To Serve, and That We Disciples of Jesus Are Called to Do the Same
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CHRIST THE KING SEMINARY TO 2012SERVECHRIST | 2013 Annual THE Report KING SEMINARY 2012 | 2013 Annual Report TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE ............................ PAGE 3 RECTOR’S MESSAGE ................................. PAGE 4 BOARD OF TRUSTEES ............................... PAGE 5 PRIESTLY FORMATION .............................. PAGE 6 DEACONS – MEN OF SERVICE ..................PAGE 10 STRENGTHENING OUR PARISHES ............ PAGE 12 STRENGTHENING OUR DIOCESE ............. PAGE 14 CURÉ OF ARS AWARDS DINNER ............... PAGE 18 VISIONING FOR THE FUTURE ..................PAGE 19 FINANCIAL POSITION ............................ PAGE 20 BEING HERE FOR THE SEMINARY ............. PAGE 21 HERITAGE SOCIETY ................................ PAGE 22 MISSION STATEMENT ..................... BACK COVER CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE MOST REVEREND RICHARD J. MALONE BISHOP OF BUFFALO / CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF TRUSTEES Dear Friends in Christ, Serving as bishop of Buffalo for more than a year now, I have seen firsthand how Christ the King Seminary strengthens our diocese as our local center for faith formation and evangelization. As a long-time educator, I have always had a special affinity for seminaries and higher theological education. I must say how truly impressed I am with the caliber of students, faculty and programs at Christ the King. It is, therefore, my pleasure to present to you this annual report for Christ the King Seminary, on behalf of the entire Board of Trustees. In this report you will read about the Seminary’s successes over the past year and learn about new programs and initiatives aimed at strengthening our diocese, our Seminary and our parishes for the future. As examples, the Seminary recently completed an arduous reaccreditation process and I offer my sincere thanks to all those involved for their hard work. “ I have met so The Seminary is also playing a key role in helping to develop the new parish administrator ministry in the diocese. This ministry will tap the skills and talents of many faithful who deacons, religious or lay persons in certain parishes to provide pastoral leadership in collaboration with priests. I have received such a warm welcome from the people in the Diocese of share my belief Buffalo since arriving last year and I am grateful for your support. I have met so many faithful who share my belief in how critically important the Seminary is to in how critically our diocese. It is my hope that everyone in our Catholic faith community will recognize that important the importance and join us in strengthening the Seminary in whatever ways possible. Lend support. Take a course. Pay a visit. Together, we can work to ensure that our Seminary and our diocese continue to grow stronger as vital communities of faith, Seminary is to ministry and evangelization. Yours sincerely in Christ, our diocese.” Most Reverend Richard J. Malone Bishop of Buffalo Chairman, Board of Trustees Christ the King Seminary 2012/2013 Annual Report PAGE 3 RECTOR’S MESSAGE REV. PETER J. DRILLING, TH.D. PRESIDENT-RECTOR / CHRIST THE KING SEMINARY Each May when the academic term comes to a close it might seem to some that the Seminary takes a break. In fact, the reality is quite different. Formation for Christian ministry continues in the four areas highlighted by Pope John Paul II in 1992: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral. Intellectual formation continues much as it does during the normal academic year. This past summer graduate courses in general church history, sacred scripture, and fundamental moral theology were offered. Students came from the four corners of the Diocese of Buffalo to prepare themselves theologically for ministry. Also offered throughout the summer were dinner lectures. Guests came for dinner at the Seminary and learned about a variety of topics ranging from the Dead Sea Scrolls to outstanding Catholic witnesses in the church of our time, such as Thomas Merton, Oscar Romero, and Dorothy Day. Spiritual formation is also offered during the summer. Last June I was privileged to take part in some aspects of a weekend retreat for young people in their 20s who are going through transition in their lives. For a week in July I conducted a seminar-retreat for priests, deacons and lay people on the central section of St. Mark’s Gospel, the highpoint of which is Jesus’ declaration that he came not to be served, but to serve, and that we disciples of Jesus are called to do the same. Simultaneously with the seminar-retreat, several spiritual directors were leading other retreatants in silent, directed retreats. This summer retreat experience has been happening at Christ the King Seminary for several years. Pastoral formation takes place each year throughout the summer as well, as the Seminary’s Field Education Director, Mrs. Kathleen Castillo, supervises individual students working in various pastoral settings. Likewise, Mrs. Castillo conducted a two-week