Dear Parishioners,
On Friday, June 19th, Archbishop Nelson Perez appointed me to serve at the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Doylestown. Unfortunately, that means my time of service here at Saint Francis de Sales will end.
My brief stay here was an extraordinary time in my life. When Archbishop Chaput appointed me on February 11 I was thrilled knowing that I was going to serve at the parish my mom worshipped in and where my parents married. Little did I realize just how exciting these past five months would be!
I cannot tell you just how beautiful this experience has been for me. My brother John said he had never seen me happier. And he has said it on a few occasions. Everyone on our parish staff has been supportive and I am grateful.
Back in March, when the lockdowns began, we assembled a Crisis Response Team consisting of seven parishioners (in addition to myself). I cannot thank them enough.
Terence Sweeney, a parishioner and a member of our parish staff, mentioned that he wished I had seen our parish function in normal times, without a lockdown. I understand his sentiment and, to a great extent, I share it.
But I think I’ve seen the best of our community during these trying times. I’ve seen a staff work hard to preserve the community we love. I’ve seen people reach out to me to help. I’ve seen the IHM Sisters and our teachers adapt to new ways of teaching so that young people can continue to learn. I’ve seen the Assumption Sisters continue to perform works of charity in very trying circumstances. I’ve seen a church at maximum capacity on the first weekend we were allowed to worship as a community.
I really do believe that, as beautiful and magnificent as our church building is here, our people are even MORE beautiful and magnificent!
I’ll begin my new mission on July 8th. But I will NEVER forget this one.
Love,
Father Matt