Oakland Priest Learns Boxing, Gets Large Donation For Church
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) – Father Aidan McAleenan is pastor of St. Columba's Catholic Church in Oakland. At Christmastime, he was contacted by a stranger who said he wanted to donate some money.
"And he took 40 bills, $100 bills, and spread them out on the table," McAleenan told KPIX 5. "And said the only the only way you can pick this money up is…"
Wait, we'll get back to that. But first you should know what Fr. Aidan is doing with the money. Because his parishioners are mostly black, he is creating what he calls an "afro-centric" Catholic church.
There are paintings and statues of a black Jesus and Martin Luther King is depicted with a saint's halo. Even statues of Mary and Joseph have been repainted to better reflect the congregation.
The money to help do this came with an odd catch. Fr. Aidan was required to complete a rigorous four-week boxing boot camp at a gym in San Francisco's gritty Tenderloin district.
"And I thought to myself, hmm, this is not in the job description of pastor or Catholic priest," McAleenan said.
But the 52-year old priest is gamely battling on, earning the money donated by Eduardo Roy. He is a trial lawyer who heard about a nun at St. Columba's who gives away a dollar a day to the needy, and he began thinking about the homeless he sees on the street every day.
"It just bothered me that I walked past a man and I could have given him much more than a dollar, but a dollar would have probably been what he needed," Roy told KPIX 5.
So these two men meet here each morning, far from their comfort zones: The priest with a mission, the lawyer with a conscience. One is feeling better, the other, better about himself. Both, just trying to do some good.
The priest's boot camp ends Friday, but he's been thinking about joining the next class. He just found out Thursday that Roy has already signed him up for it.