Dear St. Alphonsus family,
I wish to share some news. Back in January, I started a process of personal spiritual discernment. It included a heartfelt dialogue with my Redemptorist Provincial superiors regarding the possibility of ministry in the Archdiocese of Detroit. The reason is to facilitate my presence and aid for my ailing parents. With the permission of our Redemptorist leadership, I began the months – long process of exploring possibilities with representatives of the Archdiocese. As a result, if all goes as planned, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit will appoint me associate pastor of two parishes: St. Joseph and St. Timothy, in Trenton, MI, effective July 1, 2010, for the period of one year. I will be assisting Fr. Brad Forintos, who is pastor and administrator of both parishes. Our Redemptorist superiors are in the final negotiations with the Archdiocese. I will continue to be a member of the Redemptorist community of St. Alphonsus in Grand Rapids, with residence in Trenton, MI.
It is good to know that I will not be the only Redemptorist in the Detroit area! Deacon Fawaz Kako, CSsR, also of our Grand Rapids community, will be ordained a priest of the Chaldean Catholic Church on July 3, 2010. It is the Eastern rite Church into which he was baptized in his native Iraq. He will be associate pastor in residence in the vicinity of Warren, MI where a new parish, Our Mother of Perpetual Help, has been established by the Chaldean Eparchy (diocese) of St. Thomas the Apostle. A third member of our Grand Rapids community, Fr. Rich Luberti, CSsR, is associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Maybee, MI and resides there. He is very skilled in American Sign Language and works with the deaf in Atlanta, GA each month. So we will be three Redemptorists in the Detroit area, in special circumstances, and coming together fraternally from time to time. The Redemptorists have been in Detroit and its environs since our arrival in the USA, in 1832.
All Redemptorists – brothers, deacons, and priests, are missionaries. We all are sent forth in the name of the greater Redemptorist Congregation to live and minister in local Churches (dioceses). Gratefully, I ask for your kind prayers for my new ministry. Please continue to pray for me and for my family. Stay tuned for more information.
Many blessings, Fr. Ed Vella, C.Ss.R
Fr. Ed’s mailing address as of June 24
St. Timothy Church, 2901 Manning Drive, Trenton, MI 48183-3498
