Parish Assembly on October 1
Dear Parishioners:
Our Parish Assembly drew over 50 people. It was a constructive evening of discernment and discussion. Each group of parishioners was led by another parishioner. The discussion leader then reported to the larger group.
Bishop Lewandowski, the Diocesan Office of Family, Youth, and Young Adult, and the Diocesan Office of Faith Formation provided the format and questions for each parish to follow at their assemblies. The questions were: What is our parish doing well? What needs to be strengthened or improved? What is something we need to begin doing? What is something we need to stop doing? What should the diocesan priorities be at this time? What do you need from your parish or the diocese at this moment?
An earnest discussion ensued, resulting in helpful suggestions and support from many parishioners at the assembly. We recorded all points raised and will send them to the Diocese for use at the larger Diocesan Assembly on November 14. This assembly will include delegations from every parish, including OLM, and will be held at LaSalle Academy.
At the Parish Assembly, I shared the Bishop’s vision for the event. He stated in part:
“My dear brothers and sisters in Christ—clergy and all of the baptized of the Diocese of Providence—I invite you to step forward with courage into this new season of renewal. Three Pathways, One Mission is a spiritual itinerary meant to help align our hearts with the life, ministry, and mission of Jesus Christ.
Renewal is rooted in the Mystery of the Incarnation—God clothing himself in our humanity—so that we might carry his Divine light into our homes, neighborhoods, parishes, and schools. Yet, to live this mission fully, we must also embrace his Passion and Cross, abandoning self-protection, nostalgia, and fear so that Christ’s sacrificial love can heal our wounds.”
I also shared with the group the words of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, delivered at a Diocesan Assembly for the Diocese of Rome, of which he is the Bishop. Pope Leo stated in part:
“Brothers and sisters, I am not delivering a new pastoral program to you today. We are not starting from scratch, and nothing of what we have experienced should be consigned to the archives. We listen and discern together, as co-responsible for the one mission. Instead, I propose that we develop a third dimension: pastoral evaluation. To evaluate, in the light of the Holy Spirit, means to pause, revisit what has happened, recognize what has borne fruit, understand what has not worked, and seek the reasons for this together. In a word, it means seeking the truth.
BEGINNING OF THE NEW PASTORAL YEAR OF THE DIOCESE OF ROME, ADDRESS BY HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV, Basilica of St John Lateran, Friday, 18 September 2026
The Church does not exist for her own sake, but to lead every person to an encounter with the Lord; and so it is not enough to ask whether an activity is well organized, whether it is well attended, or whether it has been running for many years; we must ask whether it truly leads to Christ, whether it brings the Gospel into contact with the real lives of the people.
I would now like to say a few words about the ordained ministry in Rome. I also know that pastoral service today is more demanding than it was in the past. I urge you not to bear these burdens alone. And I say to you quite clearly that the art of pastoral evaluation does not ask you to do more: on the contrary, it gives you permission to do less and do it better. If pastoral evaluation were to become yet another burden on your shoulders, we would have betrayed its very purpose.”
I thank the parishioners who attended the Parish Assembly, and I am especially grateful to those who led the discussion groups. A good dialogue took place, and there is certainly much good material to reflect upon as both parish priests and parishioners. Before we closed the Assembly, I paraphrased President John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address. “Ask not what your parish priest can do for you; rather, ask what you can do for your parish!”
Columbus Day is on Monday. A day to celebrate our Catholic Faith and for our Italo-Americans to remember with pride the great Christopher Columbus! Happy Columbus Day! Fr. Brodeur is away on a well-deserved vacation. Be well. Do good. God Bless. Go White Sox (the Pope’s Team)! Go Pats!