Msgr. Frank J. Hendrick, who celebrated 70 years as a priest in May, died Aug. 23 in Pinehurst, N.C., at age 97.
Frank Hendrick was born Nov. 2, 1926, in Richmond. He attended Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., and was ordained a priest by Richmond Bishop Peter L. Ireton May 8, 1954. He served in the dioceses of Richmond, Arlington and as chaplain to the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services.
Msgr. Hendrick came to Northern Virginia after his chaplaincy, serving as pastor of St. Ann Church in Arlington in 1972 and was director of Catholic Charities of Arlington 1974-81.
In 1976, he became pastor of St. Agnes Church in Arlington where he served for five years before becoming pastor of St. Mary Church in Alexandria. Msgr. Hendrick retired from Holy Spirit Church in Annandale in 1995.
Prior to the priesthood, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After retiring to North Carolina, he served in the parishes of Sacred Heart in Pinehurst and St. Anthony of Padua in Southern Pines, staying in active ministry until he was no longer able to stand for Mass.
“I was privileged to first meet Msgr. Hendrick during my time as Bishop of Raleigh, where monsignor retired,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. “I immediately recognized him as a holy, faithful, humble and kind priest. He would often tell me wonderful stories about his time of service in the Diocese of Arlington. Little did I know that I would one day be his bishop. He had great affection for the Diocese of Arlington and was a great blessing to this diocese and all those he served. May we pray for the grace to imitate his love for the Lord and his Church.”
Father Patrick L. Posey, rector of the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, credits Msgr. Hendrick for bringing his father back into full communion with the church in 1976. “It is difficult to encapsulate almost a century of a life well-lived in just a few sentences. Msgr. Hendrick was a soldier, horseman, educator and most importantly, a priest,” said Father Posey. “Seventy of his 97 years were spent in the service of Our Lord and his people. From his days as a corpsman in WWII, to his chaplaincy during Vietnam, and in every classroom and from every pulpit, Msgr. Hendrick was the epitome of a southern gentleman whose first thoughts were of others.”
“Msgr. Hendrick was one of the founding fathers of our diocese, and a great help to Bishop Thomas Welsh,” said Father William P. Saunders, pastor of St. Agnes Church in Arlington. “After ordination, I was blessed to have him as my first pastor at St. Mary’s. He was truly a southern gentleman, but most importantly a faithful steward. He cared about St. Mary’s, and worked hard to build up the parish community.”
In a May 20 Catholic Herald article honoring Msgr. Hendrick on his 70th anniversary, Barbara Lamblin, a former parishioner of Holy Spirit Church, who now lives in Pinehurst, N.C., wrote that he would “stop whatever he’s doing to hear a confession or to share a story from long ago.”
Msgr. Hendrick told Lamblin, “I have had a blessed life. I really want to go to heaven. I tell the Blessed Mother, ‘Yes, I call you blessed every day, and every day I have breath, I ask your divine son to forgive my sins, so I can go to heaven and see your face.’ ”
A vigil will be held Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Southern Pines, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 2 p.m. Online condolences may be offered on the Boles Funeral Home website.
