Donald Kiernan

Early life

Robert Donald Kiernan was born and raised in Taunton, Massachusetts., the youngest of five children born to Thomas F. and Lena V. (Doherty) Kiernan. Upon graduating from Coyle High School in Taunton, MA in 1942, he attended Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island for three years. He was awarded a bachelor's degree in 1991 by Providence College based upon his life's work. In March 1945, he entered Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland and was ordained May 4, 1949 by Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, Massachusetts.

Career

The newly ordained Kiernan was assigned to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, Georgia which began his service to the diocese of Savannah which would be followed by assignments to the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, St. Peter's Church in LaGrange, St. Anna's Church in Monroe and St. Joseph's Church in Athens. He served as pastor of St. Anthony's Church in West End, St. Jude's Church in Sandy Springs, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Atlanta, St. Bernadette's Church in Cedartown and St. Michael's Church in Gainesville. In 1969, he was named Prelate of Honor (Reverend Monsignor) by Pope Paul VI and was bestowed the highest rank of Monsignor, Protonotary Apostolic, in 1979 by Pope John Paul I. In 1985, Kiernan was assigned to All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody, Georgia where he served as pastor until 2011.

In 1962, he co-founded the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police and served as its Director and Chaplain for over twenty years and continued his service in law enforcement as chaplain for the Georgia State Patrol, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the DeKalb County Police Department, the Atlanta office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and became the first chaplain for the Sandy Springs Police Department in 2007.

Awards and honors

Numerous honors and awards conferred upon Kiernan include: