Hello dear parish family,
It is with a heavy heart that I share the news that our Pastor, Fr. John has been reassigned to St. Katharine Drexel Parish in New Britain.
Under canon law, there are two options for a bishop to appoint priests. Under one option, if there is no term specified, a pastor is appointed, theoretically, for life, unless the pastor would agree to move or unless there is a good reason given by the bishop that he must move. The other option a bishop has is to appoint a pastor to a specific term of office, which the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has set at six years. Typically, each pastor is appointed for six years, with the understanding that his term could be renewed for another six years and, perhaps, beyond. This serves many purposes. It gives a pastor the opportunity to become deeply rooted in a parish so that he can do his ministry. In 2017 Fr. John happily agreed to a six year term, however, a priest is ordained for the church, and Fr. John is obedient in honoring the decision of Arch Bishop Blair's vision that his gifts and talents are needed in New Britain and therefore he will be reassigned as Pastor of the combined parishes that make up St. Katharine Drexel as of August 21, 2018.
We thank him for all that he has done for our community and for all the sacrifices that he has made by answering the call to the priesthood.
If you cannot make it to his farewell party...
Please feel free to drop him a note of thanks and well wishes...
Rev. John Granato
St. Katharine Drexel Parish
1010 Slater Road
New Britain, CT 06053-1658
In the peace of Christ,
Marlene Carrier, Bulletin Editor
St. John Paul the Great Parish
(860)482-4433 Ext 24
