It gives me great joy to welcome Father Michael Friedel to the Cathedral Parish this weekend! Father Friedel (pronounced FREE-dull) was ordained with Father Stock in May of 2017 and returned to Rome to finish advanced studies in biblical theology. He completed those studies the last week of June, returned from Rome and, after a few days with his family, arrived at the Cathedral last Sunday evening and has spent the past week getting settled.
Father Friedel grew up in Rosewood Heights (East Alton) and was a member of St. Kevin Parish which was eventually merged with St. Bernard Parish in Wood River to become Holy Angels Parish; it was there that I first met the young Michael Friedel when I was pastor from 2005-2007. He is graduate of Marquette High School in Alton and the University of Illinois at Urbana. From the U of I, Father Friedel entered seminary formation at Mundelein Seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago, spending two years there for his philosophy studies before being sent to the Pontifical North American College in Rome for his theological training. Please join me in welcoming Father Friedel to the Cathedral Parish!
For the past several weeks there has been a lot of activity in our school building with cleaning and moving. Preparations are also being made for the CCCW’s annual garage sale the first weekend of August. Moving forward, the plan is to eventually move the parish offices to the first floor of the school building. The fact is that the building must be used. It is in very good condition but it is 90 years old and we need to be using it to keep it that way.
Moving – Slogan on Cardboard Box on Hand Truck White Background.
The current location of the offices in the rectory has become problematic because we have run out of office and storage space, which was never abundant, and the rectory, because of its age, is not accessible while the school building is accessible. The second floor of the school building will eventually be given over to diocesan use as a center for the diocese’s Discipleship and Stewardship initiatives. This transition will take some time with planning needing to be done as to how some minor re-configuring is to be made for the offices. I will keep you informed as the project progresses.
Finally, I hope that your summer is going well and that it is affording you some leisure time. It is hard for me to believe that we are already well into July, but time never stops. Let us be continually mindful of the goodness of God and his blessings as we move through these summer months and always. God bless you and yours!
Father Christopher House is the Rector-Pastor of the Cathedral and serves in various leadership roles within the diocesan curia, specifically Chancellor and Vicar Judicial.