9 April 2007

Dear Priests, Deacons and Pastoral Animators, and Faithful of the Archdiocese,

            Happy Easter!  I have no doubt that for many of you, the past several days have been very busy with the Holy Week services.  These are without doubt the most diverse and profound liturgies of the Church year.  They call us each year to enter ever more deeply into the paschal mystery of the dying and rising of Jesus Christ.  He is risen, and we are promised new life!

Chrism Mass: Once again we hosted the Chrism Mass here at the cathedral, on the Tuesday of Holy Week, April 3rd.  It was a wonderful celebration of the whole diocese, as we had the faithful from all directions join us.  This was another “first” for me as archbishop … I will have many of these in my first year.  The holy oils were duly blessed and distributed to the parishes.  If any missed them, or need to be resupplied at any time in the year, we keep the oils in the chancery office chapel.  We also invited the baptized faithful, the deacons and priests to renew their commitment to serve the Lord in fidelity to His call. 
            During that day, the priests and deacons gathered for a clergy meeting, where we discussed several issues that we face in our life and ministry as priests and deacons.  I am personally grateful for the input I received that day, as well as the dedicated service of these and all who labour zealously in our patch of the vineyard.

Mr. Grant Mann: Around the time of my last letter, we hired Grant Mann as the Financial Administrator of the Archdiocese.  Grant has worked diligently over the past weeks to bring himself up to speed on the many aspects of our administration.  He has also been working closely with the members of the Archdiocesan Finance Committee.  The present members of this Committee are Norm Boucher, Charles Grubisich, Bridget Hennigar,  Frank Lovsin and Bill Mitchell.  In a couple of weeks, we will receive the 2006 statement of accounts from the auditor and our investment manager. 

Presbyteral Council and College of Consultors: I have recently been able to put together another mandated structure for the archdiocese: the Presbyteral Council and College of Consultors.  In some dioceses these would be two distinct bodies, but given our size, it makes more sense to have one group satisfy both sets of tasks.  Besides the vicar general and the chancellor (ex officio members), we have one priest from each of the five regions of the archdiocese: Fathers Tony Chakkunga, Robert Filion, Les Kwiatkowski, Albert Sterzer and Joseph Thazathemuriyil.  I am grateful to these men for their willingness to serve on yet another committee!
            My next goal is to call together an Archdiocesan Pastoral Council. 

Sexsmith: After 10 years as pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish in Sexsmith, Father Leon Kler, o.m.i. has been assigned by his Oblate superiors to Edmonton.  He will be pastor of a small parish there, as well as continue in his role as treasurer for the Oblates in this region.  I am deeply grateful for Father Kler’s many years of service in our archdiocese, and wish him well in his new post.
            I have assigned Father Julien Benedict Mary, recently arrived from the diocese of Pondicherry, India, as the acting pastor in Sexsmith.

The Peripatetic Archbishop: My recent travels have taken me to many corners of our vast archdiocese.  Included in my journeys have been:
Trout Lake (March 11), where I presided at a Sunday Mass and baptized a child, in the absence of Father Hernou;
Valleyview (March 17), where I presided at a Mass in honour of St. Patrick, then joined the parish in a St. Paddy’s Day party;
Galilee Weekend in Vocational Discernment (March 23-25) at the chancery office in McLennan.  This was a retreat weekend with 11 young adults who are trying to discern where the Lord may be calling them in life.  Our team (Fr. David Purcell, Henriette Romancewicz and I) hope to announce dates for another such weekend.
Grande Prairie (March 27) for the Spring Fling, an annual charity auction to raise funds for Catholic Family Services in Grande Prairie;
Fort Vermilion (March 28), where I installed Monika Schmidt as the lay pastoral animator for St. Henry’s Parish.  This Mass was followed by a pot-luck dinner for the parish;
Grande Prairie (March 31), this time for my exemplification as a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.  This is my first great foray into the K of C – it seems they can fast-track bishops!

            I will be out of town for much of the next few weeks.  Please keep me in your prayers, as I will also place you and your concerns before the Lord.  In next month’s letter I’ll share with you where my travels have taken me, and how these fit into labour in the Kingdom.

+ Gerard Pettipas, C.Ss.R.
Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan

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