Priest assignments continue parish realignment pattern

This year’s priest assignments facilitate the continued realignment of parishes in the archdiocese, as four priests retire and 21 priests take on new or modified positions.

Following a model of pastoral planning begun last year to address the decreasing numbers of priests and shifting demographics, more parishes are being grouped together under the leadership of one pastor and two or more associate pastors.

Assumption-Guadalupe, Ss. Peter and Paul and St. Mary parishes will become one of the first groupings of Omaha parishes to adopt the new model under a plan for central and south Omaha parishes announced earlier this year.

Father William Bond, pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Omaha, will become pastor of the new south Omaha grouping following Father Carl Zoucha’s move from pastor of Assumption-Guadalupe Parish to pastor of Holy Name Parish, also in Omaha.

Father Frank Jindra, pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul and St. Mary parishes, will become senior associate pastor, and newly ordained Father Mauricio Tovar will become associate pastor of the three parishes.

“We have a very large number of people in those neighborhoods and very active Latino communities,” said Father Scott Hastings, vicar for clergy and judicial vicar for the archdiocese.

“There’s so much day-to-day pastoral work to be done,” he said, citing the need to better distribute the workloads for priests in the three parishes.

Father Rafael Majano, associate pastor of Assumption-Guadalupe Parish, will become pastor of St. Joseph Parish.

Another new grouping will see St. Thomas More Parish joining with St. Joan of Arc Parish under the pastorship of former director of Pastoral Services for the archdiocese, Father Jeffrey Lorig. He will also serve as coordinator of Pastoral Planning for the archdiocese, a responsibility he already had in his former role.

Current pastor of St. Thomas More, Father Frank Baumert, will serve as senior pastor of the two parishes while Father Gregory Benkowski, pastor of St. Joan of Arc, will become senior associate pastor of that parish.

As Father Michael Malloy retires, St. Patrick Parish in Battle Creek and St. Francis de Sales Mission in Schoolcraft, of which he was pastor, will join with Sacred Heart Parish in Norfolk, St. Leonard of Port Maurice in Madison and St. Peter in Stanton.

Father Patrick McLaughlin will assume pastorship of the additional parishes, and Fathers Scott Schilmoeller and Gregory Carl will serve as associate pastors of St. Patrick.

Grouping parishes will create some economies of scale and distribute the priests’ workloads, Father Hastings said. “It’s a more effective and collaborative leadership model.”

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SOUTH OMAHA

Father William Bond, pastor of St. Joseph Parish, to pastor of Assumption-Guadalupe Parish, Ss. Peter and Paul Parish and St. Mary Parish, all in Omaha.

Father Frank Jindra, pastor of Ss. Peter and Paul Parish and St. Mary Parish, both in Omaha, to senior associate pastor of the same, with additional duties as senior associate pastor of Assumption-Guadalupe Parish in Omaha.

Father Mauricio Tovar, newly ordained, to associate pastor of Assumption-Guadalupe Parish, Ss. Peter and Paul Parish and St. Mary Parish, all in Omaha.

Father Rafael Majano, associate pastor of Assumption-Guadalupe Parish, to pastor of St. Joseph Parish, both in Omaha.

NORFOLK AREA

Father Patrick McLaughlin, pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Norfolk, St. Leonard of Port Maurice Parish in Madison and St. Peter Parish in Stanton, to take on additional duties as pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Battle Creek and St. Francis de Sales Mission in Schoolcraft.

Father Gregory Carl, associate pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Norfolk, St. Leonard of Port Maurice Parish in Madison and St. Peter Parish in Stanton, to take on additional duties as associate pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Battle Creek.

Father Scott Schilmoeller, associate pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Norfolk, St. Leonard of Port Maurice Parish in Madison and St. Peter Parish in Stanton, to take on additional duties as associate pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Battle Creek.

SPECIAL

Father Tobias Letak, associate pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish in Omaha, to take on additional duties as episcopal master of ceremonies.

Father Michael Voithofer, associate pastor of St. Gerald Parish in Ralston, is released for one year to Ablaze Ministries, with residence at St. Bernadette Parish in Bellevue.

OTHER URBAN PARISHES

Father John Pietramale, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes-St. Adalbert Parish, to take on additional duties as pastor of the quasi-parish of the St. Andrew Kim Taegon Catholic Community, both in Omaha.

Father Damien Wee, administrator of St. Francis Borgia Parish in Blair, to pastor of the same.

Father Vitalis Anyanike, pastor of Holy Name Parish and St. Benedict the Moor Parish, both in Omaha, to pastor of St. Benedict the Moor Parish.

Father Carl Zoucha, pastor of Assumption-Guadalupe Parish, to pastor of Holy Name Parish, both in Omaha.

Father Jeffrey Lorig, director of Pastoral Services for the Archdiocese of Omaha, to pastor of St. Thomas More Parish and St. Joan of Arc Parish, both in Omaha, with continued duties as coordinator of Pastoral Planning.

Father Frank Baumert, pastor of St. Thomas More Parish, to senior associate pastor of the same, as well as senior associate pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish, both in Omaha.

Father Gregory Benkowski, pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Omaha, to senior associate pastor of the same.

Father Marcus Knecht, associate pastor of St. James Parish in Omaha, to associate pastor of St. Gerald Parish in Ralston.

Father Zachary Tucker, newly ordained, to associate pastor of St. James Parish in Omaha.

SCHUYLER

Father Jairo Congote, associate pastor of Divine Mercy Parish in Schuyler, to pastor of the same, with continued weekend duties for ministry in Spanish at St. Bonaventure Parish in Columbus.

WAYNE AREA

Father Gerald Connealy, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Laurel and St. Anne Mission in Dixon, as well as associate pastor of St. Mary Parish in Wayne, to additional duties as pastor of St. Mary Parish in Wayne.

Father Jeffrey Mollner, pastor of St. Mary Parish in Wayne, and associate pastor of St. Mary Parish in Laurel and St. Anne Mission in Dixon, to associate pastor of all three parishes with pastoral care for campus ministry at Wayne State College.

RETIREMENTS

Father Gerald Gonderinger, pastor of Divine Mercy Parish in Schuyler. He will continue assisting at Divine Mercy Parish. (Ordained 1974)

Father David La Plante, on leave to the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, will remain in retirement in Milwaukee, effective August 1. (Ordained 1978)

Father Michael Malloy, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Battle Creek and St. Francis de Sales Mission in Schoolcraft. (Ordained 1976)

Father Paul Oh, pastor of St. Andrew Kim Taegon Catholic Community in Omaha. He will continue assisting at St. Andrew Kim Taegon. (Ordained 1983)

DEACONS

Deacon James Keating, director, Office of the Permanent Diaconate for the Archdiocese of Omaha, is released to the Archdiocese of St. Louis to serve as a faculty member and professor at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.

Deacon Timothy McNeil, chancellor for the Archdiocese of Omaha and administrator of Mother of Perpetual Help Parish in Omaha, to additional duties as director of the archdiocese’s Office of the Permanent Diaconate.