Weekend of June 25-26, 2022

Dear Friends,

            I am happy to officially welcome Father Andrew Lane as Parochial Vicar (assistant pastor) of our parish. Father’s appointment becomes effective June 20^th.

            Father Lane, as you already know, was ordained on May 21^st at the Cathedral-Basilica by Archbishop Perez, along with his five other classmates. Father grew up in several places on the East Coast (due to his mom’s work requirements), but received his sacramental foundation at Sacred Heart Parish in Oxford, Chester County, which is the church in which he celebrated his First Solemn Mass on May 22^nd. Father’s parents now live in Georgia, but his sister lives in Port Richmond. As a seminarian, Father has had a variety of assignments and experiences, most recently at Saint Katherine of Siena on Frankford Avenue, where he spent his deacon intern year.

            Father Lane arrived this past Monday, and is already getting into parish life here at Saint Timothy’s. As I have told him many times, this is a perfect place for a newly ordained to learn how to be a priest. In a time when very few parishes anywhere, including in this Archdiocese, have assistant pastors, it is quite an honor for us, as a parish community, to  have Father Lane assigned to us (you will recall that we haven’t had an assistant since Father Monahan left us in the winter of 2018). The fact that we were among the six parishes chosen to receive a newly-ordained, speaks volumes about who we are as a community of faith. In so many ways, all of us together will help to form Father Lane as a young priest, and that is not only a sacred privilege, but also an awesome responsibility. I know that you will welcome Father with open arms, and will help him to quickly realize he is a member of our parish family.

              This coming week, Anne Coneghen and I will be attending the annual liturgy and music convention sponsored by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians. We are happy to be attending in-person for the first time in three years, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The conference this year is being held in Louisville, Kentucky.

I extend my deepest thanks to all those who have already made their contributions to the 2022 Catholic Charities Appeal and Saint Charles Seminary Appeal. I once again ask you, if you have not already done so, to please make your gift to these important annual appeals.  It would be a wonderful thing if we had 100% participation from every wage earner and/or household in the parish. Your sacrificial gifts, no matter how large or small, will make a big difference in the lives of those most needy who are served by Catholic Charities, as well as our seminarians who benefit from the seminary appeal. Thank you, as always, for your generosity.

Know that you and those you love are daily remembered in my Mass and my prayers.

                                                                                    Love and prayers,
                                                                                    Father Olivere