stjudeapos.org

Fr. Detisch

I remember very clearly, back in October of 1978, the College of Cardinals made history
when they elected the Polish Cardinal of Crakow, Poland, Karol Wojtyla, to the Chair of
Peter. It was historic! For the newly elected Pope, John Paul II, was the first non-Italian Pope
in 455 years, and the very first one from Poland! (My grandmother, from Naples, Italy, cried
for two weeks!) When the new Holy Father came to the balcony to speak for the first time to a
waiting, excited world, he said to the people of God, “Be not afraid! Open wide the doors to
Christ!”
I keep these words close to my thoughts and in my heart as I begin my ministry to you,
the people of St. Jude the Apostle Church. It is an unspeakable honor to come here as your
Pastor. As many of you may know, my parents, Art & Jeanette, were founding members of this
parish, shortly after the first anniversary of their marriage. In that first year, they bought a little
home at the corner of Oxer Road and Farifax Road by the airport, and were excited to be among the first people to
worship with Fr. Tom Griffin at the Chapel of St. Joseph’s Orphanage, the site of the first Masses for the newlyestablished
St. Jude the Apostle Church. My brothers and I were all baptized here; with my brothers Art and Bill at the
Orphanage Chapel by Fr. Griffin, and my brother Scott and I in the new church/gymnasium by Fr. Francis Gallagher. My parents adored these priests, and their years as members of this parish. (I was six months old when we built our home by McDowell High School, and joined Our Lady of Peace Church, where we all grew up.) My parents never abandoned their devotion to this parish for all of the remaining years of their lives. God rest their souls.

I was ordained to the priesthood on April 22, 1988 by Bishop Michael J. Murphy, after having graduated from
Cathedral Prep (’80), Gannon University (’83), and St. Vincent Seminary (’87). (I was ordained one year after my brother, Scott … the Pastor of Holy Cross in Fairview). And, ironically, out of the almost-twenty four years of priesthood, all but three of them were on Route 20! When I was ordained, I was at St. John the Evangelist Church in Girard until June of 1989, where I was, then, assigned as Parochial Vicar to Sacred Heart Church. In July of 1995, I went next door to Blessed Sacrament as PV until August of 1999. It was then that I, finally, left Route 20 to become Pastor of St. Titus Church in Titusville and its mission, Immaculate Conception Church in Mageetown, just east of Centerville. I came back to Sacred Heart … and, Route 20 … in July of 2002, and have enjoyed the last decade with those good people, giving them a total of sixteen wonderful years of my ministry. It was hard to leave them. The people of Sacred Heart have been a true blessing to me.

I am so excited to come here, the Church of my baptism, and to the good and great people of St. Jude’s!
Again, the honor is unspeakable. It will be great fun living with Fr. Matt Strickenberger, one of our brightest and most dedicated young priests. And, it will be, almost, “wild” living with Fr. Tom Dugan, a very dear friend of mine for the past thirty years! I will try to keep the Rectory from becoming a Fraternity House, but I am looking forward to living with two very dear friends … and, great brother priests! I think the three of us are really looking forward to the great ministry that we can do together. And, I am excited about working with Deacon Dick Brogdon, one of our most talented deacons in the Diocese. I have known Deacon Dave Pratt, and his wife, Judy, for most of my life, since their son, David, is one of my best and oldest friends. And, I first met Deacon Jim McGuinness and his wife, Patty, when their family were members of Sacred Heart Church way back in ’89. It will be like “Old Home Week” here at St. Jude’s: great friends, simply ministering with each other to the people of God. It doesn’t get much better than that.

I also have the honor of serving as Dean of the Erie West Deanery, elected by my brother priests in 2005, and re-elected in 2010. The Diocese is split into ten “Deaneries”, where Erie West is comprised of seventeen parishes west of State Street, all the way to Girard, Albion, Edinboro, and McKean. The Dean, or “Vicar Forane”, is the liaison between the Diocesan Bishop and those priests and parishes. The Dean makes an annual visit to each parish, and meets with the priests, as a means of fraternal support, and to assist the Pastor in the Administration of his parish and records.

Since 1991, I have also had the honor of serving the officers of the Erie Police Department as their chaplain … even with the rank of “Captain”! (This has truly helped to secure my driver’s license in several states, but that’s another story for another time ….) I have always had a deep devotion to these officers, as well as so many from all the surrounding departments; especially, Millcreek Township, where my brother Bill is a Lieutenant in charge of the Juvenile Division. And, St. Jude parishioner, Millcreek Police Chief Tom Carlotti, and I have been good, good friends since our days working at Isaac Baker’s in the early ‘80’s! Even though the Church itself sits in Millcreek, though much of the parish is in the City of Erie, I will continue to serve the officers of the Erie Police Department, and offer any help I can give to Millcreek Township Police. These officers go out every day, not knowing if they will come home. The very least that I can do is to serve them in any way I can, as long as I can...giving them all the support that they need. No one has a job like theirs. God bless them.

Well… there’s my obituary, for the most part. What about the future? Like any parish since the Last Supper,
St. Jude’s has had a wonderful history filled with great times, powerful moments, “glory days” … as well as times of darkness, frustration, and sadness … just like Sacred Heart Church … or, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York … or, even, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It is a reality of human nature, mixed with normal parish life. But, today begins the “next day” in the life of St. Jude the Apostle Church. As your honored Pastor, sent here to serve you, and to bring you God’s Word of peace and new life, I will always make the weekend Mass experience the very center and focus of our parish and our ministry, for it is the Word of God and the very presence of Christ in the Eucharist, in that one hour a week, that sustains and empowers us in our discipleship for the next 167 hours. I will never, ever preach to you a homily that is not prepared … or, long! In my formation years, I had always been, and still am (!), in awe of the preaching gift of Msgr. Henry Kriegel. Along with being one of my closest priest-friends, I have always used Henry as my model in preparing and delivering the Word of God to the people entrusted to my care. I have always made “Preaching the Word of God” the most important thing that I do as a priest. And, I pledge to continue that as your Pastor. I am convinced that if we truly enjoy our prayer and worship together each week, everything else in the parish will just fall right into place. I do believe that that is what Jesus intended.

I will be ordained twenty-four years in April. And, I will, honestly, tell you that I have not regretted it for a
single moment. Not once. Not even close. Sure, there have been tough and painful days. But, sometimes, I feel like I am just getting into it! The Pastors and priests that I am following, and now living with, are good, decent, loyal servants of God, who truly did the best they could to serve the Lord and His people. I am honored to join them in the history of this wonderful parish. Please be patient. Please be forgiving. Please offer your prayers to myself, Fr. Strickenberger, Fr. Dugan, our Deacons, ministers, and staff. There is much for us to do and to learn. It is now 2012, our 57th year, gathering together to pray and worship at 6th & Peninsula. May the future, simply, be a time of prayer, hope, forgiveness, and peace … just as Jesus intended. “Be not afraid! Open wide the doors to Christ!” It is wonderful, and an honor, to be here!
Fr. D.