April 7, 2022
March 1, 2022
St. Benedict Parish and St. Joseph Parishes Terre Haute, Indiana
Dear Members of St. Benedict Parish and St. Joseph Parish,
Greetings! Peace and All Good! I write to communicate on behalf of the friars of Our Lady of Consolation Province news concerning our presence and ministry in Terre Haute, Indiana.
For 150 years, we friars have served the good people of Terre Haute. You are all a part of our history, of which we are indeed proud. We hope our shared journey together will continue well into the future. To continue our presence, even with fewer numbers, we have been in dialogue with Archbishop Thompson on how we can best go forward.
As would normally be expected after eight years of ministry in your parishes, Friars Martin Day and Savio Manavalan will be leaving for other assignments. Our suggestion to the archbishop is that we friars reorganize our ministry to the two parishes of St. Benedict and St. Joseph. This would entail a team of friars living at Kolbe Friary and ministering as an integrated outreach to both parishes. The entire friary would be engaged at both locations, with one friar serving as the pastor of both parishes and the other friars serving as associates. Both parishes remain separate, distinct, and integral. The difference is that both individual parishes would share the pastoral ministry of the friars.
We have in mind an experienced pastor who would be available and capable of serving both parishes. He would also come with a new associate pastor to join with Fr. Cyprian Uline, who intends to continue as an associate pastor in the new arrangement, and Fr. Fred Pasche, who is happy to continue residing at Kolbe Friary as a senior friar in residence. Thus, this summer two friars will be leaving, and two friars will be arriving. The number of priest friars in Terre Haute will remain the same. A
rchbishop Thompson has authorized me to communicate this message to you. We are grateful for 150 years in Terre Haute, and we look forward to more years sharing our life of grace in worship and service.
Sincerely in Christ, Wayne Hellmann OFM Conv., Minister Provincial