Brothers and Sisters,
His Excellency, Most Rev. George Leo Thomas, Ph.D., Bishop of Las Vegas, has transferred me to become the Pastor at St. Joseph, Husband of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Las Vegas, effective July 1, 2023. Knowing Bishop Thomas spends much time in private prayer discerning priests' assignments in Las Vegas, I graciously accepted the assignment. Since it is the will of the Holy Spirit and in accord with my vows of obedience to my Bishop, I must go to St. Joe’s as the Holy Spirit has spoken through Bishop Thomas’ mediation. Of course, I would be lying if I did not admit to having mixed feelings.
St. Anthony of Padua was my first assignment in the United States. It was clear from the beginning that Fr. Bob and all the clergy that had served here before I arrived had worked hard to create a warm, welcoming, and loving parish family. Along the way, we celebrated the birth of children, cried over the death of loved ones, and laughed at the funny things the Holy Spirit threw our way.
As a priest in the Missionary Society of St. Paul, I try to live according to our motto: Pro Christo Legatione Ergo Fungimur, or “Ambassadors for Christ.” This motto comes from St. Paul's appeal in 2 Corinthians 5:20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you, on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” Through this community’s grace, I have been able to live out this motto.
My greatest joy has been the Breaking of the Bread during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Whether it was a Sunday morning or a Thursday evening, or a Tuesday morning, we joined together to celebrate the Holy and Divine Liturgy.
I started here while we were still in the midst of the pandemic when many were still watching the live-streamed Masses. As we have moved out of that phase and into the next, the devotedness of this parish to the Lord continued to grow even more. Of course, it’s easy and natural to turn to God in times of trouble, such as the COVID pandemic, and it’s also too easy to turn away from Him once the good times return. Just take Psalm 91:15b, for example: “Be with me, Lord, when I am in trouble.”
As we have moved away from the pandemic, I have been joyful to see a packed church and an even larger RU-vid audience at Masses. We averaged over 1,050 views a night on our evening daily Mass a week ago! By every human measure of the health of a parish, St. Anthony of Padua is in excellent shape. From attendance numbers at Mass to the Confession line to the parents registering their children for classes to the weekly collection to those answering God’s call and volunteering, we’re thriving.
Our parish is growing younger. We are celebrating more and more weddings, baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, and quinceañeras. We have a lot of young adults stepping into leadership roles. We even have men discerning a vocation to the priesthood! These are all signs of a healthy parish, and these are all signs that each and every one of you, through your ministry, are contributing to our growth.
Fr. Steven Hoffer will be coming home to this parish. Previously, Fr. Steve served this wonderful community from 2012 to 2017 as Parochial Vicar. Since 2017, he has served as Pastor at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church on the east side.
Those of you that have been members of this community for a while will remember him. In fact, because of the relationships he had forged here before becoming pastor at Holy Family, he has still served at St. Anthony of Padua on numerous occasions administering the Sacraments of Matrimony and Reconciliation and celebrating the Mass.
Those of you that are new will grow to love him. He’s a faithful servant of God, full of the energy and holiness needed to shepherd this parish. Fr. Steve is one of those men who helped cast this parish's foundation before my arrival, and I am 100% confident that the best is yet to come for this community. He is the best man that the Holy Spirit could have guided Bishop Thomas to select to shepherd such a wonderful community.
As my time with you winds down here in the coming weeks, I look forward to continuing to fulfill my priestly vocation with you all. Please continue to join our family at Mass. Please continue to turn away from sin in the Confessional. Please come to spend time with the Lord in Adoration.
I have been blessed beyond all measure to have grown in my own personal faith and spirituality right beside you these past two years. You have challenged me to become a better priest and a better man. For this, I am grateful. Please know that I will miss you all. Thank you for the kindness, generosity, and prayers that you have given. This special parish will forever be in my heart.
Pro Christo Legatione Ergo Fungimur,
Rev. Camillus Chikezie Ogaraku, MSP
Parochial Administrator
St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church
Las Vegas, NV 89149
28 апр 2023
