How priests get their parish assignments

Process begins in fall, culminates in summer

By Brian T. Olszewski Catholic Herald Staff

MILWAUKEE — Earlier this month, through word of mouth, announcements at Sunday Masses and/or via bulletins, members of 25 parishes in southeastern Wisconsin learned that they would be experiencing a pastoral change — pastor, associate pastor, administrator, or team member. What the parishioners might not have realized was that more than eight months before they heard the news, the process through which those changes were made had begun. According to Fr. Brian Mason, associate vicar for clergy, the process is priest-driven. “It depends a lot on what priests themselves are going to do,” he said. Last fall, priests who were reaching retirement age — 68 — were asked their plans, e.g., retire, remain in active ministry, remain in active ministry but without the administrative duties of a pastor, etc. Three opted to retire in January, one in April, and five will retire at the end of June. In November, all diocesan priests were sent a questionnaire in which they were asked to state their intentions for spring. Response options included staying where they were; seeking to renew their assignments, if their first term was coming to an end; and seeking a new parish if their second term was coming to an end. For a valid reason, e.g., the parish is in the midst of a major building project or the priest is near retirement age, the archbishop, who can take up the matter with the consultors before making a decision, may grant a pastor a specific extension to his term. When the six-member placement board met in January, Fr. Mason and Fr. Curt Frederick, vicar for priests, presented the names of the parishes that would have openings come spring. “There are no heated discussions,” Fr. Mason said of the meetings, “but they can get spirited.” He noted that board members, who interview priests seeking assignments in the board member’s region of the archdiocese, bring “wisdom” to the placement process. “You know why a priest would do well in a particular parish,” Fr. Mason said of the different perspectives members bring to the board. Extensive consultation The process is more involved than simply matching any of the available priests and with any of the available parishes. Fr. Mason visited each of the parishes where the pastor was leaving. He consulted with the parish’s paid staff and with its parish council. The parish also developed a profile of itself. The associate vicar for clergy provided the placement board with the profile, notes from his consultations, and a summary of the parish’s status animarum report — an annual compilation in which the pastor submits information about the sacramental and pastoral ministry, education, and outreach services that the parish has provided in the previous year. This information was also available to the priests in transition. According to Fr. Mason, the placement board has two key questions for priests in transition. “What parishes would you be willing to serve? What parishes would you definitely not be willing to serve?” he said. Priests are asked to provide the placement board with their top three choices for an assignment. When the board met in March, the placement process began. “We look at everybody’s first choice,” Fr. Mason said. He noted that for some parishes “people are lined up.” With others, priests are encouraged to look again at the opportunities a parish might present. “Sometimes the reaction is, ‘Oh, I didn’t know that,’” he said of parishes a priest might have overlooked. Placing associate pastors The board was also responsible for placing five newly-ordained priests as associate pastors. The board interviewed them last November, and Fr. Mason met with Fr. Michael Witczak, rector of Saint Francis Seminary, to get his input on the five men. The five also completed a questionnaire about what they saw as their ministerial gifts, and where they were not as strong. “We ask, ‘What are you looking forward to doing as priests?’” Fr. Mason said. “They’re also upfront as to what intimidates them.” The future associates also met with pastors whose parishes were eligible to receive an associate or team member. “They (the pastors) want to know, ‘What can you bring to the parish?’” Fr. Mason said. With the information culled from the would-be associates and the pastors of the parishes to which they could be assigned, the board makes its recommendations. “Some of the questions we ask are, ‘Is this going to be a good first assignment for this newly-ordained priest? Who is the pastor? What is the parish community like? What is the staff like?’” Fr. Mason said. The newly-ordained’s first assignment is for three years, followed by a three-year assignment in another parish. “We want him to get his feet wet in the first assignment,” Fr. Mason said. “In the second assignment, he gets more familiar with how a parish operates.” Noting that priests might become pastors after six or seven years, he added, “The road to a pastorate isn’t very long anymore.” As for the assignments of this year’s associates, Fr. Mason said the process went smoothly. “It became very clear and fell into place which parishes the board would recommend to the archbishop (for the assignment of each associate),” he said. Fr. Mason said that Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Sklba are provided data about the placement board’s work, and that each can give input during the process. In his first year as associate vicar for clergy, Fr. Mason also experienced the assignment process. He has been appointed pastor of St. Richard, Racine, while continuing as associate vicar for clergy. Fr. Mason estimated that the placement board met at least a dozen times since last fall, in addition to doing the preparation required for each meeting. “This is above and beyond their regular work,” he said. “They receive no compensation for this.” Despite all the consultation, interviews, prayer, and analysis, Fr. Mason says there are no guarantees when it comes to placing a priest in a parish. “You never get to know the parish until you walk in and start living it,” he said.