Born:  March 1, 1918
Ordained:  June 3, 1944
Entered Into Eternal Rest:   September 26, 2009

 

Father Eugene was appointed Assistant Pastor at St. Patrick's Church on the West Side of Binghamton from 1951 - 1963  when Monsignor D. Francis Curtin was Pastor. 

 

Among his many priestly duties he taught "religious instructions" on Thursdays to the grammar school students at Saint Patrick's Academy. It was there that he always captured the attention of his students with his great wit, humor and an occasional "pop quiz" for which he passed out Hershey Bars to the lucky student who got the right answer.  It was always a welcomed break from the nuns mundane rhetoric to have Father Giblin just stop by class without being announced and take over, as only he could, to tell a few jokes and remind everyone to attend Friday nights basketball game against rival Saint Paul's.

 

In 1963 Father Giblin was named the First Principal of the "New Catholic Central High School"  by Walter A. Forey,  Bishop of the Syracuse Diocese.  Father Giblin served  with distinction as Principal from 1963 - 1965  and brought the enrollment up to the highest level of any Catholic School in the Syracuse Diocese during his tenure.   He not only raised the bar for academic standards,  but with a little help from his friends and a past high school classmate or two, conceived the "50-50 Club" to raise untold sums of money for the Athletic Program at Catholic Central High School.   

 

In 1965 his tenure as principal was drawing to a close  because of his agreement with the Bishop to give him his own parish once the new high school was on terra-firma.  Father Giblin got his desired and well deserved appointment  but with a shocking caveat to create and build a yet unnamed new parish on the city's south side near the Town of Vestal border, which is now Saint Vincent De Paul's Church. 

 

In 1973 Father Giblin was named Monsignor as a reward for all of his hard work and dedication in serving the Catholic Community.  First as Founding Principal of Catholic Central High School and then Founding Pastor of Saint Vincent DePaul's Church.

 

The responsibilities Father Giblin undertook in the creation of a new parish from scratch  was not an "easy row to hoe".   He had no money to speak of by today's standards but just a small pittance of seed money from the Bishop.  He was told without question that he must raise the rest....he was on his own.  With the guidance of the late Monsignor Robert Driscoll, he put his nose to the grind stone and started to contact friends and business acquaintances to raise the necessary funds, get advice and input but most importantly procure the land on which the church was to be built.

 

One such individual that Father Giblin enlisted was a former high school classmate of his and local roofing contractor, whom he took to lunch and who Father unceremoniously appointed "his official advisor,  point man, and the unofficial director of  acquisitions for the project".  His former high school classmate and basketball teammate at Saint Patrick's Academy started making phone calls. 

 

Father Giblin was in a quandary because he had to establish his base with prospective parishioners.  Simply put he had no place to conduct Sunday Masses.  He desperately needed a temporary location for Sunday services,  which would need to be to be located in close proximity of several possible building sites,  where it was hoped the new parish could be developed and  they needed it fast so as to establish his parish base of operations.  His friend found that ideal but somewhat bare bones accommodations....a vacant store front at the Vestal Plaza.  Father Giblin's first question was...can we afford it..."I don't have any money yet". The response was a resounding ..yes...the rent was "Free". 

 

Moving on to acquire the land on which the Church was to be built presented yet a more perplexing problem for Father Giblin.  The ideal location was determined but the property was definitely "not for sale".  The Home Builder / Developer who owned the site and resided in the house,  which is currently the Rectory had promised right of first refusal to the Synagogue up the road,  if in fact he ever decide to sell.  

 

Several informal meetings were held by Father Giblin's  "point man" with the land owner,  who was finally persuaded  to sell his land to the Catholic Church as the Christian thing to do rather than subdivide the acreage for custom built homes.   The Home Builder / Developer's initial response to Father Giblin's "advisor" was that it was all well and good but that he and his wife were not Catholics.  Being informed of these discussions,  Father Giblin's  response after hearing this from his "advisor" was...go back and please tell him " that not being a Catholic should not make a difference...tell him I will still pray for both he and his wife".   Additionally, part of the persuasive argument to sell to the Church was that the owner could show the difference in the actual sale price and his inflated asking price as a donation to the Catholic Diocese.   

