A Mass of Installation was held on October 2 at the Spiritan Center Chapel in Bethel Park, PA, to welcome Fr. John Fogarty, C.S.Sp. as the new Provincial. 

Fr. John has spent much of his life as a Spiritan in administration, serving as First Assistant to the Superior General (1998- 2004)  Provincial of the U.S. Province (2009-2012), and Superior General in Rome (2012-2021).  Most recently, he served as Senior Advisor to the President for Spiritan Mission and Campus Culture at Duquesne University.

During the Mass, a Commitment Ceremony was held welcoming 4 new Lay Spiritans: Karen Bova, Gio Cuchapin, Debbie Kostosky and John Boyles. Mercia O’Neil and Patty Duff renewed their Lay Spiritan commitments. Three Lay Spiritans in formation were also in attendance. Lay Spiritans publicly and formally commit to be a part of the Spiritan community, take the Spiritan spirituality and charism as their own and are open to the promptings of the Spirit in their life and work. 

The Mass took place on October 2, the day Spiritans celebrate the feast of their founder Claude Poullart des Places, who founded the Congregation in Paris as a young man. 

“There’s no more appropriate day for us to have this ceremony than October the 2nd. . .  All that we do, our fundamental point of reference is Claude Poullart des Places the vision and charism that he was given and that we all share. And everything that we do, our work, our life, our mission, our prayer, is inspired by the vision he articulated, and Libermann confirmed, that the evangelization of the poor is our purpose,” said Fr. John.

During Mass, Fr. John thanked all those in attendance and particularly Fr. Don McEachin, C.S.Sp., who served as Provincial even as he faced serious health challenges and Fr. Bill Christy, C.S.Sp. who stepped into the Provincial position when Fr. Don needed surgery. Fr. Don, after receiving a liver transplant, has had a remarkable recovery and has joined the Spiritans in Hemet, CA, for his next mission.

Fr. Bill will continue to work as Director of Campus Ministry at Duquesne University.

Fr. John along with his Provincial Council, consisting of Fr. Bill Christy, C.S.Sp. (first assistant), Fr. Benoit Mukamba, C.S.Sp., Fr. Binh T. Quach, C.S.Sp., Fr. Uju Okeahialam, C.S.Sp., Fr. John Sawicki, C.S.Sp. (treasurer), and Rich Gosser (Lay Spiritan representative) will undertake the responsibility of implementing the decisions of the recent Provincial Chapter. Please pray for the leadership team as they continue to follow the Spirit in the footsteps of our founders.
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