Our Lady of Malibu Pastor Emeritus Monsignor John V. Sheridan died early Friday morning from heart failure. He was 94.
Sheridan had been in critical condition since Aug. 25, when he was involved in a car crash that killed Sister Mary Campbell and injured Pepperdine University law professor and U.S. Ambassador to Malta Douglas Kmiec.
“We all are very saddened,” OLM Parish Manager Peggy Thomas said.
A prayer service took place at OLM Friday night. The funeral will take place at OLM on Sept. 24 at 11 a.m.
Sheridan was one of the person’s profiled in a recent Times story by Melonie Magruder called “Past retirement, still kicking.” He talked about his active lifestyle and said he still has the same enthusiasm for life and church that he had always had. Below is the portion of the story regarding Sheridan.
Monsignor John Sheridan, 94 years, has been a priest for 67 of those years and continues to offer pastoral counseling at Our Lady of Malibu.
Sheridan’s large Catholic family is from the Irish midlands. A bout with tuberculosis when he was a teenager brought him to the warmer climes of Southern California, where he battled and overcame an addiction to morphine, and developed a deep love for the rural coast. In 1940, he asked the regional monsignor for a church assignment in Malibu.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Sheridan said. “My [hand] writing is an abomination now, but I can use the computer, so I still am able to attend to my ministry.”
Joking that he “looks like death half the time,” he said he has the same enthusiasm for life and the church he has enjoyed for more than half a century.
“Enthusiasm comes from the Greek for ‘Under God,” Sheridan said. “I have hope for us all. We’re capable of the best and the worst and, while I’m not surprised at the worst, I’m edified at the best. It’s my responsibility to give hope to all.”
-Jonathan Friedman