Pastor celebrates 25 years of priesthood

EPPING — Fr. Donald Clinton, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, recently celebrated his 25th year as a Catholic priest. A special mass and celebration was hosted at the parish with many friends, parishioners from former parishes, and family attending.

Fr. Don was named pastor of St. Joseph in 2013, following Fr. Volney Derosiers who was reassigned to Pelham.

Born in Roslindale, Mass., he initially attended St. John College Seminary in Brighton, Mass., and then worked for the Kendall-Colgate Palmolive Company for 10 years. He re-entered his studies at Mount St. Mary's Seminary, Emmetsburg, Md. Upon graduation in 1990 he was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Manchester.

Fr. Clinton’s first assignment was to St. Joseph Parish in Salem. He has served at Immaculate Conception in Nashua and Sacred Heart parishes in Greenville and Wilton. In 1999 he became pastor of St. John in Concord and later was pastor of St. Bernard in Keene.

A hearing loss that started in high school progressed until one ear was completely gone and around 2010 he almost left ministry, unable to cope with the stress and demands of serving his parishioners using one aid. Cochlear implant surgery has restored 80-90 percent of his hearing and after taking some time off for recovery he returned to work, assisting in Hanover and Manchester.

St. Joseph Parish serves Epping, Raymond, Fremont, Brentwood and surrounding communities. To learn more about St. Joseph Parish stop in at 200 Pleasant St./Route 27) or visit http://stjosepheppingnh.com