This morning, I received a letter from the diocese telling me that, per diocesan policy, I am eligible to retire this coming summer, July 1, 2026. If I intend to do so, I needed to send a letter to the bishop formally making the request.
As soon as I read the letter, I emailed him a letter that I had prepared a couple of weeks ago because I knew that this moment was coming. With the letter in, the bishop and personnel board officially know that my parish will be open for a new pastor and the planning process will address that in the next few months.
By Easter, we should know all of the assignments of priests who will be making any kind of changes.
It feels kind of weird to be doing this at this moment but, as I said in the header, there is a time for everything and the time to request retirement is now. Actually, and officially, it’s not called “retirement”. It’s called senior priest status since a priest never really retires from being a priest, just from the administrative functions that he has filled.
I’ll be a “supply priest” once I am granted senior priest status. That means that I will be available to help parishes that need Mass help, sacramental help, and the like.
So, the clock is now ticking and the processes begin.