true dad for me when I needed him as my own dad wasn't much involved in my life. Much to Fr. Glenn's dismay, I finally did move out of my mom's home to live with my dad in Greenwood but Fr. Glenn remained ever close to my heart.
Eventually I met my husband & Fr. Glenn made a special trip to St. Agnes in Nashville to officiate my wedding. As he blessed us during the ceremony, he asked God to send us several children "like 15 or so" he mumbled so that only Tim & I could hear. Lol In the years to follow, he baptized both of my boys, again, making a special trip to Greenwood this time, to do so.
Shortly before his diagnosis, my husband surprised me with a trip to St. Susanna's to see Fr. Glenn for mass. When I saw him in the northwest prior to mass he looked at me with surprise and, true to character, exclaimed, "Well, Kim Morey (my maiden name)!! How the hell are ya?! Come see me after mass!" I caught up to him in the hall & patiently watched as he talked with his flock, gave blessings & played slaps with a new generation of 7th & 8th grade boys eager to beat him at a game he perfected YEARS ago. Finally, the crowd disbursed & he looked at me & hugged me. He asked about life, Tim, our boys & my folks all the while fast walking to the rectory, me following like a baby duck following her daddy. He stopped in the kitchen to make a quick cup of pour over coffee before he had to get to his Parish meeting. I swear this was the only moment he'd stood still that morning. His back against the Formica countertop, he inquired the whereabouts of my husband, Tim. I explained that Tim had to go to the car to wait for me as his hip was bad & the pews had aggravated it. I explained Tim was scheduled for surgery later in a few months. Without missing a beat, Fr. Glenn asked if Tim had received an anointing of the sick yet. I told him he had not to which Fr. Immediately went to the other room, grabbed his anointing kit & his coffee & said, "let's go! We're going to take care of that!" As we walked out to the parking lot, him in that energizer bunny mode & me trying to keep up, I asked about his meeting. His reply, "ah, those bas***ds can wait. I couldn't help but chuckle. Much to Tim's surprise Fr. appeared at his window and explained he was going g to anoint him right there as he knew getting out of the car would cause pain. As straggling parishioners left, he yelled above the car, "drive by anointing! Today only!" And laughed at his own witty, joyful humor. We laughed right along.
Before heading home, Tim took a picture of Fr. Glenn & me. Fr. told me he was proud of me & that he didn't understand how I stayed young & he'd grown old. We hugged goodbye. I think I even told him to get back to his meetings & to not make the council wait any longer. He made me promise not to be a stranger. I promised. That was the last time I saw him alive. I cherish the friendship of Fr. Glenn & the void he filled in my life.
I've lost a lot of family & a few friends but I can say with pure confidence, the loss of Fr. Glenn was the hardest loss I've experienced. I was inconsolable when I'd found out. I ask his intercession often, keeping my promise not to be a stranger.
When I was going through a very tough time in my life in 2000 I met a friend of Father Glenn at St Michael's adoration chapel who handed me his card which he wrote "a great priest". At the top of the card it read "Working to beat Hell" . There was no doubt in my mind this was the priest I should call. He was everything this card said he was. He had never met me, I wasn't a parishioner but I called him and he said to meet me at his office at St Joe's parish.
You could tell by his office he was swamped with work but he put it all down to help me. He called my boss, he came to my house, he supported my kids, he visited me in the hospital, he made sure I had communion everyday, he called me from Florida to check on me. He had my back in every way. I never met anyone like Father Glenn and his mission to beat hell was an inspiration to everyone he met. His determination and quick wit made him a joy to be around and though he was probably the busiest man in Indianapolis, he somehow made time for big service and small. His leadership in Cursillo was such a gift to that community that so many of us love.
I'll never forget how while on the way to the funeral(that was so packed many of us had to watch from the catholic center) there were so many police sounding their sirens and encircling the city on 465. I am not sure if it was officially done as a tribute to him because I never saw anything about it. But to me it was a powerful sign of how even from heaven he was working to beat hell.
