OLM Community Keeps Watch after Last Week's Tragic Accident

• Memorial Mass Said for Sister Mary Campbell; Monsignor Remains in Induced Coma

BY ANNE SOBLE

According to preliminary California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles Sheriff's Department information, at about 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 25, Ambassador to Malta Douglas Kmiec, Our Lady of Malibu Pastor Emeritus Monsignor John Sheridan, and Sister Mary Campbell, who taught generations of OLM students, were involved in a solo vehicle accident on Mulholland Highway, east of Stokes Canyon.

Sr. Mary Campbell, 74, a Sister of St. Louis, a former principal and teacher at OLM Catholic School, and, in recent years, the assistant to Monsignor Sheridan, was killed in the accident. Authorities said she was declared dead at the scene.

Sheridan, who is 94, and Kmiec, who is 58, both were suffering from what were first described as serious injuries. They were airlifted to the UCLA Medical Center's Trauma Center.

Kmiec was at the wheel of the 2009 Hyundai Accent, a subcompact vehicle, when it reportedly drifted off the road onto the shoulder and went into a drainage ditch. Campbell was in the back seat of the car, and Sheridan sat in the front passenger seat.

The Malibu Surfside News is verifying reports that Kmiec and Sheridan were wearing seat belts, but Sister Mary Campbell was not.

The CHP states that the accident is still under investigation.

Sheridan underwent surgery last week and reportedly remains in serious condition. The first formal statement issued to the OLM community stated that doctors "have stopped most of the internal bleeding; they are treating several broken ribs; and they are watching him carefully for signs of infection and/or pneumonia."

The latest word this week was that his condition is now being described as stable. Sheridan reportedly remains "in an induced coma and on a ventilator." He is not able to receive visitors. Contact is said to be limited to close relatives and Father Bill Kerze, the current pastor of OLM.

Updates are regularly circulated among parish members who have established an accident information network. They indicate that Sheridan still has bleeding issues, but there is a decided note of optimism to the updates.

Kmiec is expected to be released from the hospital shortly. He is expected to make a full recovery from his injuries, which have been downgraded to moderate.

Both Sheridan and Campbell were born in Ireland. The monsignor is from Corrickmaquirk, County Longford. Campbell hailed from Kiltimagh, County Mayo, which is where she will be buried alongside other members of her family.

Both of the two are from large families in which their relatives serve the Catholic Church in various capacities. Campbell had just returned from visiting her family in Ireland.

Campbell had been a member of the order of the Sisters of St. Louis for 52 years. She, Sheridan and Kmiec were returning from an event at Louisville High School for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Woodland Hills Motherhouse.

There had been a mass at 10 a.m., followed by a special luncheon celebrating the Feast of St. Louis, the patron of the order. Louis was the 13th century French King Louis IX, but the order, founded in post-revolutionary France, is mostly Irish—the original eight nuns of SSL came to this country from Ireland in 1949—and retains an Irish brogue.

Sheridan came to OLM 45 years ago. He has been a radio commentator, authored 14 books, written numerous pamphlets and articles, and continues to minister to parishioners.

Kmiec, who was appointed to the Malta post by the Obama Administration, was sworn in September 2009, and took leave from his position as a constitutional law professor at Pepperdine University. He is a former dean of Catholic University in Washington D.C.

After last week's accident, the Archbishop of Los Angeles, Cardinal Roger Mahony, issued a statement asking everyone "to please keep all three of these wonderful and devoted disciples of Jesus Christ very much in [their] prayers."

The Sisters of St. Louis and Campbell's family planned her services. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sisters of St. Louis Retirement Fund. Louisville High School can be contacted for information about the fund.

Members of the OLM parish gathered at the church throughout the days after the crash, where longtime parishioner and school supporter Cynthia Bollinger said love and prayers for the three resounded throughout the buildings and the grounds.

Longtime parish member and Catholic activist Carolyn Wallace, as well as others, keep those in the OLM family and beyond apprised of the latest developments.

OLM scheduled a blood drive on Tuesday in Sheridan's name to replace the units required by the monsignor during his surgeries and post-operative period.

A Memorial Mass for Sister Mary Campbell took place on Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Malibu Catholic Church.

Well-wishers came from every segment of the Malibu community. Expressions of concern crossed all religious and ethnic lines.

ACCIDENT VICTIM—Sister Mary Campbell of Our Lady of Malibu died at the crash site. She will be buried in her native Ireland following local services.

AFFINITY—Malibu resident and Ambassador to Malta Douglas Kmiec (left) and Our Lady of Malibu Pastor Emeritus Monsignor John Sheridan are longtime friends. Kmiec was driving Sheridan and Sister Mary Campbell back to OLM after an event at Louisville High School when a serious accident occurred.