May 11th Pastor's Message

Read this week's message from Father Don

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Dear parishioners,

ALLELUIA. We have a new pope! (Habemus papam!) And a new archbishop.   

Our new pope and our new archbishop are life-long labourers in the Lord’s vineyard. They have given their entire adult lives to the service of God and his people. It is a wonderful example for the rest of us to follow.

Jesus calls us to be not only followers but coworkers in the building of God’s kingdom. After washing his disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, Jesus said to them “If I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (John 13.15). Here Jesus invites us to serve the Church and the world, remembering that he himself came “not to be served but to serve” (Mt. 20.28).

In our parish there are a variety of ways to serve, from small volunteer tasks to long-term groups. On the weekend of May 24-25 you will have an opportunity to sign-up for a parish group, parish program or one-time task. You can sign up in person or through an on-line link that will be made available soon.

Parish groups you could sign up for include: CWL, Knights of Columbus, Legion of Mary, Young Adults and more.  Alternatively, you could volunteer for a simple one-time task, a complete list of which is being prepared.  

There is also a personal benefit to parish volunteering, namely, making new friends. In a parish it is not always easy to make friends, but spending time with others whether in a group, a program or a task allows friendships to develop naturally.

I encourage you to consider signing up for something on May 24-25. In the meanwhile, let us pray daily for our new pontiff Pope Leo XIV.

Happy Easter!

Father Don

POPE LEO XIV - A Short Bio  

Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, was elected the 267th Pope May 8 and took the name Pope Leo XIV.

Pope Leo holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania and joined the Augustinian order in 1977, making his solemn vows in 1981. He holds a degree in theology from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome.

He joined the Augustinian mission in Peru in 1985 and largely worked in the country until 1999 when he was elected head of the Augustinians’ Chicago province. From 2001 to 2013, he served as prior general of the worldwide order. In 2014, Pope Francis named him bishop of Chiclayo, in northern Peru, then in January 2023 called him to Rome to serve as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

Soon after coming to Rome, he told Vatican News that bishops have a special mission of promoting the unity of the church. “The lack of unity is a wound that the church suffers, a very painful one. Divisions and polemics in the church do not help anything. We bishops especially must accelerate this movement toward unity, toward communion in the church.”

He is the first North American to be elected Pope. A longtime missionary in Peru, the 69 year old Pope holds both U.S. and Peruvian citizenship. He speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, Portuguese and can read Latin and German.

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