Exiit qui seminat

This is not "goodbye".

For the past nine years I have been truly blessed to be your pastor. Change is never easy, but the reality is that we are never static in the spiritual life. We are either growing closer to God or moving farther away. We can never be standing still when it comes to our Lord. Life is change and, God-willing, each change brings us closer to our heavenly home. In the life of a priest, there are many "firsts" - my first Mass, my first assignment, my first wedding, my first funeral, etc. However, I can tell you with certainty that there has never been a more profound "first" in my priestly life than my first time being a pastor here at St. Padre Pio. Through good times and bad, easy and hard, I have grown under your "tutelage" as my parishioners. I have experienced a holiness, a kindness, a generosity, a forgiveness and a love that has truly changed me for the better. I have become a better pastor, a better priest, a better man, a better brother and a better son - and I owe it all to you. A wise priest, Msgr. Timothy Ryan, who has since gone home to God, once told me a story about a pastor who had some pretty visible problems in his life. But, in spite of everything that had happened, the priest loved his people and so they forgave him. "Be kind", Msgr. Ryan said, "and love your people and they will forgive you." The lesson of that story has stayed with me for over 20 years and has been something that I have strived to do during our time together. It's why I said from the beginning that I would love you with a pastor's heart. Thankfully, I have experienced firsthand that forgiveness and for those who have struggled to forgive me for all I have done, I understand. I have not always been perfect. I am a sinner like the rest of us. If I have hurt you or somehow done you wrong, I apologize. I have never intentionally tried to bring someone harm. Even with good intentions, sometimes the wrong things happen and for that I am sorry. I am in awe of all of the unbelievably special people that I have in my life from this parish who will always have a place in my heart. I am grateful to Almighty God for all of the good priests that have been assigned with me. I especially am grateful to Fr. Dimitri. His priestly example and preaching has raised the bar for me and I am thankful for his friendship. In turn, I thank Padre Fortunato Grottola, OFM, now the Guardian for the Capuchin monastery in Pietrelcina, for his friendship and being the impetus for having the parish become the Diocesan Shrine of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Graziemille Padre! I have been blessed with the best deacon and friend that I could ask for in Deacon Rich Sampson and his lovely wife Janet. I thank the parish staff for their love and support, from Janice and Joanne in the beginning, to Barb and Mannetta, to Carmine and Kit, Felicia and Cathy, to Ericka and Denise and to our "supervolunteers" during my time here: Joan, John, Linda, Connor, Amelia & Joe. I also want to particularly thank Dave Saglimbeni. Dave and his crew (in all of its multiple forms) work extremely hard trying to balance the church grounds, the cemeteries and the school. They have a lot on their plate, but Dave always seems to get it done, just in the nick of time. As hard a worker as Dave is, he is even more so a loyal and generous friend. Dave has never hesitated once to help me, and Batman is as good a dog as he is because of his "Unca Dave". Dave has watched my dog almost every Sunday over the past 5 years so I could get an overnight at home. He's a good man. I am eternally grateful to the farming community of the parish. Not only do they continue the long standing “agricultura” of the Italian immigrants that came to this country, they have been invaluable not just at the Festival but all the year through. The savings to the parish in snow plowing alone is incalculable. There have been so many good people in this parish who have gone home to their eternal reward. I especially miss Rosa Guerica and Fr. Al Onyutha-Ora pro nobis! I thank my predecessor, Fr. Pete Saporito, for laying down such a wonderful foundation here in this parish and in turn welcome my successor, Fr. Joe Ganiel to the parish. I am both excited and envious that he now gets a chance to experience the goodness of the people of Vineland.

Finally, I thank all of you! Please know of my great love and prayers for you and your families and don't be a stranger! Runnemede is only about 45 minutes away. That's nothing for someone living in Vineland. In Italian, "ciao" is a phrase that is used to say both Hello and Goodbye. While familiar, it doesn't fit the current situation. Instead, I say to all of you: ci vediamo - until we see each other again! God bless you and I love you all!