Central City Live-in Practicum. In other years during the summer a Rural Practicum is offered. Throughout the summer the Formation Directors of our seminarians, Fathers Gregory Faulhaber and Paul Varuvel, travel the roads of Western New York to monitor the ten-week parish experiences of the seminarians. Here pastoral formation and human formation come together. There is so much involved in formation for Christian ministry in the Roman Catholic Church on the part of seminarians preparing for priesthood, candidates for the permanent diaconate, and women and men who are already or who are preparing to be lay ecclesial ministers. The work goes on year-round. I am gratified by the committed efforts of all the staff of Christ the King Seminary, in every area, who work so hard. There are many challenges of continuing this work of ministry formation in our time and in our place of Western New York. I am so grateful to the staff of the Seminary for making every effort to spend wisely and save wherever we can reasonably do so. I am grateful to the Board of Trustees, particularly the Finance Committee, for helping the Seminary move forward responsibly. I am so very grateful to our wonderful donors, some of whom have really stepped up to the plate to support our Seminary. Thank you, thank you all. So many people are ardent supporters of the Seminary in many different ways. I am so grateful. We are so grateful. Please help us get the word out even more widely to the Western New York Catholic community that so much is going on at 711 Knox Road in East Aurora to assure there are skilled and dedicated ministers to serve our Catholic institutions in the name and in the spirit of Christ Jesus our Lord, who came not to be served but to serve. Rev. Peter J. Drilling, Th.D. President-Rector 2012/2013 BOARD OF TRUSTEES MOST REVEREND RICHARD J. MALONE, Th.D.*, Chairman Bishop, Diocese of Buffalo, NY MR. JOSEPH J. (JERRY) CASTIGLIA, Vice-Chairman Retired Chairman, President & CEO / Pratt & Lambert United, Inc. MR. MICHAEL BEATO Getzville, NY MOST REVEREND GERARD BERGIE, D.D., J.C.L. Bishop, Diocese of St. Catharines, Ontario REV. BARBARA A. CAMPBELL Buffalo, NY MS. NANCY R. DOBSON Executive Vice President / Uniland Development Company REV. PETER J. DRILLING, Th.D.* President-Rector / Christ the King Seminary / East Aurora, NY MOST REVEREND EDWARD M. GROSZ, D.D., V.G.* Auxiliary Bishop, Diocese of Buffalo, NY DR. DONALD L. HAYES Retired dentist / Orchard Park, NY HONORABLE BARBARA HOWE Erie County Surrogate Court Judge MR. RALPH M. JESWALD, MBA, CPA Dopkins & Company, LLP MS. THERESA KAZMIERCZAK Retired Vice President, Corporate & Community Events / M&T Bank REV. MSGR. J. PATRICK KELEHER Director, Newman Center / State University of New York at Buffalo MS. ELLEN E. KOESSLER Community volunteer / Lakeview, NY REV. JOSEPH L. LEVESQUE, C.M. President Emeritus / Niagara University REV. MSGR. PAUL A. LITWIN* Chancellor, Diocese of Buffalo, NY JEROME L. NEUNER, Ph.D. Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs / Canisius College HONORABLE H. KENNETH SCHROEDER, JR. United States Magistrate Judge REV. MSGR. DAVID S. SLUBECKY* Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia DEACON PAUL L. SNYDER, III President & CEO / Snyder Corp. MR. JOHN SULLIVAN Owner / Buffalo Truck Center MRS. ANN L. SWAN Community volunteer / Clarence, NY MR. FRANCIS E. ZAGROBELNY Retired Director of Finance / Ernst & Young MR. JOSEPH A. STOECKL Kennedy, Stoeckl & Martin, P.C. / Counsel to the Board MR. RICHARD C. SUCHAN, CEBS, CWS® Executive Director/ Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, NY MR. STEVEN D. TIMMEL Executive Director of Finance / Diocese of Buffalo, NY *ex officio Christ the King Seminary 2012/2013 Annual Report PAGE 5 A Vision of Strength & Support. Christ the King Seminary serves as the faith center in the Diocese of Buffalo, helping to prepare our priests, deacons, and lay women and men to minister in our diocese and also in our ever- changing world. This report highlights the many ways the Seminary helps to strengthen and support our Catholic faith throughout the diocese. At the forefront of preparing seminarians for their modern priestly ministry, the Seminary is also a place of preparation and formation for all who welcome Christ’s call. Deacons. Lay ecclesial ministers. Religious education instructors. Parishioners from every corner of the diocese. Christ the King Seminary unites many in the harmony of our one true faith, guided and illumined by the light of Christ. With God’s grace, we grow stronger as we support one another. Strength in Numbers PROGRAM FOR PRIESTLY FORMATION Newest Priest Assigned to Basilica Father John E. Stanton, Jr. was ordained to the Director so his ordination is quite special to me,” priesthood this past June and was assigned as parochial Father Szczesny says. “He demonstrates how the vicar at Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna. diocese and the Seminary work together to help More than 1,000 family members and friends, the seminarians and be part of their journey into the including over 100 priests, deacons and seminarians, priesthood.” filled St.