 "Wishing Well"-Public Domain In 1969 Fr Randall was the spiritual director of a Catholic seminary in Providence, Rhode Island. One day during the middle of mass, 5 young hippies came through the door. Fr. Randall invited this group to meet with him and several other staff that night. Of the group, one of them had been in jail, another had been a drug dealer, and others had been on drugs and alcohol. But they all got struck by the Holy Spirit in The Jesus Movement in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The leader of the group was Terry Martin, a 19-year-old college student at Salve Regina College, located in Newport, RI. One day the Lord spoke to her. He said, “I am going to start moving in RI this year—southern RI, western RI and in Providence.” Terry and her group spoke of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and this put a desperation in Fr Randall to also be filled with the Holy Spirit. Fr Randall became on fire and soon after was sent by the bishop to see if he could revive Holy Ghost Church on Federal Hill in Providence. Revival broke out. The almost empty church became filled with people on fire for God, and included multitudes of college students, priests from local churches and seminaries and nuns from local convents. They witnessed miracles, signs and wonders regularly and did street evangelism in the darkest and dirtiest parts of the city. A couple named Don and Pat Turbitt started attending Holy Ghost Church. Their zeal for God led them to birth the People of God’s Love community where they fostered Holy Spirit-filled communal living in Providence. They had a house for men, a house for women and houses for families who lived together, prayed daily at 5am and shared life, just like the first church in the book of Acts. Fr Ray Kelly came to Holy Ghost Church and got on fire too. The bishop sent Fr Kelly to revive St. Patrick’s Church in Providence and revival broke out. He helped start a weekly soup kitchen and a tuition free grade school, where on-fire teachers worked for free. I taught there in my late 20’s. The school still exists today. The bishop sent Fr Randall to the dying St. Charles Borromeo Church in a neighborhood in Providence where there were crack houses and brothels lining the street; shots were heard in the evenings. Revival broke out in this church as well with standing room only; with people driving over an hour to attend. At age 22 I began attending St. Charles and got baptized with the Holy Spirit. Our masses lasted an hour and a half, with 30 minutes of worship, and included speaking and singing in tongues. Our weekly prayer meetings had an average of 300 people. It was commonplace to see people get healed, delivered and slain in the Spirit. Fr Randall opened a weekly soup kitchen which still exists today; also a food pantry and clothing center. He also opened a medical clinic offering free health care and licensed counseling. He had a weekly radio show entitled “The Spirit and the Word.” He also built a chapel connected to the church to host a 24/7 prayer room. It continues to this day. Fr Randall became a global leader in the Catholic Charismatic renewal. He received invitations from various denominations around the globe who were seeking revival. He wrote 8 books and my favorite is entitled “No Spirit No Church.” In 1978 the fires were still hot in RI. There was a conference at the Providence Civic Center entitled the “New England Catholic Charismatic Conference” where 14,000 people attended. This blog post is dedicated to Father John Randall. I attended St. Charles Borromeo Church under Fr. Randall's leadership, during which time I learned an exponential amount of what it meant to live a life of surrender to God and His will, and about walking in sync with the Holy Spirit. Through my 20's and 30's, Fr. Randall was like a father to me. He was an instrument of the Father's love toward me. He encouraged me, admonished me when needed, and believed in me even though I was at a young age. He encouraged me in whatever endeavor I felt God was leading me on. He knew I could do great things because I had the Holy Spirit empowering me. He cheered me on...when I did street evangelism in the crime infested neighborhood of the church...stood on the sidewalk of Planned Parenthood to talk women out of having abortions...served in the weekly soup kitchen...taught first graders in Sunday School...locked myself into an E lock with 4 others and blocked the door of Planned Parenthood on Christmas Eve...left my city apartment and cat to live in the country as a housemother to unwed pregnant moms. I wouldn't have done any of it if it weren't for Fr. Randall! Three happy memories I have of him are at my college graduation party, the day he officiated my wedding and the day he baptized my son Michael. I look forward to the day when I will see him in heaven. I will give him the biggest hug and THANKS!  My grandfather Elias Dias on the left and Fr. John Randall on the right. RI College graduation party 1991.  My wedding in 1996 at St. Theresa's Shrine in Burriville, RI with Fr. John Randall and Fr. Hugh Eller. Comments are closed.
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