Dear Parishioners:
As you may recall, I wrote a letter in the July 5–6, 2025 Bulletin when we opened the 2026 Mass Intention Book. At that time, I wrote that as a Diocese we are experiencing a serious shortage of priests, and we must be prudent in the number of Masses offered here every day at St. Patrick in case we have to downsize. In addition to the 3 daily Masses (4 daily Masses on Monday), the parish also offers Mass for 187 funerals each year, which means 3–4 funerals per week.
Today we have 147 American priests ministering to the 1.5 million Catholics in our Diocese; the Diocese of Rockville Centre is the 6th largest Diocese in the entire country. In addition, we have approximately 137 international priests also serving here. In 1970, we had 544 priests (largely American) to serve 900,000 Catholics; that is a huge drop in priests and a huge increase in Catholics!
Of those 147 priests, 93 are pastors and 38 are parochial vicars. Within the next five years, our projections from the Diocese tell us there will be no diocesan parochial vicars—only international priests to help the pastors.
Of the 147 active diocesan priests, 51 are in their 60s (I am one of them; I’ll be 68 in February!) and 26 are in their 70s. So, 77 active priests (52%) are aged 60 or above. Of the “younger clergy,” 26 are in their 50s, 20 are in their 40s, and 20 are between the ages of 25 and 39 (Fr. Cona is in this group since he is 32). Of our active priests, those above the age of 50 are 72%, and those below the age of 40 are 13%. In addition, in the next five years, 41 active diocesan priests will become eligible for retirement (retirement age in the Diocese is currently 72).
The immediate future is not rosy either. In our Seminary program, we have a total of 8 men in formation between the four-year college program and the five-year major seminary program. After we ordain three new priests this June (2026), we then will ordain no more than one man per year through 2031—and that is if all goes well (and often all does NOT go well!).
I place all of this as a long prelude to an important announcement. Unfortunately, I have to announce that Fr. Jaison will be transferred from our Parish to St. Aidan’s Church in Williston Park, effective February 1. Thus, we will be downsizing by one full-time priest.
Fr. Charles will remain as a resident priest, but his full-time work is at Stony Brook University Hospital. Thankfully, we will be receiving another hospital chaplain, Fr. Santhosh (“Santo”) Matthew. He is a chaplain at St. Catherine of Siena Hospital. However, everyone must realize that Fr. Santo, like Fr. Charles, is a resident priest with his full-time responsibilities outside of the parish.
Due to this downsizing, we need to make the following changes to the Mass schedule:
• The 8:00 PM Saturday evening Mass will be cancelled. The last Saturday evening Mass at 8:00 PM will be January 31st. Other than the Cathedral, I do not know of any parish that has a Saturday evening Mass after 5:00 PM.
• We will no longer have a 9:00 AM daily Mass Monday through Thursday. The 9:00 AM Sunday Mass will remain. However, we will continue to have the 9:00 AM Mass on Fridays (and Saturdays) because it gives the school children and the Summer Camp children an opportunity to come to Mass.
• To highlight the season of Lent, we will have the 9:00 AM Mass every day. Many parishes add an additional daily Mass during the season of Lent, and we will as well. However, it will only be for the season of Lent.
Nobody likes to downsize or change, and I know many people have “their” Mass that they normally worship at. Nonetheless, this is a decision that must be made.
My decision to cancel the 9:00 AM Mass is because we are the only parish in the area with a 6:45 AM Mass and a 12:10 PM Mass. Parishioners from other parishes come to St. Patrick’s Church because of those unique times. However, a number of parishes in our area have Masses around 9:00 AM. Most people drive, and our parishes are not too far away from each other.
For example, Christ the King Church (Commack) and St. Thomas More Church (Hauppauge) have Mass at 9:00 AM. Saints Philip & James Church (St. James) has Mass at 9:15 AM, and St. Joseph in Kings Park has Mass at 8:45 AM. The Diocese has been encouraging the parishes to work together so that there is a broad range of Mass times for people.
I realize that these are big changes, but they are necessary ones. I hope you will understand and appreciate the situation we are facing. As a child, I remember five priests in my home parish of St. Ignatius in Hicksville. Today, no parish has five priests assigned to it.
Under the umbrella of “when it rains, it pours,” I also have to announce that Deacon Matt Faughnan will be leaving us and be reassigned to St. Thomas More Parish in Hauppauge.
As many of you know, priests are assigned to a parish by our Bishop, usually for a defined period of time. It is rare for a priest to remain in one parish for an entire priesthood. In recent years, pastors typically serve two six-year terms, while associate pastors are transferred more frequently.
The same is true for our Permanent Deacons. Permanent Deacons are also assigned by the Bishop to serve the pastoral and spiritual needs of our parish communities. While it has traditionally been more common for a deacon to remain in one parish for an extended period, this too is evolving. Just as we are experiencing a shortage of priests, we are also facing a shortage of Permanent Deacons. We have 265 Permanent Deacons in the Diocese, but 135 of them are retired (that is, over the age of 75).
In response, deacons are sometimes asked to transfer to other parishes where their ministry is needed. At times, priests and deacons may also request a transfer for personal or pastoral reasons—such as being closer to an aging or ill family member—always in prayerful consultation with the Bishop.
With this background in mind, I would like to share that Deacon Matt Faughnan will be transferred from our Parish Family to St. Thomas More Parish in Hauppauge, effective Thursday, February 19th. While we will certainly miss Deacon Matt’s presence and ministry among us, we are grateful for the many ways he has served our parish with generosity, faith, and dedication. We offer him our prayers and best wishes as he begins this next chapter of service. As always, let us remember that wherever we are sent, we are called to serve with open hearts.
This news should not discourage us. This is a challenge for all parishes, and we must pray for more vocations to the priesthood here on Long Island. Let us also focus on the good. In my 40-plus years of priesthood, I can say that St. Patrick’s is one of the most active parishes in our Diocese. We have a strong and healthy school, religious education program, and parish outreach office. We are a growing and stable community with many young families and children. We are active sacramentally, with a total of 266 Baptisms and more than 50 Weddings.
We will be having a Farewell Mass for Fr. Jaison and Deacon Matt on Sunday, February 1st at the 12:00 PM Mass. I hope you will attend to say “thank you” and “good-bye” to Fr. Jaison and Deacon Matt.