Father James Collins, SDB

by Richard Demeter

Fr. Jim Collins’ mother had always hoped that one of her two sons would be called to the priesthood. But, as Fr. Jim was fond of telling (usually with an ironic smile), everyone thought that it would be his brother, the "better behaved" of the two.

Such reminiscences were characteristic of Fr. Jim, whose death last March climaxed a priestly ministry of 59 years.

"I could pass my days and nights counting my blessings," the Salesian priest remarked in the last year of his life. "I don’t think there is anyone in the province who has as many reasons for thanking God as I do."

A native of Oakland, Calif., Jim Collins was attracted to the Salesians while he was an altar server at St. Joseph’s Church in that city. In 1926, at the age of 14, he traveled to New Rochelle, N.Y., to begin his high school career with the Salesians. Two years later he came home to Calif. to the newly-opened Salesian House of Studies in Richmond.

After completing his secondary education at St. Mary’s College High School in Berkeley, Calif., Jim returned to the East Coast for his novitiate year under Fr. Francis Binelli, SDB (Fr. Binelli had been appointed novicemaster 44 years earlier by John Bosco himself.) Jim took his vows as a Salesian in 1930.

When the Great Depression caused Jim to consider abandoning his dream of the priesthood, however, his widowed mother encouraged him to follow his call. Until the end of his days he regarded her as the greatest influence on his vocation.

In the mid 1930s Jim completed his studies in theology at the Gregorian Pontifical University in Rome. During that period he lived with the Salesian community at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, located in downtown Rome.

"This experience [in Rome] deepened his love for the Church and his vocation," commented Fr. Thomas Prendiville, SDB, who knew Jim Collins since the ninth grade. "Jim had a prodigious memory for dates and names and loved to recount events about the pioneer Salesians of the province. He often began a story with the phrase, ‘When I was in Rome....’"

During his lengthy priesthood, Fr. Jim served at the Salesian schools in Richmond, Watsonville, and Los Angeles, Calif. He also did parish work at Corpus Christi Church in San Francisco and Sacred Heart Church in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Soon after being diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1990, Fr. Jim took up residence at Mercy Care Center in Oakland. Although he was expected to live only six months, he enjoyed seven years there, filling much of his time with prayer and reflection.

"Jim was relatively free of pain, and he accepted his condition and offered his priestly ministry, day and night, to everyone at the Center," said Fr. Tom. "He loved the Sisters and staff members there and often engaged in endless conversations."