Each year the Archdiocese of Hartford requires the pastor appoint two lay trustees for his parish. The appointments are then approved by the Archbishop and the Vicar General of the Archdiocese. The role of the parish trustee is to review the official financial paperwork of the parish, which is required by the archdiocese, and to make sure that the pastor employs through the use of his Finance Council a budget to run the parish according to archdiocesan best practices. Lay trustees attest to the fact that the pastor has followed the instructions of the archdiocese and completed the fiscal documents which they then sign prior to their submission to the Chancery’s Fiscal Office. The lay trustees attest to the completion of the paperwork, not to the accuracy of the reports, which is the sole duty of the Finance Council. This year I have appointed Mrs. Melissa Horbal and Mr. Joseph Capozzoli as our two lay trustees. I appreciate their willingness to serve in this capacity and to have their names appear on the cover of our bulletin.

I take this opportunity to thank Mrs. Lelia Bruno and Mr. John Belanger for their recent service in this capacity—and to all our former lay trustees who have served in this capacity over the years here at Saint Catherine of Siena.