This year, St Catherine of Siena Parish celebrates 50 years of praise and worship of God, ministries and community building.

The successes of the past 50 years falls squarely on the faith-filled shoulders of many women, men and children. Families and friends who saw a need, rallied together and found a solution for the common good.

Fifty years have seen a few priests pass through the parish’s administrative roles: our first and founding pastor, The Reverend John Dwyer Hurley (1974-1989) who lived in a trailer on the property while the parish built its rectory and held Masses at Tootin Hills elementary school. He was the first of the clergy to unite a people in faith. Our second pastor, The Reverend Richard R. Russell (1989-2008) came to us from Yale University’s St Thomas Moore Catholic Center to continue a new church’s growth. Fr. Russell over saw two additions as the parish grew including the hall the bears his name, Russell Hall, and the religious education office, kitchen, library and meditation room.

Our third and current pastor, The Reverend Michael Whyte, (March of 2007 to August of 2008 as Temporary Administrator) and since 2008 as pastor, has worked with staff, ministry volunteers and others to build out the mission of the parish to include social outreach, foster faith formation, youth ministry and more.

But our parish is much more than her pastors. It is a parish comprised of loving and dedicated men, women and children who seek to carry on the mission of Jesus Christ in our own local community.

This parish feeds the hungry, cares for the physically and spiritually unwell; we form our children in Faith and in action through our family engagement, Faith Formation and Youth Ministry. We have and continue to build community through like minded believers who are filled with hope and seek lo share that Hope in Christ with others. The list of past names and current names seems unending—from Samuelrich, Hopkins, Vendetti and Mascaro to Carew, Rice, Polio, Bilodeau, Williams, and too many more to mention. We are a family. We are a faith. We are for Christ.

And what does the future hold? With God nothing is impossible.

As we move forward my hope for this parish is to engage more families and individuals in the actual practice of the faith. To offer hope and Trust in God. To find new ways to bring Christ closer to our everyday lives for people to follow and encounter Him. My hope is to make the depth and beauty of our Catholic faith more relevant. To engage more people in our ministerial missions. To encourage folks to take on new roles: lectors, Eucharistic Ministers, ushers and become a more welcoming community than we already are.

My hope is to work with you, the people, and make our parish even more relevant in everyday life. Our goal is and will be for people to know the Lord, love the Lord and serve Him in this life and be with Him forever in the life to come.

But in the meantime, let’s celebrate our first 50 years. April 29th is the feast of our patron saint, Catherine of Siena. On Sunday the 28 of April our 11 a.m. Mass will focus on St Catherine of Siena and will be followed by a celebration in Russell Hall. Next weekend, our bulletin will highlight some additional year-long celebrations for adults, families and children as we give glory to God for our parish and our patrons saint. More to come, much to celebrate!