Many, in fact, regard him as the priest of Albury-Wodonga, not just of Sacred Heart North Albury.

That’s what happens when you spend 50 years in the priesthood, 34 of which have been at the Mate Street church.

This weekend is a celebration of Father Kevin Flanagan’s “50 years in the cloth”.

The parish is gathering for a dinner of more than 300 guests at the Commercial Club tonight, then tomorrow morning there’s a special mass at Sacred Heart, followed by a picnic at St Anne’s Primary School.

The events will be a reflection of the influence Father Kevin has had on the city.

“He doesn’t just serve our parish, he serves Albury-Wodonga as a whole community,” parish council president Gemma Whitehead says.

“He’s everyone priest.”

St Anne’s acting principal Catherine Jones says the same: “He’s the people’s priest.”

Father Kevin was brought up in the church at Tocumwal, where his parents owned a general store — the grocery, ironmongery and drapery.

He was the youngest of five — two brothers went to university, his two sisters married and so he was expected to take over the running of the store.

“I always had a natural religious bent but I thought I would meet someone, get married and have a family,” Father Kevin says.

However, after attending a ball at Berrigan with his cousin, he was challenged about his chosen vocation.

“She said, ‘God’s been good to you, hasn’t he? Ever thought of giving more back?’” he recalls, of the conversation that prompted a new train of thought, firstly about whether to become a missionary or a diocesan priest.

Father Kevin chose the latter and entered St Columba’s seminary at Springwood in the Blue Mountains at the age of 24.

He studied philosophy there for three years before moving to St Patrick’s College in Manly for four years of theology.

“The church was in its boom,” he recalls. 

“But a lot of them dropped out or were culled. 

“If you questioned authority too much you were considered unworthy.

“You were always on trial; it was not about being encouraged.”

Father Kevin wasn’t the perfect student either, despite his appointment as a leader.

“We raided an orchard one night, because we were a bit short of food,” he remembers with a grin.

“Because I was a prefect, I was demoted.

“Anyway, we survived that.”

Father Kevin was ordained in his home church of St Peter’s at Tocumwal, where he received all his sacraments, and carried out his first appointment at Narrandera. 

He went on to serve in the parishes of South Wagga, St Patrick’s in Albury twice, the cathedral in Wagga and finally the past 34 years at Sacred Heart.

After his time at Narrandera, Father Kevin was able to fulfil his missionary dream, in the “back country” of the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

It was a glorious four years of a vibrant church, “not cluttered with tradition” and could be regarded as the foundation of Father Kevin’s openness to those from all walks of life.

“It was a thatched church, throbbing with life,” he says.

“They were tribal people, they were fighters. 

“It wasn’t just a regimented way in which sacrificial life is dispensed.”

Father Kevin recalls an amusing story of the people wanting a heavier hand when it came to the traditional slap on the face during the ceremony of confirmation.

“The bishop arrived in a 4WD, they were beating their drums and it came time for confirmation,” he says.

“Then the elders did the questioning – ‘Do you believe in God the Father Almighty?’

“And they gave the bishop this switch and he gave one flick across their back. 

“‘Hit them harder!’ they said. So the bishop went crack across his back.

“And they called out (with joy) – that’s what it’s all about!”

This story sums up Father Kevin’s approach to bringing the church to the people.

“You have to meet people where they are, not where you expect them to be,” he says.

With that in mind, much of Father Kevin’s ministry has been in conducting funerals.

Even at 84, it’s not unusual for him to conduct several in one week. 

“Funerals are a big part of my vocation – I always want to leave the family with hope,” he says.

“There’s so much goodness in our world that’s overlooked.”

In leading so many funerals — not limited to his own parishioners — he has the opportunity to have an influence on a huge cross-section of the community.

“I still give that same Christian hope to people who don’t know or follow Jesus,” he says.

“The challenge is to look beyond the categories to the people, to look beyond – ‘when I was lonely did you visit me?’

“You don’t have to like their behaviour but to see them as a child of God, as redeemed.”

That acceptance of all those he meets is what Father Kevin is known for, and what his friends are quick to highlight.

Mrs Whitehead says that epitomises the Christian witness.

“He can talk to anybody and make anybody feel comfortable and important,” she says.

“That is Jesus, isn’t it? To not judge people and to accept everybody.”

At the same time, Father Kevin doesn’t avoid the hard stuff, and that includes talking about the Royal Commission into child sexual abuse.

