Celebrating Fr. Frank J. Parker’s Golden Anniversary

Ordained as a Catholic priest in 1973, Frank’s distinguished career has also included positions as lawyer, professor, diplomat, and author. He has traveled widely, studying Theology in Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, and Africa, where he also taught at local Jesuit universities in Cameroon and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). In 1982, Frank was awarded a Fulbright senior fellowship to teach business and insurance courses in francophone Africa. He also served as U.S. Delegate at UNESCO and the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

 

Locally, Frank worked as a lawyer at an anti-poverty agency in Pittsfield, MA and as a Spanish-speaking public defender in Waltham, MA. In 1974, Frank returned to being a full-time professor at BC and received tenure three years later. Despite traveling constantly, Frank continued celebrating Mass at Boston College and instituted a Spanish-speaking Mass on the campus. He later served a Catholic parish in Milton, MA and became involved in public committees in Hull, MA.

 

Frank retired to Weston’s Campion Center in 2016. He is a Representative on the Board of Registrars of Voters, a member of the Weston Cultural Council, and serves on our Rotary Club’s Board of Directors. Frank has continued writing for much of his career. His fifth book, The Anatomy of a Murder Trilogy, is set to be published later this year, and he is currently writing a memoir of his life titled A Unique Life? Perhaps.

 

Frank enjoys keeping up with his studies of foreign languages. He takes weekly lessons in French, Russian, and German, while caring for his always growing family of orchids.