Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
English translation: Many of you have probably already heard this
news, but I would like to make a formal announcement, as well. My name is Fr. Jeremy St. Martin,
and five years ago, in 2007, Cardinal Sean - the archbishop of Boston - sent me to become
the priest for Deaf Catholics, which is what I have been doing for the past five years,
and it has been a great joy in my life. Now the Cardinal has sent me to a new assignment,
to become the pastor to the people in a town named Townsend, which is to the North and
West, and in the neighboring community of Ashpi. The name of the parish is St. John
the Evangelist. That new assignment will begin on January 1st. At the same time I will continue
to be the director for the Deaf Apostolate, but that assignment will formally end on February
1st. So...wow. I am sad to say goodbye, but it won’t be
goodbye forever because I will, of course, always be friends with the Deaf Community.
And...I’m excited, too. It’s like having a new baby. I can remember back when I was
assigned to become a priest for the Deaf, I was excited about that, and now I am excited
about becoming a priest for the people in the parish of St. John the Evangelist in...Townsend
and Ashpi. Now, many people are curious about Fr. Shawn
and his assignment. The exact details of that haven’t been decided yet, and the Archdiocese
is in the planning process now, working on setting up the specifics of Fr. Shawn becoming
the director. And that is exciting! He is a new priest who has almost been ordained
for three years. So they’re working on setting up how to do that, and setting up meetings
and having discussions about that. My hope now is that we can still continue to do what
we have working on doing already, which is that Fr. Shawn has been becoming more and
more like the director anyways, and we will continue to do that.
We will still continue to have Mass at Sacred Heart, and religious education classes there,
and the same services for Deaf Catholics will continue as they have been. And Fr. Shawn’s
other assignment as parochial vicar (it’s like an assistant priest) at another St. John
the Evangelist in Hopkinton, I imagine - it’s not been formally announced yet, but I imagine
that that assignment will change as he takes up more and more responsibilities as the priest
director for the Deaf. People have been asking, “where will Fr.
Shawn live?”, and we’ll have to wait and see about that. Maybe some of you remember
that the former director of the Office of the Deaf Apostolate, Fr. Mike Medas, didn’t
live in the church where the Deaf community was. He lived somewhere else, and drove for
Mass and religious education classes and whatever the needs happened to be. So it’s not a
requirement to live there. But anyways, we’ll see.
There are many discussions happening right now about what is the best way, and there
are many options to think about, and examine, so that is the work that is happening now.
So we’ll have to wait and see what the announcement will be about Fr. Shawn and the exact details
of his next assignment. He will continue to work towards becoming the director until - God
willing - they will make an announcement for his exact assignment soon.
So just to recap, I am becoming the pastor of St. John the Evangelist parish in Townsend
and Ashpi., and that will begin on January 1st. And my assignment as director of the
Deaf Apostolate will, sadly, be finished on February 1st. O.k.,...so I know that the Deaf
Catholic community here in Boston is a wonderful community, filled with the spirit of God’s
wisdom and strength, and may you be dependant fully on God’s plan for you and not on false
hope. And God does have a plan for you, and I know you know that. And I know that I will
be proud of all of you, especially Fr. Shawn as he becomes a more and more successful priest
for the Archdiocese of Boston. You are a beautiful, awesome Deaf Catholic
community here in Boston, and I know that you will naturally continue to be that way
as you have already been. We’ll see what happens, right? I believe in you, I know you
can do it. May God bless you in this time of transition. Amen.