Making all feel welcome: The Rev. John Fallon retires after 24 years at Prince of Peace
When the Rev. John Fallon was appointed pastor of Prince of Peace Catholic Church in 1998, some church members were determined they weren’t going to let him shake things up.
On his first Sunday after his appointment by the bishop of the Birmingham diocese, Fallon was walking by the church kitchen and heard some men talking about how they didn’t want the “new guy” to come in and change everything.
He knew he was the “new guy” they were discussing, but they didn’t really know him and didn’t realize that he would indeed become a change agent for the church.
Fallon, who retired in July after 24 years as Prince of Peace’s pastor, looks back at that moment now with a chuckle and said he’s thankful the men who were “holding court” in the kitchen had a change of heart.
At that time, Prince of Peace’s worship space could seat only about 400, and they had four classrooms, Fallon said. The church had been talking about building a new sanctuary for a long time, but it wasn’t happening, he said.
The church’s Finance Council was not in favor of borrowing money for the project, but Fallon said he finally gathered the group together and told them they either needed to “build it or forget about it.” One by one, they voted yes and later joked that he held them hostage until they did, he said.
The church borrowed $6 million and broke ground for a new 1,100-seat sanctuary, 13 classrooms and a 100-seat day chapel in the summer of 1999 and opened the new space in 2000.
Since then, the church has grown from about 840 families to about 4,000 families and each weekend draws 4,000 to 5,000 people to seven masses, Fallon said.
BUILDING A SCHOOL
The people who originally formed the parish also were pretty set against having a school, Fallon said, but he thought it was important and convinced church leaders to move ahead with it.
In 2000, they opened the first new elementary school in the Birmingham diocese in 40 years. In the church’s new classroom space, they started with kindergarten and first grade and gradually added grades over time. Enrollment grew, and in 2004, a new building was constructed for preschool through eighth grade.
Under Fallon’s pastoral guidance, the church built a columbarium in 2007, and a school cafeteria and art room were added in 2009. Then in 2015, with more growth in enrollment, a middle school building was opened for grades 6-8. The school has grown to about 500 students today.
In 2019, a new education/office addition was completed, linking both ends of the parish campus and providing elevator access to all buildings and floors.
Jim Atkinson, a volunteer facilities manager who was part of the original church building commission to form a new parish in the 1980s, said Fallon has been instrumental in the church’s growth since he arrived.
“He recognized the needs very quickly, especially the school,” Atkinson said. “He always looked at what we could improve and what we could add.”
Fallon said the school helped the church attract a lot of young families and has given people a good option outside of public school that is safe and provides an excellent education in a Christian environment.
It’s full of committed educators whose heart is in the job and who take good care of the kids, he said. “The kids have a sense of community here.”
GIFT FOR HOSPITALITY
But what Fallon seems to be best known for is making Prince of Peace a place where people feel welcome. He emphasizes it and practices it, Atkinson said.
“If he sees a stranger, he goes up and meets them and finds out where they came from and what they’re interested in,” Atkinson said.
He’s usually outside the church for 20 to 30 minutes before mass each Sunday, talking to people.
“That means a lot to people. I think it’s almost as important as the sermon,” Fallon said.
Cory Guillory, a current member of the church’s Finance Council and a ministry leader, said Fallon has engrained that mentality in the rest of the church.
“That really is Father Fallon’s vision and mission,” Guillory said. “Through his leadership, the church really lives that out.”
Some Catholic churches can be a little persnickety about who can and who can’t participate in services, but Fallon always wanted everyone to feel welcome and comfortable, Guillory said. Many non-Catholics, especially in the Bible belt, see Catholicism as kind of mysterious and may even fear it, he said, but Fallon has done a lot to dispel that fear in this area and helped make Prince of Peace an integral part of the community.
Fallon said the city of Hoover and its officials, especially former Mayors Tony Petelos and Gary Ivey, have been exceptionally good to Prince of Peace. “They work with us in every way possible.”
HOLINESS AND FORGIVENESS
Ray Dunmyer, a retired priest in residence at Prince of Peace who has known Fallon for 46 years, said the key thing about Fallon is that he is a holy person. “His holiness is what makes everything else successful for him,” Dunmyer said. “He is definitely a person who is filled with goodness.”
Fallon is generous in every way, especially with his time, Dunmyer said. He’s the kind of person who is willing to drop everything to meet the needs of others, Dunmyer said.
Fallon also has put a priority on reaching out to the Hispanic community, which at Prince of Peace is as big as, if not bigger than, the non-Hispanic community, Guillory said. The church has a Hispanic associate pastor who leads at least two Spanish-language masses each weekend, he said.
Fallon also emphasizes the importance of gratitude and forgiveness, Guillory said.
“We all have made poor decisions, and we all at different times are not the best version of ourselves,” he said. Fallon has emphasized that the gospel is good news and that God always loves us just as we are, wherever we are, even when we mess up, he said.
Fallon always maintains a positive, uplifting spirit and is especially energetic for someone his age (77), Guillory said. He has been a decisive leader but still always sought the input of others, Guillory said.
Fallon said when he was young, he thought he knew everything, but thankfully he learned better and learned to listen to lay leaders and have a more compassionate heart.
IRISH ROOTS
Fallon originally is from Ireland and was recruited to come to Alabama after he was ordained in County Kildare, near Dublin, in 1969. He spent two and a half years at St. Leo the Great in Demopolis (and its missions) and a year and a half at St. Mary of the Visitation in Huntsville. His next assignment was campus ministry at the University of Alabama for 12 years, followed by 13 years at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Tuscaloosa, during which Holy Spirit Catholic High School was completed. He then was shifted to Prince of Peace.
“The Lord has blessed this community with wonderful staff and wonderful people,” Fallon said. The decision to build the new sanctuary and open the school was controversial at first, but people opened up to new ideas, and it has been very successful, he said. Since that time, people have learned to trust, and the church has borrowed many millions of dollars more and paid all of it off except about $1 million, including debt for the school, he said.
Fallon said it has been a privilege for him to be involved in the lives of so many people, from everyday ministry to baptisms, weddings and funerals.
PASSING THE BATON
One of the reasons he decided it was time for him to retire is that he no longer likes driving at night or in the rain and if he ever was unable to minister to people in times of crisis because of that, he would feel guilty, he said. He decided it was time for him to hand over senior pastoral duties to a younger person, he said.
In July of 2021, the Rev. Jon Chalmers joined Prince of Peace as an associate pastor, and Chalmers was named senior pastor when Fallon retired in July of this year.
Fallon said he doesn’t see a bright future for Christianity in general because he doesn’t believe churches are doing a good job of reaching the modern world with the gospel, but he believes Prince of Peace is in excellent hands with Chalmers because Chalmers preaches the gospel and the church has a lot of bright, young people who are interested in helping other people.
He is staying on staff as a pastor emeritus, helping visit the sick and nursing homes and helping with mass, but Chalmers is the new leader with oversight duties.
Dunmyer said it has been a blessing to serve alongside Fallon and he looks forward to continuing that. “What a gift he has been to the diocese of Birmingham.”
Fallon said God has blessed him with a privileged life and he wouldn’t change any of it if he could, but he’s not through. “The best is yet to come.”