A Message from Fr. Ben
As you are aware His Grace, Archbishop Schnurr, has appointed me pastor of our Family of Parishes, which includes St. Al’s, St. Simon, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Dominic, and Our Lady of Victory. I’m very honored that the Archbishop asked me to serve as your pastor and I look forward to being part of this family. Over the next few months, we will have the opportunity to meet and plan for our future. Just to be clear, and to set minds and hearts at rest, I’m personally committed to growth, expansion, and evangelization. It is my intention to make use of all the resources we already have and build upon what has already been done by so many over such a long time. I’m confident that we will have a vibrant and energetic future building the Kingdom of God together. If the past is anything to go on, our future will be outstanding.
On a personal note, you might be asking yourself who is this new idiot the Archbishop is sending us? So here is some background:
I was born in Dublin, Ireland, 14 January 1964. My parents are Gerry (deceased) and Martha. I have four siblings, David, Gerard, Deborah, and Stephanie, all living in Dublin. My sisters are identical twins. I have 11 nieces and nephews and two great nephews. I graduated from Scoil Fursa (Catholic Elementary School, Dublin) and Belcamp College (Catholic High School, Dublin) as well as All Hallows College (Dublin), The University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum, Rome), and the International Marian Research Institute, University of Dayton (Ohio). Ordained in Ireland 1993, I came to the United States for post-graduate studies. I became a citizen of the United States in 2000. After serving as a parochial vicar at Holy Angels, Sidney, Ohio for three years, I was appointed by Archbishop Pilarczyk to the faculty of the Athenaeum of Ohio and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in 2000. In 2011, I was appointed first recipient of the Daniel E. Pilarczyk Chair of Systematic Theology. In 2011 I was appointed by Archbishop Schnurr President of the Athenaeum and Rector of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West. After completing my seven-year term as President/Rector I was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Victory July 2018. I will begin my new appointment as pastor of our parish family on the 1st July 2022, which happens to be the feast of St. Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh, a martyr – which seems appropriate. I have a dog name Blathene (Irish for Little Flower), and three cats, Gail, Maggie, and Boo-boo.
Opportunity to Help Name Our Family of Parishes
As part of the Beacons of Light and Family of Parishes process it is necessary for us to choose a new overall name for our parish family. Each of our present parishes will remain canonically independent until each parish decides to formally be suppressed at which time they will be merged into the new parish. Even after the new name is officially, or canonically, recognized, each of our present parishes will retain their present names and locations but will become known as chapels or campus. Nevertheless, we will still need to have an overall name for our new family of parishes.
I would like to invite you to be part of the process for choosing a new name for our family of parishes. Please take the time to recommend a name and return the form in the collection basket, drop it off or mail it to your parish office, or at the sacristy, before April 9th, 2022. After receiving your recommendations, we will produce a shortlist of suitable names and will ask His Grace, Archbishop Schnurr, to choose from the shortlist submitted to him. With this timeline we will be ready to publish our new name at Mass on Sunday, 3rd July, 2022, which is the first Sunday celebration of our new family of parishes.
Some guidelines: a. Try to recommend a unique name; b. Recommend a name that is suitable for a Catholic parish either from tradition, devotion or Biblical; c. Recommend a name that is not too long.
Fr. Ben
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My recommendation for the name of our Family of Parishes is:
_____________________________________________________________
A Message from Fr. Ben
As you are aware His Grace, Archbishop Schnurr, has appointed me pastor of our Family of Parishes, which includes St. Al’s, St. Simon, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Dominic, and Our Lady of Victory. I’m very honored that the Archbishop asked me to serve as your pastor and I look forward to being part of this family. Over the next few months, we will have the opportunity to meet and plan for our future. Just to be clear, and to set minds and hearts at rest, I’m personally committed to growth, expansion, and evangelization. It is my intention to make use of all the resources we already have and build upon what has already been done by so many over such a long time. I’m confident that we will have a vibrant and energetic future building the Kingdom of God together. If the past is anything to go on, our future will be outstanding.
On a personal note, you might be asking yourself who is this new idiot the Archbishop is sending us? So here is some background:
I was born in Dublin, Ireland, 14 January 1964. My parents are Gerry (deceased) and Martha. I have four siblings, David, Gerard, Deborah, and Stephanie, all living in Dublin. My sisters are identical twins. I have 11 nieces and nephews and two great nephews. I graduated from Scoil Fursa (Catholic Elementary School, Dublin) and Belcamp College (Catholic High School, Dublin) as well as All Hallows College (Dublin), The University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum, Rome), and the International Marian Research Institute, University of Dayton (Ohio). Ordained in Ireland 1993, I came to the United States for post-graduate studies. I became a citizen of the United States in 2000. After serving as a parochial vicar at Holy Angels, Sidney, Ohio for three years, I was appointed by Archbishop Pilarczyk to the faculty of the Athenaeum of Ohio and Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in 2000. In 2011, I was appointed first recipient of the Daniel E. Pilarczyk Chair of Systematic Theology. In 2011 I was appointed by Archbishop Schnurr President of the Athenaeum and Rector of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West. After completing my seven-year term as President/Rector I was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Victory July 2018. I will begin my new appointment as pastor of our parish family on the 1st July 2022, which happens to be the feast of St. Oliver Plunkett, Archbishop of Armagh, a martyr – which seems appropriate. I have a dog name Blathene (Irish for Little Flower), and three cats, Gail, Maggie, and Boo-boo.
Opportunity to Help Name Our Family of Parishes
As part of the Beacons of Light and Family of Parishes process it is necessary for us to choose a new overall name for our parish family. Each of our present parishes will remain canonically independent until each parish decides to formally be suppressed at which time they will be merged into the new parish. Even after the new name is officially, or canonically, recognized, each of our present parishes will retain their present names and locations but will become known as chapels or campus. Nevertheless, we will still need to have an overall name for our new family of parishes.
I would like to invite you to be part of the process for choosing a new name for our family of parishes. Please take the time to recommend a name and return the form in the collection basket, drop it off or mail it to your parish office, or at the sacristy, before April 9th, 2022. After receiving your recommendations, we will produce a shortlist of suitable names and will ask His Grace, Archbishop Schnurr, to choose from the shortlist submitted to him. With this timeline we will be ready to publish our new name at Mass on Sunday, 3rd July, 2022, which is the first Sunday celebration of our new family of parishes.
Some guidelines: a. Try to recommend a unique name; b. Recommend a name that is suitable for a Catholic parish either from tradition, devotion or Biblical; c. Recommend a name that is not too long.
Fr. Ben
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My recommendation for the name of our Family of Parishes is:
_____________________________________________________________