“It’s painful but it’s positive,” he says, of the inquiry.

“I’ll even preach this — it’s difficult for people to acknowledge their Catholicism and as priests, because of the actions of a few, we’re all tarnished. 

“It’s like exorcising an ulcer – it has to be done.”

Don Fraser first met Father Kevin about 40 years ago, when his children moved from their Jerilderie home to Albury for boarding school.

About 20 years later, Mr Fraser and his wife retired to Albury and they became Father Kevin’s parishioners at Sacred Heart.

Mr Fraser served as a parish councillor for several years, working alongside his priest and friend.

“He’s totally unbiased. He’s got time for everybody, rich or poor,” Mr Fraser says of Father Kevin.

“Ecumenically ... I run out of words for him, to be honest. 

“To put him in a frame I find very difficult because he’s such a good man. He makes everybody feel as though they are a friend.”

Given the length of time Father Kevin has served the parish of Sacred Heart, it’s no surprise that he has played a part in the significant events of many local families.

Not only has he married many of the regular parishioners, he has also baptised and then married their children.

“There’s a great big family circle that goes around and around Father Kevin,” Mr Fraser says.

Mrs Jones says the children of St Anne’s are thrilled when their priest comes to visit and that they will run up to him in the schoolyard to tell him stories.

“He loves being here and visits our children regularly,” she says.

“They love to greet him when he walks in. 

“It’s lovely to have his support and involvement in our school, that relationship is fantastic.

“He has been referred to as the people’s priest.”

Father Kevin is also known as an active citizen of the district who professes a great love and connection with the river.

He competed in several Murray River marathons in the 1980s; he is an avid cricket fan and was on the edge of the couch last weekend watching the Ashes.

He has also been a member of the Melbourne Cricket Club for more than 60 years.

“I get ribbed about a man of the cloth barracking for the (Melbourne) Demons,” he says.

His response?

“They need support!” 

Then there are his boxing exploits. Yes, boxing.

“I boxed at Tocumwal and in Ballarat at a local stadium — I used to have dancing and boxing lessons. I was light on my feet,” he says. 

“They sound incongruous but if you’ve been taught to look after yourself you have a lot of confidence.”

Boxing works with his natural response to standing up for himself ... and his family roots.

“I had red hair and my mother was out shopping, and this man said to me, ‘Hello carrot top’. I said, ‘Hello gorilla face’. I was six,” he recalls.

“My mother was in the process of giving me a clip behind the ear. 

“That’s my Irish heritage coming through.”

Father Kevin has trekked in Tibet, travelled through Nepal and appreciates the culture of India – “I love the colour, the contradictions”. 

He recently had a pacemaker put in, which has slowed down his globe-trotting but he still has a visit to Burma on the agenda.

But he was reminded of the importance of looking after his health a few years ago when open-heart surgery was required.

“I was damn lucky I lived but I did,” he says.

“I ignored all the signs.”

Father Kevin had gone for an early morning walk, despite feeling pain across his chest.

But he had two funerals on the agenda for that day so he carried on.

After the second one, he realised seeing a doctor might be a good idea so the funeral director drove him to the hospital.

“So the story went around that I went to the hospital in a hearse but that wasn’t the case,” Father Kevin chuckles.

The doctor told him to sit down and he promptly collapsed. 

Medical staff revived him and then sent him to Melbourne where he had a quadruple bypass. 

“The doctor said two more minutes and I would have been the third funeral for that day,” he says.

However, the people’s priest, as the only priest of Sacred Heart, is still working at a cracking pace and any talk of slowing down is a touchy area.

“Retirement is a delicate subject,” he admits.

“I could retire tomorrow if I wished but I enjoy what I do.

“I could have an assistant if I wanted one…”

Mr Fraser says he has no idea when Father Kevin will retire.

“We’ve got to remember he’s 84 and the workload he carries is staggering,” he says.

“He gets hospital calls at night and is back on deck in the morning. 

“A lot of people he buries aren’t anything to do with his church but they want Father Kevin.

“He will have to (retire) eventually but it will be a sad, sad day when he leaves us.”

In the meantime, he will continue to conduct a mass every Saturday evening, two masses on Sundays, to visit the sick and the elderly, to conduct weddings, baptisms and funerals and lead his flock.

Tomorrow, Father Kevin’s parish, St Anne’s, family and friends will celebrate his 50-year milestone.

After mass at Sacred Heart at 10am, all are welcome for a BYO picnic at the school from 11.30am.