Father McCormick’s dynamic approach to reviving Trenton’s downtrodden Wilbur section drew a substantial amount of positive attention to the broad range of Martin House projects when he was steering them on behalf of the Trenton Diocese from the 1970s through his 2012 retirement from active ministry.

Now, a biography entitled “A Radical Heart: Making Black Lives Matter Through Faith in Action: The Father Brian McCormick Story” by Mary R. Callahan could have the same result.

“Since my arrival as Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton, I have admired Father McCormick and his unrelenting effort to reflect the Church’s commitment to social justice so real and tangible in the lives of so many residents of Mercer County,” Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., said when asked about the book.

“Even in retirement, Father McCormick continues his advocacy for the poor and homeless with the same enthusiasm that has characterized his entire priestly life. He has been and remains a great blessing to our Diocese.”

Callahan wrote the book as a fundraiser for Better Community Housing (BCHT) of Trenton. BCHT has continued affordable housing and other work in the neighborhood as a separate entity since Father McCormick’s retirement and the closing of Martin House.

After a long career in education, Callahan said her work at Martin House, which included volunteering for the programs many years ago and then serving as an administrator of the Martin House Learning Center, inspired her to write a book about Father McCormick’s “incredible legacy.

“I was deeply touched by his humble and effective strategies to uplift an impoverished community,” Callahan said, noting that it’s her hope that book sales and donations “will add support for this priest’s social justice programs.”
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Martin House On the Rise

When Father McCormick retired in May of 2012, he also stepped down as the head of the Martin House ministry where he served for 42 years.

Under Father McCormick's watch and supported by the Trenton Diocese, local Catholic parishes and committed volunteers, the Martin House network of programs grew to encompass numerous units of affordable housing, a healthcare clinic, clothing/thrift store and its services, a learning center and an array of offerings for children and youth, among others.

The ministry was created in the wake racial disturbances in April 1968. Despite numerous obstacles, Father McCormick, the volunteers and staff persisted to reinvigorate the struggling community populated mainly by African-Americans.

Among them was Callahan who first encountered Father McCormick decades ago at a presentation he gave in St. George Parish in Titusville. Their enduring connection culminated in a book which conveys his absolute commitment to eliminating racial prejudice and raising the standard of living in the beleaguered neighborhood.

The story unfolds through scores of interviews from Father McCormick to dozens of Trenton residents, Martin House staff members, individuals involved with the Martin House Community for Justice Foundation and many long-term volunteers.

It leaves open the door to an ongoing future for BCHT, more housing and a continuing presence in the neighborhood with the hope that people will continue the work Martin House began.

Abiding Hope

Father McCormick noted that BCHT continues its affordable housing work with 168 homes completed to date, either rehabbed or new construction. He said he’s uplifted by the book and optimistic that it will stimulate interest in existing programs and future projects.

“I’m so pleased by the amount of effort Mary [Callahan] put into it – it was a great effort,” he said.

“I’m hoping people will see the book for the purpose Mary wrote it,” which was to show what kind of impact his faith had on the neighborhood, said Pearleen Waters, BCHT’s executive director.

“He was always a preacher and teacher of the Gospel,” Waters said. “He always was seeing God in everything and he always wanted to help somebody.”