Welcome Fr. Shayne Duvall to St. Frances of Rome!

My Dear St. Frances of Rome Parishioners,

May God bless you! I am so excited to have been appointed to serve you as your Pastor. This is my first weekend with you and already many of you have reached out to welcome me to this great parish of ours. Thanks be to God!

In the readings this weekend, two lines from Sacred Scripture jumped right out at me. The first is from our Responsorial Psalm, Psalm 107, “Give thanks to the Lord, His love is everlasting.” The second comes from St. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, “new things have come.” Both of these simple, yet profound lines in Scripture are a great way to start a new chapter in the life of St. Frances of Rome.

Our Lord’s love is everlasting! That is why I became a priest…to know, to serve, and to love the people of God entrusted to my care; to let the people know that God’s love is always everlasting! Please pray for me and for Fr. Steven that we will be good and faithful shepherds who will serve you to the best of our ability. New things have come indeed, and I want to personally thank Fr. Pepper for his priesthood and for taking care of you these past several months. He is a gift to our Archdiocese, especially when there are unplanned and unexpected life situations where a veteran priest is asked to fill in. Please pray that Fr. Pepper will get to enjoy his much-deserved retirement.

New things have come, not only to me and Fr. Steven, but all of us! This is our home, and we have a responsibility to make sure our home is taken care of. I believe we have some great opportunities ahead of us. It will take all of us to build up the Body of Christ.

Any time there is a change in leadership there are always questions, concerns, hopes, ideas, opinions, and best practices. I want to spend the first few months listening to you, meeting with you, serving with you, and praying with you that the Holy Spirit will lead us and tell us where to go next. I know we have some gaps to fill, and I know there will be discussions between Fr. Chandler and I regarding using our current staff and their gifts with and for the Church, while making sure St. Frances of Rome and St. Leonard are well served and taken care of.

Remember, His love is everlasting! This parish has been saving souls and serving the people of God since 1887 and we will continue to do just that. New things have come! But we cannot forget those who have taken good care of us in the past. I want to thank Fr. Eifler and Fr. Knott for their service and their help. Fr. Steven and I will be celebrating as many Masses as we can early on in an effort to truly get to know you. I do hope Fr. Eifler and Fr. Knott will continue to help with the Masses and the other Sacramental needs that may arise at St. Frances of Rome.
Enjoy these summer months and take good care of yourselves and one another. Know of my prayers for you, and please pray for me!

God love you,
Rev. Fr. Shayne R. Duvall
Pastor