 

As it turned out the promise to sell the property to the Synagogue was only a verbal commitment and no dollar amount was ever discussed....therefore this became a moot issue and a contract for sale was executed.

 

Father Giblin now faced his second quandary of where would he set up housekeeping  ...a rectory was need ...so back to the drawing boards and another luncheon with his "advisor" and Monsignor Driscoll in tow.  Father Giblin and Monsignor Driscoll both concurred that the "stately house" on the corner of Clifton Blvd. and Country Club Road would be ideal...and yes within walking distance of the new proposed church. 

 

The house in question, unbeknownst to either Father Giblin or Monsignor Driscoll,  was the actual home of  the Home Builder / Developer that just sold the Diocese his undeveloped acreage for the new church.  With a dead-pan stare...Father Giblin said to his friend and advisor..."if you can pull this off my friend it would truly be a miracle and a Godsend ...if and when it needs a new roof I'll have you do it".

 

The deal to purchase the home on Clifton Blvd. and Country Club Road was finalized in principle one Sunday morning when Father Giblin's "point man and / or advisor" and  Father Giblin in knocked on the home owners kitchen door with a box of freshly made bake goods in hand from DiLascia's Bakery.  They were greeted by the homeowner,  who was not in a very pleasant mood and in essence asked "what do you want now "?  It seems that some neighbors who were members of the local Synagogue now refuse to speak to him anymore and that he had a number of contracts to build new homes in the area cancelled by disgruntled members of the Synagogue.  The "advisor" and Father Giblin thought quickly before being rebuffed for the last time and stated..."that can be a blessing in disguise...the Dioceses now wants to make you an offer on your beautiful home for the parish rectory and you won't have to deal with unkind neighbors anymore".  The deal was made and the rest is almost history. 

 

These series of events was something Monsignor Giblin often mentioned to me and repeated to me once again for the last time when he came to our house on a Sunday afternoon to have dinner with my wife and I three years ago.  However,  I will always vividly remember these events first hand because you see I am the son of that roofing contractor / "point man & advisor" who  was honored to sit in on so many of the planning sessions that took place with my late Dad, Monsignor Giblin and Monsignor Driscoll. 

 

I will always remember with great fondness, Monsignor Giblin's smile that could light  up a room,  his contagious laughter and his sense of humor that would put a smile on the face of the most stoic parishioner.

 

Monsignor Giblin always made the best of the worst situations with his total and unbreakable faith in the will of God.

 

His loyalty to friends, especially former classmates was an unbreakable bond beyond boundaries.  In the last two years of my Dad's life, Monsignor would make weekly visits to his home and would tell him that he just happened to be driving by the neighborhood and "just wanted to see how my dear old friend was doing" and also ....by chance brought him communion.  When my Dad's  health was failing fast in his last year and there were more frequent hospital says,  Monsignor was at his bedside on a daily basis.  

 

Monsignor always referred to my Dad with great fondness whenever we met and would always mention that my Dad was his "oldest and dearest friend".  In reality my Dad really was his oldest friend because Monsignor and my Dad were just about the last remaining members of their high school graduating class.

 

Many of Monsignor's overwhelming Charitable Deeds shall forever go unmentioned and without recognition to those many friends and parishioners who had known him throughout his life... because he wanted it that way....forever the humble clergyman.  But I can tell you from a first hand source that he would have given his last dollar to a family in need and there were hundreds that he had assisted in his lifetime.

 

It is without any hesitation or reservation that I personally feel,  as I know many other AOH Members do, that the late Monsignor Lawrence E. Giblin overwhelmingly deserves to have the Local Chapter of The AOH

renamed in his Honor.

 

Hugh, thank you for the opportunity and privilege of sharing some very fond memories and background history of such a great and outstanding clergyman.  I had hoped that this would have been a little shorter text for you but putting things to paper brought back some very great recollections of the past for me.