From the Pastor's Desk
Dear Members of Immaculate Conception Church and School,
As I announced last weekend at Mass, it is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Archbishop Hebda has decided to re-assign me to be the next pastor of the Church of St. Pascal Baylon in St. Paul effective July 2, 2018. My last day of work here as your pastor at Immaculate Conception will be Sunday, July 1.
The priest that is coming to Immaculate Conception to replace me is Father James Peterson, and I think he will be a very good fit for this parish and school. He was ordained a priest for this Archdiocese in 2013, and he currently serves at our Archdiocesan Mission in Venezuela. Before serving in Venezuela, Father Peterson served as the associate pastor at St. Odilia Church in Shoreview. His first day of work here at Immaculate Conception will be Saturday, July 28, 2018.
Between July 2-28 the Archdiocese will arrange for substitute priests to cover the weekday and weekend Masses here. The other pastoral needs for a priest (such as funerals and anointing of the sick) will be covered by substitute or neighboring priests. I plan to return here between July–September to celebrate weddings that are already in my calendar if that is agreeable with Immaculate Conception and St. Pascal’s parish.
You might be wondering why I am moving at this time. When I was assigned here in 2012 by Archbishop Nienstedt, it was for a 6-year term with the possibility of a second term. Now that 2018 has arrived, and after looking at the needs of the various parishes in the Archdiocese, Archbishop Hebda has asked me to move to St. Pascal Baylon Parish which has a parish school that is similar in demographics and economics to our school here. The current pastor of St. Pascal’s is Father Mike Byron, and he is moving to another parish in July to replace a retiring pastor. He is sad to be leaving St. Pascal’s but willing to move where he is needed. The Archbishop believes that my skills and experience will be helpful to St. Pascal’s, and therefore I am open to moving even though I am sad to be leaving you.
My time here at Immaculate Conception has been wonderful for me, and I knew it would be difficult to leave when the time came. The life and ministry of a priest is always enriched by the people that he serves, and you have blessed my life through the experiences, the sacraments, the joys and challenges that we have experienced together.
I will be with you until the end of June, and we will never say a complete good-bye to each other because we will always be united together in the Body of Christ that is the Church.
God Bless You,
Father John Mitchell