We got to the Indy Motor Speedway early in the day for Time Trials in 1971 or 72. Glenn and Joe, (his best buddy, future brother-in-law , and our dear friend ) were had saved good seats for the whole gang. While we shared laughs and jokes, waiting for the action to begin on the track, Glenn, sitting behind us, tapped me on the shoulder and said, "You know, I think I am going to become a priest." We turned around in surprise to see his expression, and this ornery friend was very serious. That was the beginning of what turned out to be a blessing for so many people as Glenn became Fr. Glenn. At his ordination, we heard "On Eagles Wings" for the first time, and we do think His angels lifted Glenn up throughout his ordained life and into eternity.
Fr.Glenn bought us so much laughter, and made us feel so good no matter what the circumstances! There are so many memories we could share, like the time he drove a friend to our house in Milwaukee on a Sunday morning, managed to rush to catch the last Mass, and was in such a hurry he went into church in stocking feet. Or the time he appeared in the courtroom by surprise to help our family member face a misdemeanor charge .He drove hours to share in the celebrations of our kids' weddings. Laughter, unending faith in God, lasting friendship are all ways that Fr. Glenn touched our lives and our families. Seeds of Hope is a tremendous legacy he has left behind. I know he is smiling down on us and probably saying, "Tom Anthony, come on down!"
In February of 2000, our son Alan was dying of cancer. Alan had been a student at Purdue, studying mechanical engineering, hoping to be involved in automotive and race car design. He had fought his cancer for over two years but was now in hospice care at our home. Father Glenn heard about Alan through St. Vincent's Hospital and came to our home with race driver Poncho Carter. They sat with Alan and told many stories about their experiences at the track, and stories about other drivers like A. J. Foyt (Alan's favorite). They had a great discussion about the track itself, and how Alan had worked at the go-cart track when it was there. Alan was also in the crew of a go-cart in the Purdue Grand Prix. Father Glenn's visit was a most perfect example of God's command to visit the sick, and it was a day of sunshine and happiness for our son Alan.
I grew up going to the lake with my family and when a friend of mine invited all of us to her moms lake house for the weekend we were so excited about going to Wawasee!! This was a lake that everyone loved and such a great place for all of us to get together! On Sunday morning we all were notified by the host, Katie that we were not missing the morning mass on Fr. Glenn's lawn!! We follow orders when spoken by Katie, so we all pile in the boat, pulled up walked onto Fr. Glenn’s lawn! What was amazing through this most spiritual moment was Fr. Glenn helped all different kinds of people, and they all attended this mass. By the look of the attendees, some lived on the lake and some never would own a house. As Fr. Glenn prayed with us, stating we pray for all souls regardless of where you came from that morning or where you will end up! He was so compassionate about including all of us. He made it known that judgment of others was not his spiritual direction! He was one of a kind, that I had not met someone with his kindness for everyone.
The first time I water skied was at Lake Wawasee with Tim & Dede. Glenn was there as the captain of the boat. He told me to hang on & not to let go; of course I listened to
Him!!! I skied under the water for what seemed like 5 minutes but it was only 50 seconds. When I came up to get my breath Glenn was laughing so hard & said, "Do it again you got this, life won’t wait!" I did this 3 times before I finally got up!! If it wasn’t for Glenn’s patience, encouragement & determination for me to get up on skis it never would have happened! Miss you Glenn - you were such a fun, shining light!
Fr. Glenn came to bless our 25 week 6 day premature son, 100 out of the 102 days that he was in Riley. Seeing Fr. Glenn's business card sitting on the bedside table outside of the isolette when I first walked into the very overwhelming NICU, was so comforting. Ryan's NICU stay was rocky, and we were told that Ryan would very likely have cerebral palsy and never walk or talk. We feel like Fr. Glenn's blessings and prayers helped with our little miracle. He is now a 24 year old, college graduate, fully functioning adult, who does not have cerebral palsy. 
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