March 2021
Rev. Daniel Pacholec, Class of 1996, named Diocese of Springfield Director of Pro-life activities.
“I ask for prayers and support for the pro-life efforts and activities here in western Massachusetts, to pray that amid the perceived challenges life always holds, that all people might see life as a gift to be cherished, and not a burden. I believe that is the whole of the work of the pro-life movement." Read about Fr. Pacholec’s assignment and his work in western Massachusetts on iObserve.org http://iobserve.org/2021/03/24/father-daniel-pacholec-named-diocesan-director-of-pro-life-activities/?fbclid=IwAR3Vpm1YktWKXTG56pLDnmp94IXnm2r-Xds6h-BjiyZG9GzlLNEqa4S4Irc
Rev. Corey Bassett-Tirrell ’19 of the Archdiocese of Boston begins a new assignment as parochial vicar at St. Bridget Parish in Framingham, MA as well as Campus Minister at Framingham State College.
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Rev. Richard A. Jakubauskas ’99 has retired! It came to our attention recently that Fr. Richard Jakubauskas retired in July of 2020 after 21 years in service to the Diocese of Worcester.
Fr. Richard A. Jakubauskas, son of Leopold and Eugenia (Mirozcikas) Jakubauskas, was born on Nov. 29, 1943, in Kaunas, Lithuania. He graduated in 1961 from St. Peter High School, Worcester, where he was a three-sport athlete. He received a bachelor’s degree in English from Clark University in 1966, and a master’s degree in 1968, and certificate in advanced graduate studies in 1972, both from Assumption College. He served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps at various posts in the United States. He also worked for several years as an advertising representative for The Catholic Free Press.
Fr. Jakubauskas studied for the priesthood at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary in Weston and received a master of divinity degree in 1999. Bishop Daniel P. Reilly ordained him a transitional deacon in June 1998 and a priest on June 5, 1999. Both ordinations were at St. Paul Cathedral. Following ordination, Fr. Jakubauskas became associate pastor of St. Cecilia Parish in Leominster. From there, he continued on to serve many years as pastor, chaplain, administrator and assistant chaplain in parishes throughout the Worcester diocese and at UMass/Memorial Hospital. We congratulate him on his wonderful service to God’s church. May his blessings continue in his retirement and may he enjoy well-deserved rest!
February 2021
Rev. Charles Ruoff ’16 has been named Parochial Vicar at St. Maximilian Kolbe in the Diocese of Venice. You can reach him at: St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, 1441 Spear St., Port Charlotte, FL 33948.
January 2021
Rev. Rick Lesser ’15 has been named pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle in Delmar and St. Matthew's Church in Voorheesville in upstate New York. Read an interview with Fr. Rick in The Evangelist, where he was featured in FATHER FIGURES
https://evangelist.org/Content/Default/Homepage-Rotator/Article/FATHER-FIGURES-/-3/141/28826
Rev. Patrick Grode ’18 has been named pastor of Pius XII Newman Center in Brookings, South Dakota.
Rev. John Cronin ’17 was named pastor in November 2020 of The Church of the Holy Trinity in Cohoes, New York.
October 2020
Rev. Jim Bates ’18 has a new role as Parochial Administrator of St. Maurice Parish in Stamford, CT.
Rev. Fred Bayler ’09 - Fr. Fred has accepted the position of Executive Director of the Big Bend Natural History Association. It has been 20 years since he last worked at this location as a National Park Ranger, and he will now support the park’s mission as its premier cooperating association. In Fr. Fred’s own words: “Y’all have an open invitation to come visit the beauty of West Texas! Blessings!”
The Right Reverend Abbot Vincent Rogers, OCSO ’10 - The abbatial blessing of Dom Vincent Rogers at St. Joseph Abbey, Spencer, Massachusetts was held on October 1st. He entered the monastery in 1977, made his solemn profession in 1986 and was ordained a priest in 2010 after four years of formation at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary.
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Pictured: Br. Stephen Shanahan '21 (left); Bishop of Worcester, Bishop Robert McManus; Right Rev. Abbot Vincent Rogers; and Fr. Emmanuel Morinelli '14 (right).
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July 2020
Rev. Kevin Mulligan ’15 has moved to Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Media, Pennsylvania.
Rev. Patrick Wendler ‘08, has recently been made pastor of Sacred Heart Parish and School in Reedsburg, Wisconsin.
Rev. Vincent Rogers, Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary class of 2010, was elected and installed as the Abbot of St. Joseph Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts on Thursday, July 24th. Our prayers and congratulations to The Right Reverend Abbot Vincent Rogers, OCSO.
In the Diocese of Columbus, Rev. Ed Shikina, Class of 2018, has been named the Pastor of two parishes: Our Lady of Lourdes in Ada, Ohio and Immaculate Conception in Kenton, Ohio.
June 2020
Watch Rev. Peter Okajima’s story that brought him to the priesthood. Rev. Peter is from the Diocese of Brooklyn and a member of the Class of 2020
May 2020
Rev. Peter Adamski, Class of 2019, found a new way to celebrate Mass during lockdowns – Mass on the Church roof.
