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August
8, 2005 
VOL.
43, NO. 14Oakland,
CA
New pastor enthusiastic about Pinole parish
Father Paul Schmidt is finding much to like in his new
assignment as pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Pinole. There is the “busy,
lively” air of a vibrant community, the mix of ethnic groups, and
the weather, a comfortable balance between coastal fog and inland heat.
“What I’ve seen so far,” Father Schmidt said, “is
a lot of good people involved in many different ways.” And he is
grateful to the previous pastor, Father Quang Minh Dong, for “leaving
the parish in very good shape.” Father Dong has been named rector
of the new Christ the Light Cathedral.
He’s also pleased that the parish is multi-ethnic, with one of the
seven weekend Masses in Spanish, and that it “has more sun and less
fog” than his previous home at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Oakland.
It’s beyond the fog belt, he noted, but free from the scorching
heat of the interior.
Father Schmidt comes to St. Joseph after 13 years as director of priest
personnel for the diocese. During that time he was in residence and served
as administrator at St. Margaret Mary Parish in Oakland. He took six months
sabbatical leave this year, traveling and studying in the U.S., Central
America and Europe before taking his new post on July 1.
In previous parish work, Father Schmidt was pastor of St. Agnes in Concord
from 1979 to 1991, parochial vicar at Queen of All Saints in Concord from
1979 to 1991, and in residence at two parishes in Oakland - St. Cyril
from 1971 to 1978 and St. Jarlath from1992 to 1994.
He also served as campus minister at Diablo Valley College and Mills College
and as director of the diocesan Confraternity of Christian Doctrine/Catholic
Youth Organization office from 1972 to 1979.
Father Schmidt has been a columnist for the Catholic Voice and sent eyewitness
reports to the Voice from Rome on the funeral of Pope John Paul II and
the installation of Pope Benedict XVI this spring.
Born 1938 in San Francisco and raised in Oakland, he attended St. Bernard
Elementary School and Bishop O’Dowd High School before entering
St. Joseph’s College High School, Mountain View, in 1953. He graduated
from St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park in 1964 and was ordained
May 27 of that year at St. Benedict Parish, Oakland, by Bishop Floyd Begin.
Father Schmidt also received a Masters in Divinity from St. Patrick’s
in 1976 and an M.A. in English from Cal State Hayward in 1974. He speaks
Spanish, German and French and has studied Hebrew as well as Greek and
Latin. A series of his Voice columns were published in a book titled “Buried
Treasures: A Guide to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.”
Although St. Agnes, where he previously served as pastor, was also a multi-ethnic
parish, Father Schmidt said, St. Joseph will be a new experience for him
because it is larger than other communities where he has worked. Sunday
Mass attendance is over 3,000, he noted. The parish also has an elementary
school with grades one through eight.
At St. Joseph Father Schmidt will work with Father Gus Acob, parochial
vicar, and two priests in residence, Father Richard Gagliardi, who is
retired, and Father Tom Purayidathil.
During his first weeks at St. Joseph, Father Schmidt said, he found the
parishioners and staff “very welcoming and friendly.” He was
also pleased to see that “Father Quang worked hard on parish unity”
and added, “We hope to continue to do that.”
Father Paul Schmidt
