Dear Friends:

St. Mary’s Visitation parish has been serving Catholic believers in this area for over 160 years. It is a long and noble history. Pioneer priests, pioneer Notre Dame religious sisters and pioneer believers have all contributed to the strength of faith that graces this parish.

Imagine their responses to seeing the noble buildings that are located in the places they trod! This last year has witnessed two great additions: the parish Atrium, a worthy place for the People of God to gather and share faith, goodwill and hospitality, and the new entrance to the school, reaching out to welcome eager young scholars to the journey of faith and knowledge.

A new kind of pioneer spirit faces our parish at this time. In January we lost our pastor of almost 18 years, Fr. Daniel Pakenham. His energetic, dedicated and loving service to the parish will never be forgotten. Now, new faces and new charisms will be coming forward to help St. Mary’s Visitation continue to build on its strong legacy of solid faith. St. Augustine long ago wrote that the church, in the person of Jesus Christ, is “semper antiqua et semper nova” – always ancient and always new. We look forward with confidence that the Holy Spirit will continue to shepherd us into the Kingdom.

Sincerely,
Fr. Laurin J. Wenig