Priest at St. Ephrem Catholic Church finds kidney donor through parish relations in Bensalem, Pennsylvania

BENSALEM, Pa. (WPVI) — Father Tim O’Sullivan first came to St. Ephrem Catholic Church in Bensalem in 2001 and feels very at home there.

However, starting in 2017, he suffered from some health issues.

“I had 11 different surgeries in 15 months, and the doctors said that all the anesthesia that was in my body eventually took a toll on my kidneys,” Fr. said. O’Sullivan.

He had been on dialysis for five years.

In November, he wrote a letter to the church’s newsletter explaining that he was looking for a kidney donor.

“Several people in the diocese called, but for some reason they didn’t qualify,” he said. “And nothing happened until January.”

On Wednesday, Fr. O’Sullivan was finally able to hug his kidney donor mother for the first time.

He and Rosemary Frankel tearfully embraced in the church parsonage.

Bensalem resident Christine Moretti said of her brother, “He was a big man, had a big personality, and had a laugh that lit up a room.”

Albert Stanley, 46, of South Philadelphia, died on New Year’s Day after suffering several strokes and a brain hemorrhage around the holidays.

“I had to look at his license to see if he was an organ donor,” Moretti said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he was.”

Moretti is a parishioner at St. Ephrem’s Church and contacted Father O’Sullivan on January 2nd.

“There were a lot of people in his family that weren’t compatible, so of course this would be the miracle we needed to talk to him,” Moretti said, fighting back tears.

On January 3, O’Sullivan received word that Stanley was a match.

“I remember driving down the turnpike and thinking, ‘I’m going to have surgery in 12 hours,'” he said.

Father O’Sullivan received both of Stanley’s kidneys and is currently not on dialysis.

“It is humbling that they made such an extraordinary decision, a very generous decision, even in the midst of their mother’s greatest grief,” he said.

Stanley’s family said knowing that his organs saved others brought them comfort at a time of unimaginable and unexpected loss.

“There was already a sense of security knowing that he would continue to live on because of others, but knowing that this is a member of our parish and someone so close to our children that they interact with. It meant a lot to me to know that,” Moretti said.

Stanley’s family said his lungs and corneas were also donated to other recipients.

They hope others will consider organ donation and join the Sharing Network Foundation, the organization that helped them through the process.

As for Father O’Sullivan, he is still recovering and hopes to be able to celebrate Mass at St. Ephrem in April.