By EmmaLee Italia | Correspondent

For Msgr. James H. Dubell, recently retired pastor of St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford, his 50 years of priestly ministry have been blessed with the gift of variety, giving rise to a life of fulfillment  and purpose.

From educating and counseling youth to serving as pastor in two parishes in the Diocese, he has traversed many challenging waters.

“Any life has ups and downs, nothing is perfect – you have to go through the difficult and the good,” allowed Msgr. Dubell, who celebrated his 75th birthday this year. “But after a while you come to the calm waters of life and get a better grip on things.”

He was born Nov. 25, 1939, in Mount Holly, into what he described as a good Catholic family, with parents and grandparents who encouraged his inclination to the priesthood. Yet he also recognizes the importance of his teachers, the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters at Sacred Heart School, Mount Holly, in that prompting.

“They were very instrumental in encouraging thoughts toward the priesthood,” he said. “They would say things like, ‘you would make a good priest – have you thought about the priesthood?’ They had a great influence on us.”

In the early 1950s the minor seminary Msgr. Dubell attended – St. Charles College, Baltimore – was designed to help young men begin their priestly discernment while still in secondary school.

“Every year you would discern whether you wanted to continue,” he said. “The minor seminary doesn’t exist today, but in 1953 it was a popular place.”

He completed his studies from 1957-1965 at the Paca Street and Roland Park campuses of St. Mary’s Seminary and University, the first seminary established in the U.S., which was run by the Sulpician Fathers. Upon ordination in 1965 by Bishop George W. Ahr, he was assigned as parochial vicar in St. Joseph Parish, Beverly.

“I was already ordained by the age of 25,” said Msgr. Dubell. “I’m really happy that I started young,” he added, explaining that it gave him a “full and satisfying career.”

Education was always an important aspect of his vocation, he remarked. His tenure from 1972-1987 in Holy Cross High School, Delran, saw him teaching religion, working in guidance and counseling, and finally serving as vice principal and principal of the school.

Msgr. Dubell has worn many additional hats in the course of his priestly ministry. Over a 20-year period from 1984-2004, he served in a number of diocesan roles, including terms on the Council of Priests; Engaged Encounter; as moderator of the Burlington County PTA Region; the Commission on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs; assistant director and director of diocesan cemeteries; episcopal vicar of Burlington County, the College of Consultors; the board of Seminarian Recruitment for Vocations; the diocesan Expansion Commission and chaplain of the Serra Club International of Burlington County.

Msgr. Dubell was named pastor of St. Paul Parish, Burlington, in 1987, where he served until 2003. During his time there, and later in St. Mary of the Lakes Parish from 2003-2015, he developed a rapport and connection with the parishioners that added to the effectiveness of his leadership. And he had ample opportunity for exercising the highlights of his vocation: celebrating Mass and administering the Sacraments.

Msgr. Dubell truly believes in the symbiotic relationship between the pastor and his flock, each playing his or her part in the spiritual journey.

“We’re all on this pilgrimage together and sustain one another,” he explained. “People may think, ‘oh, the priest doesn’t need my spirituality,’ – but we do. (The people’s spirituality) has carried me through many difficult times – when you wonder if you’re doing any good, if it’s worth it, and maybe you should be doing something else.”

He noted how living through the 1970s, when the Church experienced turmoil in the form of priests and nuns “leaving the ministry in large numbers,” was a time when he really benefitted from the laity who remained faithful.

One day a fellow priest and friend of 21 years, with whom he had attended school from kindergarten all through seminary and ordination, was shot and killed.

“A man was home from Vietnam and was deranged,” he remembered, “and his mother called a priest – my friend – to come to their home and counsel him. And the man shot him … it was a crazy time in the world. The Church lost so many religious those years. But again the faith and encouragement of the people helped (me to get through it).”

In 1993, Msgr. Dubell was invested as a Prelate of Honor to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, receiving the title of monsignor. He saw it as recognition not just for himself, but for his parishioners as well.

“I was never one to go around in red garments,” he chuckled, mentioning that he would more often be seen in a golf shirt. “To be honored by the Church in that way was, to me, very special … He describes the honor as “something to live up to – a call to serve even more.”

Answering that call has been key for Msgr. Dubell, particularly in his work with the Medford Conference of the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Staunchly supporting them from the pulpit as well as his parish’s financial contribution toward construction of its new Caring Center, he was strong in his praise of the center for its outreach to the needy. He even gifted a statue of St. Vincent on behalf of the parish to the society.

Responding to his involvement across the years, the SVDP Conference named its new Medford Caring Center in honor of Msgr. Dubell April 18, presenting him with a remembrance plaque. Conference president Dr. James Dwyer recognized Msgr. Dubell and St. Mary of the Lakes Parish for making their mission of service possible. And in his humble fashion, Msgr. Dubell immediately gave the credit to his flock.

“These ladies and gentlemen, they are the movers and the shakers, the leaders, the salt of the earth, the heart and soul of the society,” he said to those gathered.

Now officially retired in Burlington County, Msgr. Dubell can likely be found enjoying golf, a sport he has been playing his whole life, as well as serving area parishes that need his help for Sunday Masses. Despite missing “being a part of the action” of diocesan campaigns and the relationship of pastor to his parishioners, he has taken the transition in stride.

“Life is a series of changes,” he admits, “and this is just one of them.”