Father McAlear, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, entered the religious order of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in 1960. He studied in Rome and was ordained there in 1970, after receiving degrees in Philosophy (Ph.L.) and Theology (S.T.L.). He returned to the United States, where he taught high school and received another degree in Religious Education (M.A.).
In 1972, Father McAlear became involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and he entered into the healing ministry in 1976. His ministry and work have brought him to every part of the United States, Asia, South America, Canada, Australia, New Guinea, Guatemala, Italy, France, Portugal, and Scotland.
Father
McAlear has been a member of the Association of
Christian Therapists since 1977, and a past director of
Our Lady of Hope Center in Newburgh, NY. In Newburgh,
his charismatic work included healing prayer along with
a strong outreach to the poor and needy in that area.
Father McAlear was subsequently appointed as the Vocation Director for the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. In this capacity he was stationed in Washington, D.C. where for ten years, he recruited young men for the priesthood. Upon completing his term as Vocation Director he was assigned to devote himself full time to teaching and the healing ministry.
Since
the year 2000 Father McAlear has been going over to
France each year to help direct a program of renewal for
his Oblate Congregation. This has taken him out of the
country from January to May for the last six years. That
assignment has recently come to an end and there are new
challenges and a new work for Father McAlear. He will be
based at Ave Maria University in the new town of Ave
Maria, Florida. He
will be on staff there, serving the needs of the
students and the university community.
Ave Maria University is the first Catholic University to be founded in the United States in the last 50 years. It is an attempt to establish a truly Catholic center of higher education that serves not only the intellectual needs, but also the spiritual needs of the students, teaching the ways of grace and love according to the Gospel of Jesus and the tradition of the Catholic Church.
Learn more about this new university
While stationed at Ave Maria University, Father McAlear will be doing limited ministry in the Florida area during the Jan - May semester. The first semester (Sept through Dec) will allow for ministry around the country, although in a somewhat more limited way than before. Ave Maria University will become home base and permanent address all year long.
Pope Benedict has proclaimed the church as truly
young and alive, and so it is. The youth of our day are
hungering for teaching, for truth, for direction and a
sense of community. Youth respond when there is
something authentic and meaningful presented to them.
There is great hope for the future of the church and it
is invested in the younger generation of Catholics. Ave
Maria University will serve the needs of this younger
generation by being a place of authentic spirituality
and prayer, a place of intellectual stimulation and
learning; it is there, in Christian community that young
men and women can grow and develop in all the dimensions
of life. It is to be a place where true Christian
Catholic spirituality can flourish. Ave Maria is a place
where there is a Catholic community of students which is
alive, enthusiastic, on fire and as deeply committed to
the Church as to Jesus Christ.
There is much healing needed in the world and in the church today. Society and families need healing, the human heart needs its own healing, as do diseased and broken bodies. The healing of the individual person and the healing of the church and society are very much interrelated. The work of healing has many dimensions and continues to unfold in many various shapes and forms. Proclaiming the Gospel, speaking the truth of Jesus Christ, practicing the faith, being faithful to the Church, celebrating the sacraments, and teaching theology all have a role to play in healing the Church, society and the human heart. Praying for healing and anointing the person, exercising the charism and gifts of healing and the laying on of hands are also avenues for healing and reconciliation. They are all needed because the need for healing is so great that many avenues and many expressions of the healing ministry must be made available to the world today.
Our youth need to be touched on all levels of their
being -intellectually, physically and spiritually. What
better place to minister the love of Jesus and His
healing touch than on a college campus where the faith
is alive and active. Such a place is Ave Maria
University in the new town of Ave Maria, Florida.
Father McAlear's address in Florida:
FR. RICHARD MCALEAR, O.M.I.
AVE MARIA UNIVERSITY
5050 AVE MARIA BLVD
AVE MARIA, FL. 34142 - 9505
Toll Free: 877-283-8648
Fax: 239-352-2392
Oblates & Communications (Obcom)
The Oblates of Mary Immaculate (USA)
ZENIT
The Catholic Charismatic Center