The Pastoral Council

History:
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St. Mary, Rockport
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Fr. Calvey
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Depression Years
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Aspects of Parish Life
Pastorate of Fr. Kelly
Hunger Center
Changing Needs
R.C.I.A.
Pastoral Council
Reaching Out
Parish Staff
Year of Celebration
Parish Leaders
Daughter Parishes

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The constitution for the parish's pastoral council was re-examined in 1988.

Under the old constitution, council members would be appointed from the council's five commissions, the members of which were appointed by the different parish organizations and ministries. Now council members would be elected by the parish. The first election was held in the fall of 1989 and the first council members were installed on the First Sunday of Advent.

A new pastoral minister, Sr. Mary Ellen Brinovec, O.S.U., was hired in 1990. Her primary work was with the R.C.I.A. and P.S.R. (Parish School of Religion). With her assistance, the first parish census in many years was begun, and a Bereavement Group was started.

The second kindergarten classroom was opened in September 1991 with a new principal for the school, Miss Joyce Needham. At the same time, the other first-floor rooms of the old convent were converted into parish meeting rooms. This additional space was needed to accommodate the many meetings of council and its five commissions -- liturgy, education, spiritual life, parish life and social justice. Names were given to parish rooms and buildings -- the new meeting rooms were named after Fr. McMahon, Fr. Calvey and Fr. Kelly, the old convent became the St. Patrick Community Center, and the gym/auditorium became Thorpe Hall.

Following his retirement as pastor of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Fr. Nazareno De Angelis lived in St. Patrick Parish until his death in 1996. (Photo: Diocesan Archives) As former pastors are honored in this way, parishioners often wished to honor the memory of their loved ones by making a donation of vestments or some other liturgical article in the name of the deceased. To facilitate this, and to help the parish purchase needed liturgical articles, the Liturgical Memorial Fund was established. The money donated to this fund has been used to purchase funeral vestments, our sesquicentennial vestments and liturgical vessels.

The parish had celebrated with Fr. Kelly the occasions of both his 40th and 50th anniversaries. When he died in September 1995, the parish celebrated the Mass of the Resurrection for him. The people were able to do the same the following July with the passing of Fr. De Angelis, the oldest and longest-ordained priest in the diocese.