From the desk of the pastor for September 21, 2025

The Lord be with you. I need to share some important news with you all. On October 1st I will no longer be assigned to St. Ignatius of Antioch. As of that day, I will once again only be the pastor of St. Thomas More. Due to the lack of available priests, St. Ignatius will not be receiving a priest as an administrator or pastor. Instead, Mr. Jason Lewis will become their Parish Life Coordinator, and Fr. Phil Bernier will become the Presbyteral Moderator for St. Ignatius.

When I went to St. Ignatius, I knew that it would be very challenging to run two parishes each with its own school. For eight years I had run two parishes in Garfield, and I have a good idea of what a pastor (or administrator) needs to do for a parish. I am still learning the many demands of having a school. In all honesty, however, my expectations were far exceeded by the needs of both parishes. Despite my best efforts, I could not keep up with the workload. Here I must apologize for the many delayed emails and phone calls. You deserve to have your sacramental and religious needs met in a timely manner, and I was not always able to do so over the last few months.

In late July I reached out to our dean, the Very Rev. Robert Ramser, about my concerns. Upon his advice I reached out to the Vicar of Clergy, Rev. Joseph Mamich. Whereas the dean is in charge of the parishes in our area, the Vicar of Clergy is the bishop’s representative to our clergy. All three of us looked at ways at making things work, but our options were limited. These conversations were ongoing, but matters became more pressing as time went on.

In late August I began to see that my physical health was being impacted, in particular my heart. Over a decade ago I had a heart oblation, and I monitor my blood pressure and heart rate regularly. There was one Sunday when I had trouble standing through Mass. It was then that I knew I could not continue in both roles.

A few weeks ago I asked the Vicar of Clergy to release me from St. Ignatius so that I could focus on my duties as pastor of St. Thomas More. Both Fr. Ramser and Fr. Mamich agreed with my assessment that I needed to step down as the administrator of St. Ignatius. It is our hope that Mr. Lewis and Fr. Bernier will provide the leadership that St. Ignatius needs.

I am looking forward to giving my full attention and energy to St. Thomas More. We have a lot to do! Please keep me in your prayers, and please pray for the people of St. Ignatius. May the Lord grant us all the graces we need to do His Will now and forever.

In His Sacred Heart,
Fr. John