byFather Robert M. O'Grady Pilot Staff
Father Eugene K. Kirke Courtesy photo
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A native of Kilkerley, County Louth, Ireland, and the last surviving child of the late Hugh and Brigid (McKenna) Kirke, he was born on March 4, 1934, and raised in the town straddling the border of the Irish Republic and the territory of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
He initially sensed a vocation to monastic life and was a novice with the Cistercian at Mellifont Abbey, near his hometown. He sensed that another vocation would be better, and so, was accepted at the famous missionary seminary, All Hallows, in Dublin. Famous for forming Irish priests for service across the globe, in its existence (1842-2016), 5,000 were ordained for priestly ministry in Australia, various nations in Africa, English-speaking countries in Asia, and the USA.
Hearing about the newly formed Missionary Society of St. James the Apostle in Boston, Father Kirke was ordained for the archdiocese on June 17, 1962, in Ireland but for the Archdiocese of Boston. The bishop ordaining that class was the late Joseph B. Houlihan, a member of the St. Patrick Society, known as the Kiltegan priests. That society had produced hundreds of missionaries for Africa, and indeed, Bishop Houlihan was the bishop of Eldoret, Kenya. An added emphasis about the missionary lineage is that Bishop Houlihan had been ordained a bishop by the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen.
Father Kirke came to Boston and his first and brief assignment was as an assistant at St. Joseph, Belmont, followed by a yearlong assignment at Our Lady of Grace, Chelsea.
His missionary dreams were realized when, as a member of the St. James Society in 1963, he went to Peru and served for eight years. He came back to the archdiocese as an associate at St. Paul, Dorchester, for three years but had become so much in love with Peru that he returned there in 1974, and never left, save for occasional visits to Ireland or Boston.
His life was Peru, and more specifically, the areas encompassed by the borders of the Diocese of Abancay.
In addition to his sacramental ministry, he picked up trades, including carpentry, gardening, and construction. As with many missionaries, he knew the best way to be with the people was to be with them in every possible way.
He and his people built Villa El Salvador into a tightly-knit community. Together, they improved living conditions slowly and diligently. Even after he had retired from his ministry there, his people had such confidence in him that they asked him to run for mayor when the area became its own municipality.
An article in a Louth County newspaper in 2013 described the growth of Villa El Salvador from a shanty town of 10,000 to more than half a million on Lima's outskirts. There was much still to be done; even now, there remains the challenges educating the young and serving those hundreds of thousands in Villa El Salvador.
Father Kirke had heart problems and bypass surgery in the '90s. It sidelined him for a bit, but he was back in action quickly. In late years, he also suffered from cancer but endured the pain with fortitude.
Father Kirke died in Peru, a Peruvian citizen, on Dec. 17, 2024.
His funeral Mass was celebrated on Dec. 20, 2024, in Lima. The bishop of Lurin Peru, Carlos Garcia Camader, was the principal celebrant. Fellow St. James Society member Father Simon Cadwallader was the homilist. Father Kirke was buried in Lima, Peru.