Bishop Malooly announces the following appointments:
Retirement
The following priests have requested and been granted retirement from active ministry in the Diocese of Wilmington. These retirements are effective June 28, 2017.
Rev. William J Lawler
Rev. Arthur B. Fiore
Rev. Raymond F. Weisman
Rev. Gregory M. Corrigan
Pastors
The following appointments are effective June 28, 2017:
Rev. Msgr. Steven P. Hurley, STL, VG, is re-appointed pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Wilmington. This is in addition to his duties as Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia.
Rev. Stanislao Esposito is re-appointed pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea, Ocean City, Md./Holy Savior Mission, Ocean City, Md.
Rev. James M. Jackson is appointed pastor of St. John/Holy Angels Parish, Newark.
Rev. Stephen C. Lonek is appointed pastor of St. Mary Refuge of Sinners, Cambridge, Md./St. Mary Star of the Sea Mission, Church Creek, Md.
Rev. Stephen C. Lonek is re-appointed pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Secretary, Md.
Associate Pastors
Rev. Michael A. Angeloni is appointed associate pastor of Ss. Peter & Paul Parish, Easton, Md.
Rev. Christopher R. Coffiey is appointed associate pastor of St. John the Beloved Parish, Wilmington.
Rev. Glenn M. Evers is appointed associate pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish, Hockessin.
Rev. John T. Solomon is appointed associate pastor of Holy Cross Parish, Dover/Immaculate Conception Parish, Marydel, Md.
Rev. Daniel Staniskis is appointed associate pastor of St. Francis de Sales Parish, Salisbury, Md.
Rev. Marek Szczur is appointed associate pastor of St. Hedwig’s Parish effective July 1, 2017.
Newly Ordained
Rev. Richard J. Jasper is appointed associate pastor of St. Ann’s Parish, Wilmington.
Deacon
Deacon Michael Truman is re-appointed Coordinator of Prison Ministry for the Diocese of Wilmington. This appointment is effective immediately and for a period of three (3) years.
The following is an official appointment to the Diocese of Wilmington Curia:
Mr. Joseph Corsini is re-appointed Chief Financial Officer for the Diocese of Wilmington effective immediately and for a five (5) year term of office.
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Pastors on the road: ‘Linkage model’ for parishes has more churches sharing pastors
By Joseph Ryan, Dialog Editor
Take a look at Father Stephen C. Lonek’s two assignments as a pastor listed in the Official Appointments list on the right side of this page (see appointment, above; also on page 3 in the print edition).
That’s not a misprint.
Father Lonek has been appointed pastor of St. Mary Refuge of Sinners in Cambridge, Md. and its mission, St. Mary Star of the Sea in Church Creek, Md. And he’s also been re-appointed pastor at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Secretary, Md.
Father Lonek’s expanded geography of duties makes him one of a growing number of “roamin’” Catholic pastors in the diocese. His two Eastern Shore parishes have been linked. They remain separate parishes, but are led by a single pastor.
Bishop Malooly discussed this “linkage model” of parish administration in his pastoral vision for the diocese, “Together in the Spirit,” that was published in May 2016 on Pentecost Sunday.
The parish administration model is part of one of the four priorities for the diocese the bishop discussed in “Together in the Spirit.”
Those priorities are:
• New models for parish structure and administration.
• A new effort of evangelization.
• A renewal of catechesis involving adult formation, parish religious education, Catholic schools and youth ministry.
• Reinforcement of “our baptismal call to holiness in all vocations with a special effort to promote vocations to the priesthood and religious life.”
The first and fourth priorities address the repercussions of the dwindling number of priests available to serve at parishes.
In “Together in the Spirit,” Bishop Malooly mentioned the “quality” individuals who are in priestly formation and the Vocations Office’s expanding efforts to invite men to answer the call to the priesthood. The bishop also admitted, “…we still have to deal with the current reality that we will soon not be able to have a pastor for every parish.”
‘Linkage’ model
That’s why Priority 1 of the bishop’s pastoral vision addressed models for parish structure and leadership.
In addition to the resident pastor model, one pastor at one parish, the “linkage model,” where an individual pastor is assigned to two or more parishes, is an emerging model for some parishes.
Already, the Cathedral of St. Peter is linked to St. Patrick’s and St. Mary’s in Wilmington under the leadership of Father Leonard R. Klein.
Father James S. Lentini serves as pastor for both Holy Cross in Dover and for Immaculate Conception in Marydel, Md.
Also, last year, St. Matthew’s and Corpus Christi in Wilmington were linked under the care of Father Michael P. Darcy, and Father Timothy M. Nolan was assigned as pastor for two New Castle parishes, St. Peter the Apostle and Holy Spirit.
Father Nolan talked to The Dialog this week about his first year leading two New Castle congregations.
St. Peter’s and Holy Spirit “aren’t a bad connection,” Father Nolan said.
“The people were supportive of it. They understand the reason [for the linkage] and the parishes were very welcoming. If there was any consternation, they didn’t share it with me.”
The two churches are less than three miles apart, which made their rearranged Mass schedule easier for their pastor’s commute on Sundays.
St. Peter’s has a Saturday vigil Mass at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday Masses at 7:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
Holy Spirit’s Saturday night Mass is at 4 p.m. and its Sunday liturgy is celebrated at 9 a.m.
Easing Father Nolan’s transition serving at both parishes was the fact he was Holy Spirit’s pastor from July 2007 until July 2011, when he was named pastor of Corpus Christi.
Another helpful factor was that three area parishes — St. Peter, Holy Spirit and Our Lady of Fatima — have shared their Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program for some time, Father Nolan said. So the idea of regional parish cooperation, suggested by Bishop Malooly in his pastoral vision, was familiar to New Castle parishioners.
This past Holy Week, Father Nolan said, his New Castle congregations attended a Holy Thursday Mass celebrated at St. Peter’s, and an Easter Vigil Mass at Holy Spirit Church.
“Our Triduum was a wonderful example of people coming together,” Father Nolan said. “It was nice in a way to have more people at those beautiful liturgies.”
Holy Spirit is the larger of the two churches. It can hold 700 people, whereas 300 parishioners at St. Peter’s would make the church overcrowded, Father Nolan said.
Parish personalities
“It’s really been a priority of ‘year one’ to have both communities to be able to live cooperatively together,” the “roving” pastor added. He said both parishes’ personalities have remained as they were prior to the linkage, however.
“They haven’t been diminished,” Father Nolan said. “It’s not a competition.”
Holy Spirit has kept “the shrine aspect of the church,” with the statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace on the parish grounds, Father Nolan said.
Holy Spirit is also the site of Serviam Academy, a private tuition-free Catholic middle school, so there’s a school presence on the site of the parish’s former school.
St. Peter’s parish still has its historic characteristics of Old New Castle, as well as its own school tradition.
“It’s a good school,” Father Nolan said. There’s a positive energy about the school and an excellent principal (Mark Zitz). It’s a wonderful atmosphere” there and the students attend three weekday Masses, Father Nolan added.
The pastor also credits Deacon Michael Olliver, who was business manger at Holy Spirit, for now taking care of business matters at both parishes.
“He frees me up” to take care of a larger geographic area, Father Nolan said.
Father Lonek, starting his own parish linkage leadership, can take heart that the linkage model has been working well in New Castle for a year.
“The people have been wonderful,” Father Nolan said. “I’ve been very blessed. The parishioners work well together and the professional staff have been phenomenal.”
