St. George's celebrates Rev. Ken Fleck 50th year as a priest

A lamented keepsake card was handed out to attendees at the 11:30 a.m. Mass Sunday at St. George Catholic Church in Tinley Park.

The card and Mass honored the Rev. Ken Fleck for his 50th anniversary of entering the priesthood. He was pastor at St. George from 2003-2020.

On one side of the card were two photos. On the left was Fleck at age 26, when he was ordained. On the right was a photo of him much older and wiser.

He was asked if the man in the right photo had any advice for the man in the left photo, what would it be?

“God is love,” he said.

It’s a mantra that Fleck has used over the years and usually has those at Mass repeat those three words. If he doesn’t think they are giving it their all, he has them say it again louder.

Tinley Park’s Maureen Cetera, who has been a member of St. George for more than 35 years, can’t say enough about Fleck and what he has meant to people all over the world.

“If I was in charge of writing on his tombstone, I would write ‘God is love,’’’ she said. “That is a phrase that Father Ken uses all the time and I think it is something the parishioners could recognize.”

But the 76-year-old Fleck is too busy for a headstone. He is alive and well and on Sunday presided over Mass in front of an estimated 700 people in honor of the 50th anniversary of his ordination.

He celebrates Mass all around the area when other churches need help. He is heavily involved in projects such as a seven-parish house build and the Fair Trade, which raises money for the education of those who raise and provide food in other countries.

Fleck has been in alleged retirement since 2020, but still visits sick people all over the Chicago area, gardens, grows 300-pound pumpkins, cooks, skis, plays racquetball, follows Chicago sports and plays a mean game of Scrabble.

“He’s an intelligent guy,” said the Rev. Paul Seaman, who succeeded Fleck as pastor. “But don’t play Scrabble with him because he knows all of the two-letter words.”

There might not be a Scrabble word — or any word — that can accurately describe how busy he stays.

“I’m as busy as I was before but now it’s all ministry as opposed to administration,” Fleck said. “Administration is what wears us down because of the endless meetings and finances and budgets and special collections and fundraisers and all of that.”

While Fleck realizes all of that is important, he said he gets his biggest reward from visiting people in hospitals, baptisms, weddings, funerals and helping people in time of need.

Seaman is impressed with Fleck’s workload of helping out area parishes when they are shorthanded and need someone to come in and pinch hit for a mass or two.

“That’s vital these days as we have fewer and fewer priests,” Seaman said. “Having retired priests who are willing to help out at Mass is a huge grace to us.”

Angie Brady, who has been at St. George more than 40 years, appreciates how much time Fleck spends on worthwhile as well as teaching parish students the finer points of gardening.

“He is spectacular,” Brady said. “He’s a very fine person and at the same time, he is the most well-rounded priest I have ever met.”

The two have tag-teamed to help the Habitat For Humanity Home Build and the seventh running of the event takes place Friday and Saturday at St. Michael in Orland Park. Other parishes involved are St. Stephen of Tinley Park, St. Julie of Tinley Park, St. Elizabeth Seton of Orland Hills, St. Damian of Oak Forest and St. Francis of Assisi of Orland Park.

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The volunteers build walls for houses that will be used for people in need of homes.

Fleck grew up in Englewood, delivered newspapers, was editor for a newspaper put out by the German Club at Quigley South High School and worked at St. Felicitas in Chicago, Our Lady of Peace in Darien, St. Barnabas in Chicago, St. Jude in South Holland and St. George.

Fleck climbed Mount Aconcagua in Argentina when he turned 50. It is the tallest mountain outside of Asia.

As for his “God Is Love” word that he spreads?

“We celebrate that in so many different ways through our individual skills and talents,” he said. “It’s being concerned about others and that’s perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned from my parents.”

It’s a lesson learned well.

“He is such a good, good servant of the Lord,” Cetera said of Fleck. “He is super generous and crazy about St. George.

“He still loves us.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.