By Gerald Korson
Voice correspondent

Joy has come to Alameda, one might say.

Earlier this year, Bishop Allen Vigneron assigned Father Joy Kumartheusseril, a priest of a relatively new religious congregation called the Missionaries of Faith, as pastor of St. Philip Neri and St. Albert parishes. The appointment took effect July 1.
 

Father Joy Kumartheusseril

The two church communities have been “clustered” since August 2007, meaning they share a pastor and collaborate wherever possible in ministries, programs and resources while remaining distinct parishes, each with its own pastoral council, finance council and parish staff.

Father Joy, 46, told The Catholic Voice that his initial impressions of his parish communities have been very positive. “People here care for one another,” he said. “That’s really good for a parish.”

He succeeds Father Vincent Cotter, who is taking a sabbatical.

The path that took him from his native India to Alameda was “kind of providential,” Father Joy said.

Born in the Indian state of Kerala, he joined the Missionaries of Faith in 1984 and was ordained in 1988. He ministered in the Philippines for several years before becoming the congregation’s procurator general in Rome.

In August 2006, Father Joy visited the United States to preach at weekend Masses and to solicit contributions as part of the congregation’s “mission cooperators” program. While in Livermore, he received an unexpected and direct invitation from Bishop Vigneron to have the Missionaries of Faith offer pastoral ministry in the Oakland Diocese.

That got the ball rolling, and before long the bishop was in contact with the congregation to arrange for one of their priests to take charge of a parish. In the end, it was Father Joy himself who accepted the opportunity, leaving behind his 12 years at the Rome generalate for full-time parish ministry.

Growth and challenge
In order to give Father Joy a taste of American-style parish life, Bishop Vigneron first appointed him associate pastor for the clustered parishes of St. Augustine and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Pleasanton, known as the Catholic Community of Pleasanton, where he served from February 2007 until his Alameda appointment.
“I needed that pastoral exposure,” said Father Joy.

Father Padraig Greene, who became pastoral administrator of the Catholic Community of Pleasanton after Father Dan Danielson retired as pastor last December, said in June that Father Joy “very quickly earned the respect and trust of the diocese” during his 17 months of service there.

Father Joy “will be remembered in many ways not only for his ministry, but also for his outstanding commitment to the sick and the homebound,” Father Greene wrote in the parish bulletin as the priest left for his new assignment. “He brought a spirit of prayerfulness and a listening heart to each patient. He was also conscious of the family and maintained contact after the pastoral visit.”

“For us, his brother priests, he was a ‘joy’ to live with,” he added.

Father Joy faces some challenges in St. Philip Neri and St. Albert parishes, where some of the faithful have not accepted the model of clustered parishes.

Understanding the issues
“Some [parishioners] left because of the clustering,” he told The Voice. “They need time to reflect upon and understand the issues involved.”

The new pastor, even as he gradually implements the cluster model, is sympathetic toward what the faithful are going through.

“They are practically afraid of losing their identity with their parish,” said Father Joy. “They want to know: Will their pastoral needs be met? It’s not easy for people to understand.”

By mid-September, Father Joy will be joined by an associate pastor, Father Jojo Puthussery, also of the Missionaries of Faith. For now, the congregation is responsible for the pastoral care of the clustered parishes for a six-year term, but that commitment may be renewed or made permanent pending future discussions between the congregation and the diocese.

Founded in Italy by Anna Maria Andreani and Dehonian Father Luigi Duilio Graziotti, the Missionaries of Faith received Vatican approval as a religious congregation in 1982. Its center of activity soon shifted to India, however, where both vocations and missionary opportunities were abundant. In India, the Missionaries of Faith presently have 90 men in its novitiate and seminary in Kerala, and its clergy staff 13 mission parishes and orphanages for the free education of poor children.

The congregation also serves in the Philippines, Samoa, Vietnam, Myanmar, Italy, and Central America and the United States. Three of its priests have ministered in the Diocese of Austin, Texas, since 2000.

Does Father Joy’s appointment in the Oakland Diocese indicate that the Missionaries of Faith are angling for a growing presence in this country?

“Ours is a very young and growing congregation in vocations, [and] naturally as a religious institute we do let the Spirit guide us and render our service to those areas where priestly religious service is most needed,” said Father Joy. “That, however, does not exclude the eventual growth of the congregation also in the United States.”

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