Fr. Paul

By Mary Donovan

Fr. Paul sits behind the desk that has been his bailiwick for the past 13 years to talk about moving on. He is his unruffled self. If there’s turmoil in his heart at this significant change in his life, he’s not advertising it.

He will be a senior priest, he said, helping out in parishes, doing pastoral work, working at the Tribunal. He will be busy, he said, but with a busyness that does not involve "all those meetings." He said he is pleased to be getting away from administrative duties.

"Leadership at the priest level is important," he said. "Leadership in other levels is important. In recent years some parishes have been in position to hire parish administration to assume oversight of parish properties and finances. These people are responsible to the pastor," he said. "It’s one way to remove overall burden of administration."

Fr. Paul, a canon lawyer, is Associate Judicial Vicar for the Diocese. He was pastor at Christ the King church in Worcester before he came to St. Mary’s.

"Christ the King was a wonderful preparation for St. Mary’s," he said. "The socio-economic point of view was equal."

St. Mary's had greater numbers of parishioners, he said. In addition, the parochial school added a challenge. Funding and managing the school became a major responsibility. Since the Sisters of Notre Dame left, the financial challenges to families with children in the school have been much greater, he said. However, people are supporting the educational mission of the church in a much broader fashion than religious education, he said.

"St. Mary's is a wonderful place to be. It's filled with people of talent and a variety of talents - people who can see the value for education and serving in the parish teaching."

He gave credit to the staff that makes managing this big operation easier for him. "Work is spread out in so many ways," he said. "The wonderful staff takes on the running of the place. The staff is well paid in all areas. We’re fortunate to be able to do that."

He said his greatest satisfaction is the remarkable involvement of lay people with religious.

"They’re everywhere in the various ministries of the church," he said. "St. Mary's has become a model; we have such an abundance of qualified and gifted people."

He said he is proud of the role the parish council has played. The parish council is advisory, but an important element of parish life, he said. It's a forum for people to bring their ideas and disappointments. It's important for the future of the parish.

"We have such a balance at St. Mary's. The older group gives value to the history of St. Mary’s," he said, "and a growing number of young families with youth and vitality and their needs come together to celebrate good times and bad and have their spiritual needs addressed."

Fr. Paul said his biggest disappointment has been the inability of the parish to move on the construction of better facilities to accommodate the needs of the parish. Much planning work has been done and the drawings are in place, he said. Funding the project, however, met two substantial roadblocks. One was the Forward in Faith campaign which precluded a capital campaign within the parish, he said. Another obstacle to moving forward was the so-called sex abuse crisis.

"Now St. Mary's is at a point to move forward on plans," he said.

One of the reasons he's moving on, he said, is because he wouldn't be able to finish the project before time for full retirement. He is passing the baton to the new team.