Newport’s Our Lady Queen of Angels prepares to say farewell to retiring pastor

Monsignor Kerry Beaulieu, the “Back Bay Priest” who has served Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and beyond, is retiring after 44 years in the Roman Catholic priesthood.

The past 14 years have been as pastor at Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach, which will see him off with a celebration Sunday after the noon Mass.

“It’s been the privilege and honor of my life to serve the people of Newport-Mesa and the parishes I’ve served,” said Beaulieu, who wears a boyish smile that belies his 69 years.

The native of San Fernando was ordained in 1974, when Orange County was still part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. His first assignment was at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa with the Rev. Anthony McGowan, who is now 103.

Beaulieu’s next assignment took him to St. Joachim Catholic Church, also in Costa Mesa. He also taught at his alma mater, St. John’s Seminary in Ventura County, served at St. Bonaventure Catholic Parish in Huntington Beach and was the vicar for priests for the Diocese of Orange before arriving at Our Lady Queen of Angels, a parish of about 4,000 households, in 2004.

As a young man, Beaulieu considered being a priest, a forest ranger or an architect. To the latter interest, he enjoyed the building of Our Lady Queen of Angels’ current church in 2012.

He will semi-retire to an apartment on the grounds of St. Justin Martyr church in Anaheim, where he can continue priestly duties but at a relaxed pace and without the heavy administrative lifting that comes with running a parish. He will continue to baptize, marry and perform other celebrations on request, including at Our Lady Queen of Angels.

Beaulieu said Newporters are creative, neighborly and eager to work hard.

“They love their faith, they love their God,” he said. “They try to care for each other.”

He said he’ll most miss greeting people after Mass in the serene plaza outside the sanctuary’s translucent marble-paned doors.

He doesn’t know how many baptisms, weddings and funerals he’s officiated over the years but knows he’s been with generations of the same families.

“I’m now doing baptisms for the grandchildren of couples whose marriages I’ve witnessed,” he said. “That’s wonderful.”

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