Dear friends of St. Mary, Our Lady of the Snows ,

As many of you know, I will be retiring – taking senior status as a priest of the Archdiocese of – effective this summer. I have cherished these seven years as your pastor and have grown to love this community. My time here may be coming to a close but know that I will always hold each of you close in prayer.

A change of pastors is a bittersweet time for any parish community, but let us also recognize that, with our focus on Christ, it can be a time of grace and blessing.

This summer, our parish family will receive a new administrator as well as an associate pastor from the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, called Fransalians, a religious order dedicated to parish mission, foreign mission, education, evangelization, and innovative ministries. Father John Peter Arul, MSFS has been assigned by of Detroit to serve as administrator of this parish. He is returning to our Archdiocese after spending time as an associate pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Sugarland, Texas in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. He previously he served as associate pastor at Divine Child Parish in Dearborn and at St. Patrick Church in White Lake.

Father Augustine Joseph Mannaparmpil, MSFS has been assigned by Archbishop Vigneron to serve as associate pastor of this parish. He has previously served in various capacities in the dioceses of Knoxville, Tennessee and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is currently working as a chaplain at Geisinger Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.

Both Father John Peter and Father Augustine will begin their service to you effective July 1. While I am unfamiliar with Fr. Augustine, I know Fr. John Peter from his years at St. Patrick, as we both served in the same Vicariate for several years. I trust that he will care for the people of this parish with the same energy, compassion and pastoral sensitivity.

My upcoming retirement has been known for some time and you may wonder why it took until now to announce these plans. Please know that any change in pastorate requires very careful discernment by our Archbishop Allen Vigneron, his Episcopal Council, which includes our Northwest Regional Moderator Bishop , and must be made with the best interest of the parish community in mind. In this case, the decision involved welcoming to the Archdiocese of Detroit the Fransalians, whose missionary and evangelist zeal will greatly enhance our shared mission to Unleash the Gospel throughout southeast and beyond. I am looking forward to seeing what you will do together.

I ask you to pray for me as I enter retirement and know that I will continue to pray for you during this transition, as you welcome two new priests to our parish family. May God continue to bless all of you abundantly!

Yours In Christ,

Msgr. John Budde Frequently Asked Questions | St. Mary, Our Lady of the Snows Parish

1. Who is our new administrator and associate pastor? When do their assignments begin?

Father John Peter Arul, MSFS has been assigned by Archbishop of Detroit Allen Vigneron to serve as administrator of St. Mary, Our Lady of the Snows Parish, effective July 1. He previously served for 14 years here in the Archdiocese of Detroit, at Divine Child in Dearborn and St. Patrick Church in White Lake. He is currently serving as an associate pastor at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Sugarland, Texas in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. He has been a priest for 20 years.

Fr. Augustine Joseph Mannaparmpil, MSFS has been assigned by Archbishop Vigneron to serve as associate pastor, effective July 1. He previously served in various capacities in the dioceses of Knoxville, Tennessee and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is currently working as a chaplain at Geisinger Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. He has been a priest for 16 years.

2. What is an administrator?

A parish administrator performs the same service as a parish pastor. Canon (Church) law notes that "a parochial administrator is bound by the same duties and possesses the same rights as a pastor unless the diocesan bishop establishes otherwise" (Can. 540 §1). In the Archdiocese of Detroit, whenever a priest is new to the responsibility of leading a whole parish community, the practice is to first appoint him for a year as an administrator before then appointing him to the office of pastor.

3. What is the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales?

The Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, known as the “Fransalians”, is a religious order founded in 1838 in France by Servant of God, Peter Marie Mermier. The Fransalians have been serving the Church in the United States since 1969, beginning with the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia. They now serve in 23 U.S. arch/dioceses across 14 states, and in 33 countries across seven continents.

The primary patron of the Congregation is St. Francis de Sales and the secondary patroness is Mother of Compassion (Mother of Sorrows). The order is particularly dedicated to parish mission, foreign mission, education, evangelization, and innovative ministries.

4. Why were the Fransalians invited here instead of assigning another Archdiocese of Detroit priest?

The Archdiocese of Detroit has long partnered with religious orders in order to provide a high level of pastoral care to its parishes, especially in times of decreased local vocations to the priesthood. There are around 30 other parishes currently being served by religious order priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit, including St. Patrick Parish in White Lake. This presence of religious order priests brings to the Archdiocese of Detroit a variety of charisms and gifts benefiting all the faithful.

5. Are Fransalian priests assigned anywhere else in the Archdiocese of Detroit?

St. Ephrem Parish in Sterling Heights will welcome their new administrator, Father Arokiaselvam Nithiyaselvam, MSFS (or Father Aro), also on July 1 of this year.

6. Will Father John Peter and Father Augustine follow Archdiocese of Detroit directives for clergy or the guidelines of their own religious order?

As priests, Father John Peter and Father Augustine follow a personal spiritual life that is faithful to the charism of their order’s founder. However, as parish priests (and in their ministry here with others) they will follow all directives that the Archdiocese of Detroit has specified for its parish priests.

7. Will they answer to Archbishop Vigneron?

Yes. The Archbishop has assigned Father John Peter and Father Augustine to this parish and, as such, they share in his ministry.

8. How will this affect parish finances? Is the religious order now responsible?

At the present time, Father John Peter and Father Augustine are religious priests assigned to serve as parish priests. The parish will support a second priest and have the benefit of being served by an additional priest. The parish financial structure itself remains unchanged.

9. How long will Father John Peter and Father Augustine be assigned to our parish?

Father John Peter’s and Father Augustine’s initial assignments with St. Mary, Our Lady of the Snows Parish will run from July 1 of this year until June 30, 2021. At that time, the Archdiocese of Detroit and the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales intend to review whether both the parish and priests would benefit from a continued partnership. This one-year period followed by a renewal is very typical for priestly assignments in the Archdiocese of Detroit.

With any parish, the Archdiocese of Detroit seeks to leave pastors and associate pastors in place for at least a few years. That said, with the growing shortage of priests in the local and universal Church, it is difficult to answer with certainty how long any priest will be assigned to a parish.

10. Does our parish become a missionary parish and follow the charism of the order, or are we still part of the Archdiocese of Detroit?

St. Mary, Our Lady of the Snows Parish is and will remain an important part of the Archdiocese of Detroit. The particular charisms of a religious order are established for the member priests in their personal relationships with Christ and each other. There are around 30 other parishes currently being served by religious order priests in the Archdiocese of Detroit, including St. Patrick Parish in White Lake. This presence of religious order priests brings to the Archdiocese of Detroit a variety of charisms and gifts benefitting all the faithful.

11. How will this affect the leadership structure of our parish?

Like any other parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit, there will be one pastor/administrator and, in our case, an associate pastor.

12. How will the pandemic affect this transition?

The pandemic will not significantly affect the transition in parish leadership. Like in other cases, Father John Peter and Father Augustine will arrive in time for their assignment to begin July 1. Depending on the status of the pandemic at that time, they will either proceed with in-person Mass or continue with live stream services. In addition, as he transitions from his role of hospital chaplain in Pennsylvania, Father Augustine will follow guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in regard to observing a strict period of self-isolation before interacting with anyone in the St. Mary, Our Lady of the Snows Parish community.