The joyful ordination of Rev. Nick Zrallack, Class of 2020, was captured in this article for Florida Catholic
https://thefloridacatholic.org/2020/05/06/ordinations-bring-joy/
April 2020
Rev. Kevin Mulligan, Class of 2015, reflects on the impact of the corona virus on Easter this year.
March 2020
Fr. Corey Bassett-Tirrell, Class 2019, one of the first local priests hearing Confessions in the parking lot at Saint Mary Parish in Chelmsford, Massachusetts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
February 2020
Rev. Philip Schulze ‘16 from the Diocese of Hartford has been appointed Pastor at Saint Margaret Parish in Madison, Connecticut.
Rev. Peter Adamski ‘19 from the Diocese of Bridgeport has been appointed Pastor at Saint James Parish in Stratford, Connecticut.
November 2019
Rev. Ed Anderson ’08 was recently featured in the Bishops Bulletin in Sioux Falls, SD (Bishop Paul J. Swain). The article details the Church’s teaching on human dignity. It presents examples of different populations and how they are supported by the Church. Father Ed Anderson provides pastoral care at Avera Prince of Peace Retirement Community in Sioux Falls, supporting the elderly and their continued contribution to society and the Church. Read the article about the great work that Fr. Ed is doing in his ministry. Not only was he featured – he made the cover! Thank you, Fr. Ed, for all that you do!
http://www.sfcatholic.org/bishopsbulletin/human-dignity-the-ultimate-gif...
October 2019
Rev. Darrick Leier '18 has recently been appointed pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church on East Main Street in Aspen, CO. Fr. Leier whole-heartedly accepts Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila’s call to serve in this new parish and starts in short time, taking over pastor duties on November 8th. Congratulations, Fr. Leier! Here is a link to his new assignment website: https://stmaryaspen.org/
Alumnus Rev. C Timothy Corcoran ’12 has written and been published in the July/August 2019 issue of The Bencher, The Magazine of the American Inns of Court (www.innsofcourt.org). Fr. Tim currently serves as pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Tampa, Florida.
"After work one afternoon in 2008, I was catching up with a colleague over a drink. I shared with her that our bishop was encouraging me to go to the seminary to study for the Roman Catholic priesthood. “That’s no story,” she said. “The story would be if you did it.” Read the article here.
July 2019
Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary Alumni travel to France for retreat
The archbishop of Washington has allowed Rev. Andrew Morkunas ‘09 to seek an assignment in the Diocese of Cleveland. Starting July 2, 2019 he will be the hospital chaplain at Hillcrest Hospital, Gates Mills, Ohio with pastoral responsibilities at St. John of the Cross, Euclid.
Rev. Ken Gill ’14 has been named pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Solomons, MD. He started his post on July 10th. Click here for the link to the parish website and to follow the great ministerial work at his parish: http://www.olss.org/
June 2019
Rev. Andrew Messina '09 will be adding St. Rita's Church in Oakland Beach, RI to his pastoral duties. Fr. Messina has been the pastor at St. Timothy's in Warwick since 2013, and the two parishes will be "yoking" starting July 1st. Read more here.
December 2018
Rev. Gregory Piatt ’14 was appointed as Administrator of St. John XXIII Parish, Redford, Michigan effective December 2, 2018. Link
November 2018
Rev. Aidan McDermott ’15 from the Saint Louis Abbey in Saint Louis, MO, has been named pastor for St. Anselm Parish in Creve Coeur, MO. See story here.
August 2018
Rev. Mark Brantley ’17 from the Diocese of Dodge City, KS has been named pastor for St. John the Apostle, St. Boniface, and Holy Rosary in Barber County.
July 2018
Rev. David Rosenberg ’11 (Diocese of Lansing) published his second book "Praying With The Heart Of The Church: Lectionary-Based Lectio Divina". View his book here.
June 2018
May 2018
Rev. Steve Matthews ’16 from the Diocese of Albany is pastor of St. John the Baptist parish in Greenville and Sacred Heart in Cairo (with Our Lady of Knock Shrine). He had been serving as parochial vicar (associate pastor) of St. Pius X parish in Loudonville, NY.
Very Rev. Ivan Olmo ’13 from the Diocese of Orlando has a new assignment as Parochial Administrator at St. Mary Parish in Rockledge, Florida.
Rev. Jorge Rocha ’16 from the Diocese of Providence has been named Pastor at Saint Francis Xavier Parish in East Providence, Rhode Island.
April 2018
Rev. William Jacobs, Jr. ’03 from the Diocese of Kalamazoo has a new assignment as Parochial Vicar at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Portage, Michigan 49024.
Rev. John McVoy, Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary Class of 2010 from the Diocese of Wilmington, DE vocation story is featured in Delaware Today Magazine April 2018 issue.
Fr. Russ Mower ’15, Pastor at St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Dallas, Tx traveled with a group of pilgrims to the Holy Land in April 2018
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