Msgr. Chamberlin celebrates 50 years as a priest

On June 10 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Portland Msgr. Mark Chamberlin celebrated the 50th anniversary of his priestly ordination with many of his beloved friends and parishioners from throughout the diocese.
 
Msgr. Chamberlin was ordained at Corpus Christi Cathedral on May 25, 1968, by Bishop Thomas J. Drury.  His first assignment was at the newly opened Corpus Christi Minor Seminary as Dean of Students where he had attended as a seminarian just two years prior. While he was dean of students, he was also assistant vocations director for the diocese and had the care of the souls at Chapman Ranch and the Laureles Division of King Ranch.
 
His next assignments took him to Ss. Cyril and Methodius, St. Patrick and St. Pius X where served as parochial vicar. In 1977, he was appointed pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Flour Bluff and 1987 he became pastor of St. Theresa Parish in Corpus Christi.
 
In 1997 his final parish assignment was as pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Portland where he stayed for 19 years before retirement.
 
In addition to serving as a parish priest over the years, Msgr. Chamberlin could also be found on several diocesan ministries and committees including: Diocesan Director of Youth Activities, Diocesan Tribunal judge, Presbyteral Council, Priests’ Personnel Board, Diocesan Consultors, Board of Directors of the Priests’ Pension Plan, Dean of the Corpus Christi Central Deanery, and a frequent retreat and conference speaker for many schools and parishes.
 
Msgr. Mark Chamberlin once said he never considered his vocation “hard or frustrating” and that his greatest challenge has been “probably trying to be as good as I tell my people they should strive to be.”
 
Since his claimed retirement in July 2017, he has served as Administrator at St. Joseph Parish in Port Aransas for a few months and continues to fill in for priests in parishes around the diocese. He also continues to be available to former parishioners and friends for counseling from his home at the St. John Vianney Residence for Priests in Corpus Christi.
 
It is evident that Msgr. Chamberlin has left his mark across the Diocese of Corpus Christi and in people’s hearts with his giving spirit over the years and as a testament to that Incarnate Word Academy has set up an honorary endowed scholarship in his name for his golden jubilee. Once it is established and funded at $10,000, it will become a permanent fund from which a portion of the investment earning is distributed annually to an IWA student scholarship recipient.
 
If you would like to make a gift to the “Msgr. Mark Chamberlin Scholarship Fund,” please send payments to Incarnate Word Academy Foundation 2920 S. Alameda Corpus Christi, TX 78404 Attn:  Msgr. Mark Chamberlin Scholarship.

(Jennifer Wicks and Adel Rivera contributed to this article.)

Photos by Ervey Martinez for South Texas Catholic